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Published: February 12th 2008
We had arranged a four day tour to Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni and we knew this was to be one of the highlights of our travels and it definitely was that!
We took the overnight bus from La Paz to a small town called Uyuni. We decided to take the tourist bus as we were warned that the roads throughout Bolivia were not the best, only 95% are paved and some roads are known for bandits. As always though, the bus was about an hour late but we were starting to get used to this. The bus was pretty comfy but after a couple of hours on the paved road it turned into a dirt track and the vibrations and the noise through the bus kept us awake most of the night. We arrived in the small town of Uyuni about 7am and the town was filled with travellers and travel companies for the tours. So we went for some breakfast, probably the worst place we've eaten in because there was only one cafe open in the whole town. Our group was leaving at 09.45am so we had a few hours to burn so we wondered around the market and
First View of Salt Flats
It was wet season so this is why the edges of the salt flats are more like shallow lakes. Ross picked up a great hat for the tour and I bought myself some gloves because I knew it was going to be cold.
The jeep was being loaded when we got back to the office and we were almost ready to go. There were six of us in the jeep plus the cook and the driver. You don't necessarily get a tour guide on these tours, the driver just explains where you’re going and what you might see. The drivers don't speak English so we were lucky when a girl in our group was Peruvian who translated everything for us!
Train cemetery and First Sight of the Salt Lakes
Our first stop on the tour was at the train cemetery. There wasn't much to this place, it was just a big graveyard for old rusting trains. It made for a good 'playground' though, Ross was jumping about the trains like he was in a play park!
Our next stop was at the edge of the salt flats were we visited a tiny village were we met a women who showed us how they process the salt. She told us that each 1kg bag of
salt they earn just 2 pence! She worked very hard for that money.
Soon after visiting the small village we were on the edge of the salt flats. As it was rainy season the edge actually looked almost like a lake. As soon as we spotted a reasonably dry spot we stopped to take funny photos. Unfortunately it was not as dry as we had thought and the photographers (Lynsey and Andy) got soaked with salty water from lying on the ground. It was horrible as it was so salty (obviously) and our trousers and t.shirts had turned white by the end of the photo session. You see all these funny photos on the net but it is actually really difficult to take some of the shots. We got some good ones though, with alot of practice!
We moved on and kept driving over this expanse of dried salt, it looked like snow, an amazing landscape. Then we approached the Fish Island. This island is on the salt flats and it is covered in thousands of cactuses. There are some weird and wonderful shapes, it's a wonderful sight. Here we stopped for some lunch, which was great, a
huge piece of steak and salad, nothing like a picnic back home of soggy sandwiches and walkers crisps!
After lunch and a little more time trying to take funny photos it was time to move on. So we drove for a few more hours on the most uncomfortable tracks possible and we reached our shelter for the night. Although it was super basic it was actually ok. At least there was a bed and some dinner. The lights went off at 10pm and if you didn't have your torch you were screwed because all of the electricity in the village went off. It didn't matter because we were so tired after the early starts and the awful night bus that we were asleep within no time.
Red Lagoons and Rock Formations
The second day we drove for a few hours on the bumpy roads to the red lagoon. Here we saw hundreds of flamingos and some volcanoes. It's difficult to explain how amazing the landscape was because it was just so different and breathtaking. So you can look at the photos and that will give you an idea. We saw the famous tree rock which was
strange, it looked like it should've fallen over because the winds were so strong that it was difficult to even walk!
Geysers, moon like landscape and the Laguna Verde
On the last morning we woke at 3.30am and headed off in order to see the sun rise over the mountains and to see the geysers. The are at there strongest early in the morning and they are more active. I have to say at 3.30am I was not happy about having to get up but when I started to watch the sky turn from pitch black to seeing the sun rise I knew it was worth it and I will always remember that beautiful sight. When we arrived at the geysers they were bubbling away and the mud was splattering from the holes in the ground. They were like mini volcanoes. I got a bit close and got splattered with burning hot mud! It was very hot and I could feel it through my Gore-Tex trainers and my thick socks, I'm glad it didn't hit my skin. I heard it was good for your skin though! As you walked through the geysers it was like walking on
Salt flats
This was solid the moon with craters everywhere.
After the geysers we moved on to the hot springs. We weren't brave enough to strip down to our swimmies at 7am and the temp was at least -5 degrees. Ross and I just watched the others shivering away in the freezing cold. After breakfast here we moved on and it was time to see the green lake. Again it was a beautiful sight, it didn't seem too green but we were lucky because once we dropped the others off at the Chilean border we drove back past the green lake and it was stunning. It was a beautiful colour and the photos just don't do it justice!
As we had dropped the others off on the border, we were now driving all the way back to Uyuni. It would take 8 hours, it wasn't so bad as we had the car to ourselves so we had so much room which was great and we also went a different route so there was a completely different landscape to see.
Once we arrived in Uyuni we had a couple of hours to kill before our night bus back to La Paz.
Fish Island
An island on the flats covered in cactuses. The bus was quiet too because not many people go back to La Paz so all in all it was a great trip and we would advise anybody to do it but be warned that it is a bumpy ride!!
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Lynz and Ross
Lynsey & Ross
We're now home
Ok so you all know that we're back home but I really wanted to finish some of our blogs so here is the first of a few that still need to be completed. Hope you enjoy.