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Published: January 24th 2006
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Noel at The Salar De Uyuni On Wednesday morning at 8am Noel, the Irish lads and I commenced our three day trip into Bolivia, via the Southwestern Circuit. The trip included transport, all food and 2 nights accomodation. We checked out of Chile in San Pedro and then drove through the desert for an hour until we got to the Bolivian customs office. (Which country we were officialy in for the hour between checking out of Chile and into Bolivia we do not know!) The scenery was out of this world with the Andes and several volcanoes looming oin the distance. Once in Bolivia we had a simple breakfast of bread and Jam and then transferred our luggage from a minibus onto a 4X4. In our car with us were the Irish lads, a french couple and our Bolivian driver/chef/guide Severano.
We continued our journey through the desert until we got to Laguna Blanca - which perfectly reflected the scenery behind it like a mirror. Unfortunately our photos do not do any of this tour justice; they fail to pick up the intensely stunning coulour in detail. From here we travelled to Termas de Polques (hot springs) where we bathed in 30 degree water.
Our
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Tas at The Salar De Uyuni next stop was at Sol de Manana Geyser Basin. Here the geysers and bubbling mud pots were very different to Tatio Geysers. There were more bubbling mud pots and one incredibly high and deafeningly loud steam geyser. While this geyser field was by no means as extensive as El Ttatio it somehow seemed more wild or violent even. Again there were no safety controls or walkways.
Next stop was at our first nights accomodaton for lunch at a refugio in a national park at Laguna Colorada. We were warned that refugios are very basic accomodation - they were not lying. Basic as in no running water half the time ( I don´t need to mention the state of the toilets) and no showers. The six of us were in 1 dorm together with single beds that had seen better days, the whole place felt dirty.
After lunch we went for a better look at Laguna Colorado - so called because it is red in colour. This is due to the algae and plankton that thrive in the mineral rich water. Once again it has to be seen to be believed. This spectacular view was improved even more so
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Isla Del Pescadores by a storm that was kicking off in the distance, the contrast of the red lake and the dark sky was awesome. It felt like we were on another planet. Flamingoes filled the Laguna, we watched completely mesmerised.
Back at the refugio that night dinner was pretty yack, luckily the refugio had a shop selling beer and we had brought with us 2 bottles of pisco. The six of us stayed up drinking and playing cards occasionally joined by our driver (meaning we were translating the rules in French, Spanish and English).
After a pretty rotten nights sleep (due to the high altitude causing us to wake up in the night gasping for breath) we were up early at 6.30 and on the road by 8am.
Our first stop was at the much photographed Arbol De Piedra (stone tree) which has been shaped purely by the wind. We then continued to Laguna Verde which is yet another stunning laguna. The blue green colour comes from high concentrations of lead, sulphur, arsenic and calcium. From here we went to see another two lagunas, again they were stunning. It is easy to become complacent especially because we had seen
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Laguna Colorada so much natural wonder in the last week. Some of our fellow travellers were suffering from "not another Laguna" syndrome. Personally I loved every minute of it and could have set up a tent and stayed for months.
To get to our second nights accomodation we had a very long and bumpy ride through the desert. For the first two hours we crossed bumpy rocks and saw little sign of life. This was followed by two hours of desert with lots of Llamas, vicunas, lizards and donkeys. By mid afternoon we were driving through a storm which made our route even more difficult as we kept having to avoid deep puddles. The scenery was amazing!
At 4.30pm we arrived ast our accomodation the Salt Hotel - thus called as it is made from salt bricks. Inside everything is also made of salt - the floor, the beds, the chairs, the tables....(Noel tested by lcking some of the walls!) It was a bit drafty but a wonderful experience. We also got a hot shower which was very welcome by this time.
The Salt Hotel is located on the edgeof the Salar de Uyuni - the world´s largest Salt
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Laguna Blanca Flat (12106 sq km). The next morning we went to cross it in the 4x4. Intially it was pouring with rain and so our driver was reluctant to cross it. However conditions soon improved and a couple of hours later the sky was blue but there was still a little water on the surface.
This causes the surface to perfectly reflect the clouds and the horizon completely disappears.
This was truly the most beautiful and amzaing thing I have EVER seen in my life. As you drive along in the 4x4 you feel like you are flying through the clouds. We then drove to the Isla de Los Pescadores, which is a pretty island in the middle of the Salar covered in cactus and surrounded by whote hexagonal salt tiles. From here we took loads of great photos of both the island and the salar and had lunch.
Our drive back after lunch was both excilerating and sad at the same time. I didn´t want the stunning beautiful scenary to end. I could have stayed for hours. I seriously urge anyone who ever gets the opportunity to go to this Salar (especially in the rainy season), you
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Laguna Verde cannot fail to be gobsmacked.
That evening our tour ended in Uyuni. After checking into a hostel Noel, the Irish lads and I went out for a pizza (the Bolivians are not known for their food!). Four hours later we ended up in a Bolivian nightclub where the DJ assured me that they do not usually let tourists in (but he liked the colour of my hair!) - it was a real laugh. We were all very popular on the dancefloor! When Bolivians drink they do it to get drunk - there seems to be no such thing as a casual pint!
The next morning we said goodbye to the Irish lads (they were travelling on to do the Inca trail via La Paz) and boarded a bus to Potosi.
My first impressions of Bolivia is that is it a very intriguing country. There is much natural beauty but a lot of poverty. Litter lines many of the the streets as do the elderly and unemployed. As there is no welfare system many take to the streets to beg. For a country that has been so rich in minerals this is a real shame. (So much silver
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Us at The Salar De Uyuni was found here that the Spanish boasted they could build a bridge from here to Spain and still have enough silver to carry across it.)
On the whole Bolivians seem to be very warm and welcoming and I am looking forward to seeing more of the country.
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Kathryn
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great pics
just wanted to say i think the pics do make it look amazing - maybe not as impressive as seeing it yourself but certainly to us back in dark cold london !