The train ride was very nice, as we were in the executive car ($10 a seat.) 
It started out by crossing a seasonal lake that had thousands of flamingos. We arrived in Uyuni, late that night, and crashed at a local hotel near the station. The next day we met with the local tour operator who took us to the truck that would be our ride for the next three days. 
The vehicle was a toyota landcruiser, perhaps a couple years old, and looked to be in good shape and well cared for. We would be travelling with the driver, his wife and son and two other couples. They all seemed friendly, which was an encouraging start to our journey. It was a little crammed, with nine people in the car, and we would end up rotating through the back seat, as it was the most cramped.
It started out by crossing a seasonal lake that had thousands of flamingos. We arrived in Uyuni, late that night, and crashed at a local hotel near the station. The next day we met with the local tour operator who took us to the truck that would be our ride for the next three days. 
The vehicle was a toyota landcruiser, perhaps a couple years old, and looked to be in good shape and well cared for. We would be travelling with the driver, his wife and son and two other couples. They all seemed friendly, which was an encouraging start to our journey. It was a little crammed, with nine people in the car, and we would end up rotating through the back seat, as it was the most cramped.Our first stop was a train graveyard just outside the city. Uyuni was once the train center of Bolivia due to booming mining industry in the surrounding hills. As the mines began to dry up, the trains were left to rust in the desert, making for a very interesting junkyard.
After the graveyard we went to a nearby town on the edge of the salt flats to see how the locals processed the salt. It was interesting to see, and they had all sorts of souviners made of salt that you could buy. We left the town and entered the salt flats. Since it was the begining of the wet season, the salt flat was covered by up to a foot of water in places, but we just drove right on through. 
I hate to think what all that salt does to the poor trucks. The flats were blinding white and as expected, perfectly flat. 
It was a little surreal, driving for miles and miles across an unchanging landscape. In the middle of the flats is a hotel that is built entirely from salt. It is made up of blocks of compressed salt and has furniture carved out of chunks of salt. 
We also took advantage of the completely white landscape to take some trick photos.
I hate to think what all that salt does to the poor trucks. The flats were blinding white and as expected, perfectly flat. 
It was a little surreal, driving for miles and miles across an unchanging landscape. In the middle of the flats is a hotel that is built entirely from salt. It is made up of blocks of compressed salt and has furniture carved out of chunks of salt. 
We also took advantage of the completely white landscape to take some trick photos.
After that we piled back into the truck and head for Isla Incahuasi, a chunk of volcanic rock and coral in the middle of the flats. The entire salar was once an inland sea, and so this island had an extensive petrified reef. It was now inhabitated by giant cati and a surprising number of birds. We went for a short hike over the island, which at 3800meters and 30 degree heat, was quite a challenge. 
After lunch, it was back into the truck again for a long drive across to the far edge of the salar. Here we taken to a comfortable little hotel, again built from salt blocks, nestled in the cati covered hills at the edge of the salt flats. After a great dinner, we went to bed early as we were getting up early to see the sunrise over the salt flats.
After lunch, it was back into the truck again for a long drive across to the far edge of the salar. Here we taken to a comfortable little hotel, again built from salt blocks, nestled in the cati covered hills at the edge of the salt flats. After a great dinner, we went to bed early as we were getting up early to see the sunrise over the salt flats.The sunrise was very nice, although it was rather difficult to get up that early. Post breakfest, it was back into the truck for a long drive across several more salt flats before we began to climb up into the surrounding hills. Our first stop of the day was in a rocky area that looked very much like the American Southwest. There were a network of canyons carved into the sandstone bedrock, and rock formations of all sorts of shapes. 
It would have made for some good climbing but the rock was pretty friable and kept coming apart in my hands. There was a large volcano, Ollague Volcano, nearby that was midly active and steam plumes could be seen eminating from the summit. We barely had time to strech our legs before we were back in the truck heading off through the desert again.
The next leg of our journey took us by an array of different coloured lakes. The surrounding hills are very rich in minerals and different salts which accumulate in the lakes giving them very interesting colours and textures. We stopped for lunch at the Laguna de los Flamingos, which definately lived up to its name. There were three different types of flamingos: andean, Chilean and James, although they were all fairly similar looking.
There were also foxes and vicuna (the wild relative of the llama) hanging around the laguna.
After lunch, we passed several more lakes of different shades of green and red, with many more flamingos before we started to climb up into the high desert of the Atacama. By now it was really looking like the desert, with nothing but sand and rocks streching as far as the eye could see. We continued to climb up and the air got colder until we reached a broad, high pass at over 4800 meters. Definetly the highest I have ever driven to. We got out to pose for a picture but the air was bitterly cold and the wind was relentless so we quickly piled back into the truck and set off again.
Our next stop was group of wind sculpted rock monoliths. They were particularly stricking as they were all by themselves in the middle of a a great sand field. They were carved into the most unbelievable shapes, some sitting on little pilars that looked as if they were about to fall over.
The amount of bouldering here was amazing, I wish I had brought my climbing shoes and a crash mat with me. Again, the rock wasn´t the best, but there were still some good routes that avoided the bad rock.
We continued on to our last stop of the day, a small refugee where we would spend the night. It was just inside the national reserve Eduardo Avaroa, on the edge of Laguna Colorada. This laguna was a bright red, with sections of white salt flats, set against a backdrop of volcanoes.
The lake was fed by a series of hot springs that welled up along the edge, and was again, full of flamingos. It was also incredibly windy, which we did not really notice until we were heading back to the refugee, walking into the wind. We had to tuck our arms behind our backs, pull our toques down over our faces, and lean into the wind in order to not be blown off into the Atacama Desert.
After dinner we went to bed early, as we would be getting up very early the following day to get to the geysers by sunrise. We awoke to a very cold and dark morning. The sun had not yet begun to light the sky and the stars were absolutly amazing. We were still at 4300 meters above sea level so it was very cold. Our guide said that it had dropped to -16C over night. We all piled back into the landcruiser and proceeded to race the sun all the way to the geysers, making it there just in time. It was pretty cool to see them at sunrise, but I wasn´t sure if it was worth the 4am wake up. All the other geysers I have seen were in Yellowstone, and it is all very regulated. There are boardwalks and you can´t get to close to the geysers. Here in Bolivia, you can wander right up to them and peek inside.
Apparently every once in a while the crust breaks and someone plummets into them and is instantly steam cooked. This has only promted the Bolivian Park officals to put up a few signs that simply say ¡Peligro! but don´t specify any more than that. Luckily, no one fell in that day.
After the geysers we drove to Laguna Blanco, which had a small hotspring and a little pool built where we could have a dip.
The air was still very cold and the laguna surrounding the hot spring was still frozen solid. The flamingos actually get frozen in place each night, I don´t know why they haven´t figured out that they could spend the night in the hot springs. We had a great breakfest at the edge of the hotsprings, which was much needed considering we had been up for about four hours at that point. After breakfest we went for a short hike across the desert to Laguna Verde, while our guide cleaned up. The laguna is located right at the base of the perfectly shaped Lincancabur Volcano, making for some great reflection shots. 
The laguna is also full of sodium bicarbonate, which is left in odd looking deposits along the lakeshore, and the green colour is from dissolved copper minerals.
From there it was about an 40 minute drive to the Chilean border which consisted of a couple buildings and a gate, sitting by themselves in the middle of the desert. Here we parted ways with our guide and the others and boarded a bus to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. I am glad we did not have to do the marathon drive (960km through the desert) back to Uyuni. Soon the bus was driving down a paved road (the first in three days) towards civilization. The road itself would be awesome for longboarding. It drops 2000 meters in about 30 or so kilometers. The only problem was the pavement was so hot, I´m sure you´d burn through your urethane in no time.
Overall, it was an amazing adventure. We were lucky and got a great driver, who was very friendly and didn´t steal our food (we had great meals everyday.) We didn´t have any flats or breakdowns or get stuck in a mud puddle in the middle of nowhere. Even Katie had to admit that she enjoyed it for the most part, although she was really looking forward to having a shower in San Pedro.
More photos here:
Album 1
Album 2
It would have made for some good climbing but the rock was pretty friable and kept coming apart in my hands. There was a large volcano, Ollague Volcano, nearby that was midly active and steam plumes could be seen eminating from the summit. We barely had time to strech our legs before we were back in the truck heading off through the desert again.The next leg of our journey took us by an array of different coloured lakes. The surrounding hills are very rich in minerals and different salts which accumulate in the lakes giving them very interesting colours and textures. We stopped for lunch at the Laguna de los Flamingos, which definately lived up to its name. There were three different types of flamingos: andean, Chilean and James, although they were all fairly similar looking.
There were also foxes and vicuna (the wild relative of the llama) hanging around the laguna.
After lunch, we passed several more lakes of different shades of green and red, with many more flamingos before we started to climb up into the high desert of the Atacama. By now it was really looking like the desert, with nothing but sand and rocks streching as far as the eye could see. We continued to climb up and the air got colder until we reached a broad, high pass at over 4800 meters. Definetly the highest I have ever driven to. We got out to pose for a picture but the air was bitterly cold and the wind was relentless so we quickly piled back into the truck and set off again.
Our next stop was group of wind sculpted rock monoliths. They were particularly stricking as they were all by themselves in the middle of a a great sand field. They were carved into the most unbelievable shapes, some sitting on little pilars that looked as if they were about to fall over.
The amount of bouldering here was amazing, I wish I had brought my climbing shoes and a crash mat with me. Again, the rock wasn´t the best, but there were still some good routes that avoided the bad rock.We continued on to our last stop of the day, a small refugee where we would spend the night. It was just inside the national reserve Eduardo Avaroa, on the edge of Laguna Colorada. This laguna was a bright red, with sections of white salt flats, set against a backdrop of volcanoes.
The lake was fed by a series of hot springs that welled up along the edge, and was again, full of flamingos. It was also incredibly windy, which we did not really notice until we were heading back to the refugee, walking into the wind. We had to tuck our arms behind our backs, pull our toques down over our faces, and lean into the wind in order to not be blown off into the Atacama Desert.
After dinner we went to bed early, as we would be getting up very early the following day to get to the geysers by sunrise. We awoke to a very cold and dark morning. The sun had not yet begun to light the sky and the stars were absolutly amazing. We were still at 4300 meters above sea level so it was very cold. Our guide said that it had dropped to -16C over night. We all piled back into the landcruiser and proceeded to race the sun all the way to the geysers, making it there just in time. It was pretty cool to see them at sunrise, but I wasn´t sure if it was worth the 4am wake up. All the other geysers I have seen were in Yellowstone, and it is all very regulated. There are boardwalks and you can´t get to close to the geysers. Here in Bolivia, you can wander right up to them and peek inside.
Apparently every once in a while the crust breaks and someone plummets into them and is instantly steam cooked. This has only promted the Bolivian Park officals to put up a few signs that simply say ¡Peligro! but don´t specify any more than that. Luckily, no one fell in that day.After the geysers we drove to Laguna Blanco, which had a small hotspring and a little pool built where we could have a dip.
The air was still very cold and the laguna surrounding the hot spring was still frozen solid. The flamingos actually get frozen in place each night, I don´t know why they haven´t figured out that they could spend the night in the hot springs. We had a great breakfest at the edge of the hotsprings, which was much needed considering we had been up for about four hours at that point. After breakfest we went for a short hike across the desert to Laguna Verde, while our guide cleaned up. The laguna is located right at the base of the perfectly shaped Lincancabur Volcano, making for some great reflection shots. 
The laguna is also full of sodium bicarbonate, which is left in odd looking deposits along the lakeshore, and the green colour is from dissolved copper minerals.From there it was about an 40 minute drive to the Chilean border which consisted of a couple buildings and a gate, sitting by themselves in the middle of the desert. Here we parted ways with our guide and the others and boarded a bus to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. I am glad we did not have to do the marathon drive (960km through the desert) back to Uyuni. Soon the bus was driving down a paved road (the first in three days) towards civilization. The road itself would be awesome for longboarding. It drops 2000 meters in about 30 or so kilometers. The only problem was the pavement was so hot, I´m sure you´d burn through your urethane in no time.
Overall, it was an amazing adventure. We were lucky and got a great driver, who was very friendly and didn´t steal our food (we had great meals everyday.) We didn´t have any flats or breakdowns or get stuck in a mud puddle in the middle of nowhere. Even Katie had to admit that she enjoyed it for the most part, although she was really looking forward to having a shower in San Pedro.
More photos here:
Album 1
Album 2
1 comment:
Las fotos de Salar de Uyuni son maravillosas, Timoteo. Parece como la luna en algunas fotos.
As for the World's Most Dangerous Road...I'm glad to know you survived it.
Ten cuidado!
Mom
L
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