White white white

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After almost 20 hours on buses we got to La Paz the (unofficial) capital of Bolivia, and the highest (unofficial) capital in the world. (Questions about unofficiality to be directed to www.wikipedia.org)

We left Cusco at 10pm and were supposed to arrive here at 9AM, but instead got here at 530PM. We did cross a time zone and all, so I guess you have to excuse the Peruvian/Bolivian bus companies.

Anyway La Paz is a pretty cool city, though very hilly which is not good for a fat, lazy asthma sufferer like me. Especially by night, leaving the city looking at the hills with the lights its gorgeous! We headed down to Uyuni on the night bus the same day though, so as to not waste time.

Uyuni Day 1:

Got here about 7AM after the bumpiest bus ride ever. Turns out that there isnt a road to Uyuni from La Paz, you just sort of head in the general direction and hope for the best. GPS probably works, but somehow I´m not sure Todo Turismo (our bus operator) invested in one..

We got to Uyuni, and after purchasing some gloves etc, to ensure body parts didnt freeze and fall off in the Salar de Uyuni (Salt flats of Uyuni) we met our gang - Fabrizio & Eliza (Italians) and Marie and Sebastian (French). The former were brother and sister and so were having major fights, but we just assumed that they were a grumpy couple until I screwed up the courage to ask, and then the light dawned.

The salt flats are..well, white. Apparently (and I only found this out later) they were caused by sea water flowing down a river from Lake Titicaca, the massive lake that straddles the Peru-Bolivia border. The lake was caused by sea water getting trapped inland, when the Andes mountain range was formed, so it was a salty lake, until all the salt decided to push off south to Bolivia. Now its a freshwater lake (as you must have guessed)

Anyway so the 6 of us (four plus me and Jess) and our driver Hugo (pronounced Ugo) and our cook Marta piled into our 4x4 and headed off to the salt flats. The first stop on the way was a train graveyard, which was pretty erie, until all the tourists arrived.

We then headed into the salt flat proper, to a salt making place and a salt museum (both a bit crap, until I was allowed to start kicking salt around to break it down). After that it was a nice long drive to Isla Incahausi or Isla Pescado (I´m not sure whether these are the same or not but whatever), the famous Fish Island in the middle of the whiteness.

The island is covered with cactii which are abnormally tall and a bit creepily shaped. Some look like faces, others look like theyre giving you the finger, its a variety to satisfy all tastes. After a gruelling climb to the top of the rocks on the island (remember this place is bloody high, about 3.5 km above sea level) we climbed straight back down. Bit silly I know, especially because the view doesnt really change, its just white, but you get to see all the funky cactii.

We then took some silly pictures on the salt flats. And when I say silly I mean COOL.

Lunch was pretty good, and then we headed off to San Juan (a nearby town) to spend the night in our Salt Hotel. This edificio (or building, see I speak Spanish!) was very funky. Everything was made of salt, including the beds, though the shower was hot (which was lovely, after days of dirtiness).

We then indulged ourselves in a game of poker, and then switched over to a brilliant game with dice called Tokyo. I cant really explain it, but will be glad to teach it to people at some point in life. A few beers later, we hit the sack. Or the salt, whichever you prefer.

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Photos

How funky is this eh?
No time to upload all pics, so will leave you with these choice images for the moment.

A bent head
No time to upload all pics, so will leave you with these choice images for the moment.

See something a little too coincidental here?
1203 anos, or years old, and 12.03 metres.....someone made a mistake, or else this cactus is just really really good at math

The cactus island
with the Fuck you cactus I found...gives everyone the finger

Our first attempt at a cool perspective picture
Didnt work since the camera was set on timer, and I sort of estimated where to hold my hand. :-)

It supposed to look cool when you lie on the ground
but I dont really think it does!