Laguna Verde

After having our first experience of what our meals (we had breakfast at the border) and rides would be like for the next four days we made our first stop on the Bolivian side of the border. I thought that we might be caravaning with the numerous other parties that went to the border with us, fortunately, this was not the case. It felt much freer and the landscapes even more vast when you're the only vehicle that can be seen.

Our first stop was Laguna Verde (Green Lake). It was the first of the lakes which are a central theme of these tours. High in the Bolivian Andes these lakes have no drainage and area therefore salt lakes. From my understanding it is their high mineral content that give them their various colors.

This first picture provides a glimpse of our first experience of the lake. It did not look green at first but rather a somewhat gray color...
...Once we moved along the side of it, however, we began to see the lake as a different color.
The lake never quite looked green, however, but more of a turquoise color. None the less, this was an amazing first experience of the lakes, and it was merely a warm-up for what was to come.
The remaining photos need no caption. Despite the fact that pictures cannot also convey the effects of altitude, I hope they succeed in taking your breath away :-)