From Oruro, I was told it would take me about 5 hours to Uyuni, where I wanted to visit the Salt Flats, and see if one could get access to the Dakar track.
I really enjoyed the first part of the route with a wide open country side of clear green and yellow fields and mountains at the horizon! I also saw scattered small mud huts, and people hearing their sheep, llamas, and cows along the way. I just sat back in the seat to totally take in the beautiful sights as I comfortably cruised by on the perfectly paved road. At times I thought about how it happens that the mountains in the distance seem to be hovering in mid air, but did not come to a scientific explanation.
I stopped on the way to eat some corn and cheese that a nice lady was selling along the road. When i explained my goal for the day, she thought i was not going to be able to make it to Uyuni that same day, which got me a little stressed. But just after I saw the 200km Uyuni sign, I thought to myself, "great! I'll be home in 2-3 hours!!" ...but just then did the road turn, and turned into a really bad dirt road.
I had to slow down to about 25 to manage the poor condition of the road. I thought to myself"this can't seriously go on for more than a few km." but I came to realize that it was good for another 150 I'm before arrivin to Uyuni. "Alright, 150 km, not too bad ... 30 km/hr ~ 5 HOURS!!!" And 5 hr later, chased by a lightning storm, I arrive to the dessert city of Uyuni and found myself accommodation min before the rain begun.
+8 hrs driving, the real poor road conditions, and the desert sun, I feel like I just completed a Dakar race!!
1 comment:
I believe what you might be seeing is a mirage. So the heat from the sun hitting the ground heats up the air that raises (since hot air is lighter than cold) in the form of fumes. These fumes distort you view and a mirage (illusion) is created.
Here is a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage
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