So... What next?

We didn't waste any time. As soon as we arrived in Tupiza we searched and found an agency that organizes tours to the Uyuni salt flats (What is that? Read below you lazy sods!). We arranged everything, got a well-deserved good night sleep and first thing in the morning the following day we were already on our way.


The team. The dog is a stunt act.

Myself, P., two canadians, Rafael our driver and Margarita our own personal cook (yes, you read correctly. I could be talking about her cooking for hours. One night I nearly married her when she brought us a chocolate mousse!), all together in a 4x4 jeep which looked to be in a good shape, we headed for the mountains. And I mean it! From the first moment, the altitude at which we were travelling did not drop below 3600 meters! Bolivia is a very mountainous country with, most of the time, little to none vegetation: an ankle-high bush here and there and a few 2-meter tall cactuses... Other than that, rocks and dirt as far as the mountains allow us to see.


On the way...



Lots of little villages in the middle of nowhere, at altitudes of more than 4000 meters, whose residents add up to between 40 and 500. People cut off from everyone and everything, living off their plantations (when the ground allows it), their animals and their products.


For some reason this lama was looking at me in a very seductive way...

We spent our first night in one of those villages, in San Antonio de Lipez. The houses of all those villages are made of bricks constructed by the villagers, made of mud and hay.



After the first 24 hours, the altitude is starting to get to us: we can't breathe properly, our heart is pumping extra fast and headaches have become part of our daily routine. They say that the human body gets accustomed after 48 hours. So they say...


4855 meters above sea level...


We can't even breathe and those damn kids are playing basketball!

The second day kicks in in a pretty adventurous way. We got up at 5.30am in order to go and see the sunrise through the ruins of a deserted village near by. The jeep however did not do us the favor and had no desire to start up. Two hours had passed, Rafael was still struggling and the cold was so unbearable that we wouldn't dare to get out of our blankets not even to turn off the light. We were throwing shoes at the switch and when we ran out of ammo, we simply left the light on. However, lo and behold, a while later our fantastic driver performed the miracle and we set on our way.


It's all bloody frozen!

It was the liquid element that conquered the day, driving from lake to lake, with a couple of in between stops at some thermal baths and some geissers. After visiting lakes Morejon and Kollpa, which although impressive, were nothing to write home about, we arrived at the stars of the day.

- Laguna Blanca: The baby of all lakes with light blue waters. It reminds an oasis, as it appears after having reached the top of an uphill ride after many kilometers of dead ground while crossing Dali's desert (Yeap, the artistic element is present. This desert has earned its name thanks to the bizzarely colour formations of the mountains that embrace it).

- Laguna Verde: The most impressive of them all. Despite the fact that it begins only a few meters off the shore of the former, the scenery is spectacular. Bright green waters on the foot of a volcano, thanks to which the hill in front of the lake is full of large, black, volcanic stones, offering an intensive contrast to its exotically green surface.



- Laguna Colorada: The red, endless home of 25000 flamingos. The largest part of the lake has a bright red colour thanks to the red alge off which the flamingos feed. Arriving at the lake near sundown and watching dozens flamingos flying just a few centimeters over the red waters and dissapearing in the horizon, was a truly marvelous view.





Third day and the cold is absolutely unbearable! Each one of us slept with seven blankets and any reason to exit this warmth seemed like punishment. The morning was a true torture. Despite our desguise which resembled an onion (two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, three jackets, gloves and hoods) and the warm cup of coffee in our hands, the cold was winning this battle. Frozen fingers and toes, ice on my beard and rattling teeth. We had no more clothes to put on and running was not an option, as at this altitude we couldn;t even run to the bathroom. The final blow came when Rafael told us that just half an hour before, the temperature had reached -20 to -25 Celcius below zero. Knowing that was enough to make the cold even more penetrating...

Leaving the morning chill aside, the day did not include anything remarkably worthwhile. After all we had seen up to that point and with the salt flats (I told you, I'll explain later what this is) looming ahead, the deserts and little lagoons of the day seemed pretty insignificant.


At least we know where to park now.



The most important fact of the day, and for various reasons, was tonight's choice of accommodation. It was a hostel, situated just outside the Uyuni salt flats and constructed entirely out of salt! The beds, the benches, the walls, the decorations, everything was "salty"! However, sleeping innovation aside, the best part of it all was that there was a hot water shower!! We finally had the opportunity to wash off all the dirt that our bodies had accumulated. Besides, the pleasure of sitting on salt chairs around a salt table goes to a whole new level when you smell of soap instead of 60 hours of adventure.


A salty living room...


...and a salty bedroom.

Fourth and final day and the very early wake up call was well worth it. 6am and we're already on our way to the salt flat. So what is thing thing after all? Imagine a flat surface of 12000 square kilometers that consists of nothing but salt. Salt as far as the eye can see and at some parts, even 50 meters deep. The salt flats of Uyuni are a gigantic source of salt, located just outside the equally-named town. Once upon a time, there was a salt-water lake here which in time dried out and left behind millions of tons of salt. The companies that take advantage of it have employees who shovel 20000 tons of salt on an annual basis! In other words and to put it simply, we're talking about A LOT of salt here! In the middle of this salt flat there is also the island of the fish (isla de pescado) which does not offer much more than plenty of cactuses and a marvelous view.


Waiting...


The sun is rising over the endless acres of salt.


The view on top of the island of the fish.


It's the choo-choo shoe!! (For those who are in the know...)

After leaving the salt flat, there wasn't that much more to see. What else would we want to see anyway after four activity-filled days? Around noon Rafael and Margarita has already left us in the town of Uyuni, where we would go back on the road....

M.