Tupiza - Uyuni........ up to 5000m and freezing

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We arrived in Tupiza, Bolivia with the sole purpose of booking a 3 day 4x4 tour to the salt flats of Uyuni. Tupiza itself resembles that of an old western town, minus the saloon and tumble weed. Mudbrick constructions pass as housing and shops and there is about 20 meters of actual sealed road, makes for a great town for passing through. After a miner setback on our hotels behalf, we were off for the adventure of a life time. As per usual pictures do a complete injustice of the sights and images of the Bolivan desert. First stop, a small town around 10 hours drive away, provided us with an insight into the pressure of altutide. At around 3.500 feet, the headache kicks in, followed by breathlessness and thrist. With a quick game of football (what a good idea that was!! ) we were no longer aware that it was -10 deg. After dinner an early night was in order as we had to be on the road early. The sun rose, and soon enough we were miles from anywhere and covering ground, whilst passing some spectacular scenery. The desert is like Salvador Dali painted it himself, save the dripping clock and giraffe on fire. Another long day driving and the usual lunch and al fresco toilet stops, and finally we reached the 2nd night´s accomodation.... which was to be the coldest. The food was hearty and the company enjoyable, although we were suffering from the below 20 deg temp ( do you know what its like to not feel your toes for two days?). We awakened for breakfast and made tracks and saw everything from weird shapped rocks( a result of the constant battering from the wind), to thermal activity (geysers). The next sights to our delight were deep crimson, and blue lakes, so coloured because of the chemicals that naturally occur within them. We were lucky with our timing, as we were told that the following weeks would result in the freezing of the lakes and a thick blanket of snow everywhere. On the lakes were Flamingos having a last feed before finding safety from the Bolivian winter. Our next stop for the night let us have a hot shower, awhich was a relief as after 3 days without washing (or even changing clothes for Narelle) and up to 12 hours in 4x4 it made for a rather unpleasant odor. The following day was to be our last and the one we were looking foward to from the start. The famous Salt Flats of Uyuni. Its a large salt lake(dry at present) and for as far as the eye can see, and further, all you see is thick white salt. In the middle is an Island made of coral, the left over of a once great lake. Its scattered with proud old cactii, of wich are around 15 feet tall. We arrived early and only the brave could withstand the freezing temperatures out the truck. The next and final destination was making silly perspective photos on the salt flats that proved endless fun..... paul

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Photos

On the road to Uyuni
Izabella walking through one of the little villages

On the road to Uyuni
Of course there is a Church here!

On the road to Uyuni
The local Cemetary

On the road to Uyuni
A farmed llama

On the road to Uyuni
Paul´s bathroom of the moment

On the road to Uyuni
Repair time!

On the road to Uyuni
Wild llamas - Vicuñas

On the road to Uyuni
A flat of minerals... maybe this one was the borax one... there were so many! Paul with Roger, one of our 4x4 friends!

On the road to Uyuni
Paul swimming in the thermal bath.... he was one of two in our group that braved the freezing winds to get in!

On the road to Uyuni
The geysers.... they smelt terrible (sulphur!)

On the road to Uyuni
The green lake

On the road to Uyuni
The rock that looks like a tree! this is just after thenight of -20degrees and it is still really cold!! i have three layers of jackets on here!

On the road to Uyuni
It is so cold that the colorado lake froze overnight!

On the road to Uyuni
Flamingoes!