The one with the mind-blowing Salt Flats of Uyuni!

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We arrived at the Bolivian border at a fresh and chilly 7am on the 31st March... as soon as we stepped off the bus we ripped open our bags to throw on several more layers, socks and shoes... and the cold still shocked us into quivering morning zombies. With the look of startled rabbits we got our Argentinian exit stamps and had the joy of a brand new Bolivian stamp!

Bolivia.... we had made it! But quickly got caught up in the Bolivian Border chaos of how to get to the next destination- Villazon was no place to hang around. Tessa changed up her last Peso's which magically came to the exact amount of money needed for the four of us to get onto a bus to Uyuni! 'Perfect' we thought and so hurried around getting the tickets, being hurried onto the bus and trying to get comfy in this run down vehicle. (Bye Bye luxury Argentinian buses!) Only once sat and breathing properly again did we realise our ridiculous situation; Here we were off on a nine hour journey to Uyuni, in a country we were new too, our spanish still pretty basic with no money in our pockets, no food and about 250ml of water between us!! What were we thinking, or more likely what weren't we thinking? Thankfully the scenery enabled me to take my mind off the situation for periods of time- the scenry vast and bland, desolate with red rocks to decorate. A few Llamas strolled past the noise of our bus, wild guines pigs scurried for coverm the change from Argentina was great and beautiful. I sat ignoring the heat, the hunger and the thirst and allowed myself to melt into our new reality. Here I was, a new land, a new culture, indigenous people, traditional attire, small mud huts- true travelling! The people here so different to Argentines, to Brazilians... their faces dark, creased and crinkled, rosey red cheeks, short and rounded. the women wear big bright and sometimes glitzy skirts puffed up with netting, big woolley knits, their long black hair in two neat plaits, beaded tassles decorate the ends, on their heads sit an array of hats.... bowler, straw, visers, top hats. Its a wonderful sight and one I'm still unaware of why they wear such treats.

We arrived in Uyuni around 5pm spitting feathers, stomachs cramping up in anger, tired and delirious. Our first evening spent re-fuelling everything- wallets, tummies and then finally the sleep banks!

Our first day of Uyuni was a chilled one, still getting over the long haul of travelling to get there we mooched around the markets, ate, hydrated and booked ourselves of the adventure that everyone comes here solely for Salar de Uyuni, the Salt Flats! A three day tour around this most amazing landscape.... where you're sent back in time to the jurassic era, to where humans are yet to fully penatrate their mark.

We left Uyuni on the Friday in our jeep along with a french couple and our small Bolivian driver Vicktor... he didn't speak a word of English, thankfully Tessa and the French couple were able to translate. Vicktor was a small Bolivian man... hard to say how old, as Bolivians have such weathered faces, the sotries ooze out of the deep set creases, constantly chewing on Coca leaves and drinking on the job.... about a year ago the Bolivian Government tried to introduce a drink driving ban, the result... the entire country went on strike for three solid days!! So drinking whilst behind the wheel, yep still legal! Our first stop was the train cemetary, a graveyard for all the old engines and carriages that were once used on this busy line. Now an adults payground of rusty machinery to clamber and climb on. We crawled into engines, stood on ledges, posed on cyclinders amnd begin the epic amount of photos to be taken that weekend. Several other jeeps had stopped, so we weren't alone in the discovery but the stillness and silence in the air gave this rusty plot a lonely and desolate feel. The train line use to connect the country to Chile and Argentina making the town a symbol of Bolivia's mondernity and industrial practises. The hub of it's trade. Now the train line sits unused, the town quiet... had it not been for the tourisn for the salt flats it would of turned into a ghost town mimicking the train graveyard. Back in the jeep we were driven to the Salt flats, we could see the vast white land begin to stretch out before us, a mirage of surreal landscape. The hills, mountains, volcanoes seemed to float in the air above a glimmering sea. Llamas, alpaca's and quinoa's dotted the land either side of the road.... some with colourful tassles in their ears, others bemused by the convoy of traffic. After Lunch we were allowed to finally set foot upon the salt.... our mouths dropped with amazement of the vastness of this white land. The bright white salt stretched out to the horizon, the sun reflected off dazzling our eyes. The salt flats cover 12000km of land, making it the largest salt flat in the world. Between December and April it is covered in water, creating mirrors and and magical reflections. It's crazy to think this was once all under water, snd not just water but the sea! This area is now landlocked by so mnay other countries - the Andes creating a wall to block water in, which then in turn evaporated to leave a thick layer of slat, 7m to be precise. The uppermost layer consisting of the thick crust of salt sits above a layer of water still. We spent the afternoon getting snap happy, taking trick photography, illusions of distance and size. Fun was had by all.... other groups even had guys getting naked for the photos, must be the salt air! In the middle of the flats sits a large island covered in cacti... Isla de los Pescadores, which is in fact a large coral reef! We walked on up to the top to admire the panoramic 360 degree views of pure whiteness, the mountains decorating the horizon, the sun reflecting off of everything.... the perfect back drop. When it was time for the sun to dip we drove onto the salt flats again to watch the big ball of fire drop below the mountains, we sat admiring the sky as it changed colour. The moment almost too much to take in at the time, but looking back at the photos and reviewing the memories... it was a magical and epic moment. Surrounded by a ground of bright white salt, pink, purple skies, mountains breaking the two up. Here we were 3653m above sea level and yet this surreal landscape, harsh and inhospitable was once the sea itself! The sun set leaving a misty haze, the sky merged with the ground.... you couldn't tell where the horizon lay, where the sky began and the land ended.... it just all merged into one canvas, for what seemed to go on for an eternity. A magical end to a brilliant day.

Our second day was an early start as we chased the night away to watch the sunrise by the mud volcanoe... unfortunately the sun was too fast for us and we watched most of it through the jeep window. But it was beautiful all the same and we sat watching this amazing jurassic landscape emerge infront of us, like the sun was uncloaking a long lost world. We stopped to see the mud volcanoe in all it-s glory... it even smoked a little to remind us that it was still active, still alive and unpredictable. Vicktor the driver won me over by producing chocolate for a morning brekkie snack.... delicious. From there we drove on through the prehistoric setting and went to various lagoons to ogle at the beautiful flamingoes, the still water and the backdrop. Such elegant birds, they glide along, dip their heads slowly, balance gracefully on one leg.... We sat by one of the lagoons for breakfast, a wonderfully refreshing setting. The rest of the day was spent in and out of the jeep, admiring the changing views from Lagoons to the dali dessert, to strangely shaped rocks to climb on, to waiting for the tyre to be changed, geysers where the mud bubbled at 220 degrees, hitting an altitude of 5000m, Laguna verde and aquamarine lake where you could see Argentina and Chile.... we ended the day sat in a hot pool that overlooked one of the Lakes. It was cold, the sun was setting and yet we were sat snug in a natural hot bath of 30 degrees at 4200m above sea level watching the world darken around us at the end of another wonderful day. A starry journey home brought on the yawns and sleep.

Our final day was spent mainly in the jeep, admiring the views through the windows... stopping at various points for lunch and photos. After a broken nights sleep with stomach pains and altitude problems none of us complained with a lazy day.... unfortunately the jeep didn-t feel too well either as the exhaust fell off and another flat tyre... but we made it back. Tired and sleepy. We shared a pizza with two hilarious aussie boys and a fellow brit that evening and went to sleep finally, stitches from laughing and a head full of happy memories!

Love to one and all!

Lessons Learnt:
Quinoa may look like a beautiful animal.... but eating is another thing. Not my cup of tea!
Avoid meats on trips like these!
The world is amazing place that never ceases to suprise.
Don-t run up hills at high altitude!

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