Showing posts with label Uyuni. Show all posts

Uyuni Salt Flats


We were not sure that we could cross the salt flats as it had been raining for the last few days. As we approached the frontiers it seemed inevitable to get stuck.



Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,500 square kilometres, and as its name suggests, it is extremely flat. The altitude difference throughout the whole thing is less than a meter. There are, however, some strange 'islands'.

From the top we found some pretty stunning views over the endless whiteness.



Climbing down, we had some time to fool around and make some friends.



The crust over the few metres of salt is much more crude at some places and giant hexagons are formed due to evaporation and convection.


This place, seemingly in the middle of the flats, looked like the perfect place to have lunch. Of course, one did not have to reach far to season the food...


There used to be a hotel in the salt flats but had been closed down because it was contaminating the area. Now the building is a pit stop for tourists, to grab some sandwiches and marvel at the great leftist coca-grower to be president Evo Morales. 



There was a clear sign that we were getting close to the single substantial town near the bounderies of the salt flats. The road had changed to tarmac for some time but the amount of rubbish covering both sides of the road just got bigger and bigger. At the outskirts of Uyuni it was difficult to see the ground from the white plastic rubbish bags and other stuff. I remember, it was the same around La Paz, the capital as well. Real shame.

There was at least some interesing left overs. The rail cemetery is a real gem for trainspotters (I'm not one) and metal geeks (hmm this one, maybe). 


Uyuni itself is nothing but a few streets, where locals celebrated some sort of festival, no one could tell which one, but everyone was throwing water filled balloons at each other and seemed to enjoy the sunny afternoon.




Luckily, we did not have to spend the night there as we headed back to Chile with an overnight stop somewhere in a mountain village. Only a flat tyre made the journey exciting. 

Once in San Pedro, we had one thing left to do, to purchase our bus ticket to Valparaiso, a harbour town in Central Chile, 24 hours of ride away...
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Bolivia


After an early rise at 5am and a short bus ride to the Chilean border, we had time to wake up in the queue for passport control. This tour from San Pedro is a popular one, therefore a great number of buses and people turned up at the very same time by the border. An hour later we continued with our bus ride, ascending all the way for an other hour to the Bolivian border post. We had the chance to acclimatise a bit in San Pedro at 2400m above sea level but as it turned out later, had not completely prepared us for the four days we would spend at 4000m and beyound.


The Bolivian border post consisted of a flag and a single room where we got our entry stamps. There were no bathrooms so we quicly learnt to use the Inka toilet. That is, a big rock or heap of rocks high enough to cover your crotch.

In the meanwhile, the bus driver set up a camping table and served coffee and breakfast for us and for the people coming back from the round trip. The border was busy, with dozens of Toyota Land Cruisers (without exception) unloading and getting ready, one of which we continued our journey with.


These cars are rock solid and generally considered to be the best 4x4s in the world. Occasional breakdowns happen though, not a surprise really, seeing the non-existent roads in this corner of Bolivia, so the drivers, despite being direct competitors, stick together and help each other if problem arises.


The car can accommodate 6 passangers with the lack of any luxury, restricted to holding their day packs while the big backpacks are strapped to the roof. Spending 3-4 days with people 24/7 so close has its risks but luckily our travel companions turned out to be really cool and fun. Only problem was they were all Germans (well, and a Swiss) :)


Our first stop was at Laguna Blanca. Surrounded by volcanos, reflected on the surface of the mineral-rich lake, was a fantastic start.


It only got better. We passed the Dali desert and had the chance to use a natural hot tub, that we skipped.



Still climbing upwards, we reached the Sol de Mañana geothermal fields at 5000m, with boiling mud pools and steam holes blowing tens of meters of steam.



It was late afternoon when we reached our first accommodation near Lake Colorada. This basic house had dorm rooms and flushable toilets but no shower.

Having the fact that we were in one of the world's least light polluted areas, the night sky was just mind-blowing.

Just above the horizon, on the right, the Southern Cross (Crux) is clearly visible. This constellation was well known for the Greeks and could be seen even in Britain in 4000 BC. But due to the precession of the axis of Earth, it became specific only to the Southern Hemisphere, bringing great significance in cultures of Australia and New Zealand. It even appears in their flags, as well as in Brazil's and many territories' of Chile, Argentina and other countries. The Crux has been used for navigation as well pointing to the Southern Pole. Fascinating?

In the morning we visited the nearby Lake Colorada with its astonoshing red colour, thousands of flamingos and some odd lamas.





The Siloli desert and some strange rock formations followed.


Towards midday, we reached a number of high plateau lakes, most notably the sulphur rich Lake Honda (yep). It was stunning. And smelled like rotten eggs.


A random hotel and cafe in the middle of nowhere, by one of these lakes, became our picnic spot for lunch. It also accommodated friendly flamingoes. The lake. Not the hotel.



As a clear sign that we were getting closer to the salt flats, we spent the second night in a salt hotel.



It really was, at least the inner walls, made of salt. We were not the first ones to lick it, probably.

The hotel was in a small village called San Juan, where apparently, the locals know their politicians well. Certain things tend to be international.


By the way, San Juan is surrounded with quinoa fields, a plant domesticated 4000 years ago in the Andeas, and at some point was banned by Spanish colonists due to its sacred status among indigenous people. Nowadays it is hip, fashionable and rather expensive, so locals stopped eating it and all goes for export.


The next day we reached the frontiers of the famous Uyuni salt flats, but that has to wait till the next blog post :)
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