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Published: October 11th 2010
We were slightly apprehensive before doing the salt flat tour. As those of you who have been here will know there are all sorts of horror stories about bad driving, cars breaking down and freezing temperatures. We listened carefully to the advice we were given by other travellers and researched tour companies to find a tour we trusted. And we had a great time!
Day 1: On the first day, after meeting our group (who were great fun), and one of the best breakfasts we have had on the continent we crossed the border into Bolivia where we were met by our driver and guide Pedro. We all liked him straight away. He had a wealth of a information on the area and obviously loved sharing his country with us. He had even bought coca leaves to make tea for anyone who got altitude sickness. We spent the morning visiting flamingo filled lagoons and volcanoes with bubbling mud pools and smelly geysers. It was amazing but freezing.. until we got to bathe in the thermal springs. Sitting in a 38 degree pool when it was so cold in the valley was fantastic... But getting out was a testing experience!
We spent the night in a very basic hostel at 4300m above sea level. It was extremely cold once the sun set, however we made a fire and played cards to take our mind off of it until it was a reasonable time to tuck up in bed fully clothed under 4 blankets!
Day 2: The next day we visited 'el arbol de roca' a stone shaped like a tree and then it was on to more lagoons and masses of more flamingos. We ended the day at the Salt Hostel. The building and furnishings are made of blocks of salt. This hostel was a little less basic, with hot showers on tap (sorry, terrible pun), all be it for a small charge!
Day 3: We woke before the crack of dawn (literally it was 4:45) to head out on to the salt flats and watch the sun rise. We were not impressed with our travel colleagues for deciding this was a good idea when the alarm went off! The word cold does not begin to describe the temperature as we waited at 3600m for the sun to rise. However the numb fingers and toes worth it and we
were all pleased that we'd dragged ourselves out of bed at such an unearthly hour after all. Seeing the sunrise over the brilliant white salt flats is quite a memory.
We headed next to Isla de pescado an island covered in cacti in the middle of the salar. We climbed to the top to look out in all directions at the wide expanse.
After a long day We headed to Uyuni to finish our tour. We all said goodbye to Pedro as he dropped us off at a hostel and then went to end the day by going out for a drink with our fellow tourees, to celebrate surviving the cold and the return to civilisation. (those of you who have been to Uyuni will understand the irony here!).
We had a great time and would do it all again. It's been a real highlight!
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Pete Cherry
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Incredible photos guys!