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| Where salt is dried in piles |
Uyuni, a little but well known town just on the edge of the massive salt flats of Bolivia. I found a hostel for 35 pesos (single room) just before the rain set in and could store the bike inside. Although everything is expensive in Uyuni, I treated myself with a pizza and a glass of red after the long day on the road!
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| Our Jeep & Crew |
The next morning the plan was to wake up early to decide whether I could visit the salt flats on my motorbike, or if a tour would serve me better. It turned out that it is very easy to get lost due to serious lack of road signs or... anything to orientate by, so I decided to go with a tour instead. Luckily, I was able to join the very last jeep leaving Uyuni for a just day in the worlds largest salt flat! I would also recommend the three day tour, especially if you´d want to continue on toward San Pedro de Atacma / Chile (which is also highly recommended!).
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| The Volcano through the windshield |
It is hard to grasp the sheer size of the salt flats, and it takes about an hour to arrive at the first island, a little cactus filled island that stands out alone within at least a 90km radius. Even if you could see something on the horizon, the vision is was so distorted that you could't even make out what it was! Before we entered the salt flats, we made a stop at a market / museum where you could buy souvenirs and learn more about how the indigenous population still use the salt flats.
The train graveyard is usually part of the regular tours, though I noticed that we were bound for the volcano instead, situated sort of on the Northwest side of the salt flats. At first, you notice nothing but something rising up from the horizon, but as we continue to cruise through the white flat patterned with the typical salt hexagons, the majestic sight turns out something like this (see pic below).
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| The Volcano, "thin ice" just beyond the left car, and farther still some stones buildings the farmers still live in |
The driver left us a 200m short, to allow us to take some pictures before gathering up for some lunch. As I was chatting away with another group and lost track of time, I decided to take a "short-cut" directly toward the small houses where my group was preparing lunch. Almost like ice, the salt-layer broke underneath my feet and left me almost knee-deep in foul-smelling mud.I was almost surprised that I seemed to be the only one who had thought of this "ingenious" idea...
Lunch was good, and did not leave me hungry. I decided to make a quick visit to see the llamas right next to us (bear footed).
We made our last stop at the Cactus Island, where you can disembark for a $US 5 fee and hike the 80 m high summit for a spectacular view of the flats! Also, for ~$US 20 you can do a cruise with a glide around the island, which looked very tempting but could not fit into my cheep-skate-budget. Instead, I paired up with a group from South Korea, who well prepared had brought props to use for the must-do photo sesh!
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| The Korean Crew |
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| C.N.F. represent! (Uruguayan soccer team!) |
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| Salt Hotel |
On the way back, I again faced the dark and malicious clouds of thunder and rain, however comfortably and protected in a modern jeep. Also, there was constantly a good number dust devils roaming in the open lands of Bolivia.
If you want to get an idea of what the salt flats have to offer, do some youtube-searching! And also remember that the raining season starts in December, and during Januari to March could pose complications to enter the flats. But the water offers an amazing opportunity for some stellar shots with the reflection of the water, and some people do not come to visit until there is a layer of water. - In any case, Enjoy!!
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