Salar de Uyuni: Into the wild.

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¨High altitude lagoons tinged crimson and turquoise, simmering geysers, flamingos in flight and Uyuni´s blinding salt flats are a dreamy and extreme three-day jeep journey from San Pedro¨. Understandably, the guidebook´s description of the Salar de Uyuni trip had caught our eye from the beginning, and now that we were finally standing on the verge of it, we had a powerful sense that the real adventure was about to begin. Ahead of us lay all of the marvels listed above, and then Bolivia, the poorest country on the continent and a world away from our cosy vacationing in Chile and Argentina. We couldn´t wait.

We turned up early in the morning at our tour agency in San Pedro to take a minibus that would bring us to the Bolivian border, and to the Land Rovers that would be our homes for the next 3 or 4 days. Imagine our surprise as we turned up to find the same group of lads from our geyser tour already waiting in line at the same agency! Small world. After about an hour we arrived at the Chile/Bolivia border, and immediately the gulf between the two countries was evident, as the pristine passport control complexes we had become used to during our travels elsewhere on the continent were replaced with a tiny ramshakle hut, with the words ¨Migración Bolivia¨ hastily scrawled on the side in flaking paint. We paused for breakfast and some coca tea (border proceedings occur at well over 4000m!) and organised ourselves into groups for the jeeps. Katie, Audrey and I were joined by three of the boys, Adam, Tom and Mark, whilst the others joined two French girls in the second jeep. After some quick photo opportunities (we were incredibly lucky to see a rare Andean fox) we hopped into our cramped 4x4s and set off to visit several altiplano lagoons in the area. From the outset, the scenery was simply stunning, and it only got better as we progressed into more remote territory. We really were in the midst of a vacant wilderness, with enormous peaks towering above us in all directions, and almost no sign of plant or animal life. The sheer scale of the desolation was amongst one of the most haunting and impressive sights I have ever laid eyes on. Glaciers peeked out from behind looming, craggy tors, and boundless boulder fields seemed to stretch on forever, with nothing but our gathering dust trail to disturb their peaceful slumber.

Our first day included stops at Laguna Verde, a splendid aquamarine lake set at the foot of the towering 5930m Volcán Licancabur, a quick dip in some thermal springs sprouting 30 degree sulfurous water, and then on to the 4950m high geyser basin, where plumes of smoke rise above the bubbling caldrons of spring water and mud volcanoes. That afternoon we arrived at our accomodation for the night, a rather uninspiring, dilapidated construction claiming to be a hotel, where we were served hot tea and biscuits to combat the onsetting evening chill. That night, we were warned, outside temperatures would plummet to a terrifying -20 degrees, whilst inside they would get as low as -5 or -6. Sleeping bags were available for rent, a service of which I readily availed, as well as preparing every item of warm clothing in my possession for an uncomfortable night. As night came, we sat beside a small oven fire and played cards with our group whilst we waited for dinner. Unfortunately, Katie succumbed to the effects of altitude, and had to spend the majority of the evening in bed. I managed at least to bring her some hot soup, and having spoonfed her the first few mouthfuls, she recovered enough strength to join us outside as we gazed in wonder at the brightening night sky. A moonless, cloudless night at high altitude, so far from civilization in any direction, made for perhaps the most spectacular night sky that I have ever witnessed. Long after the others had been forced inside by the cold, Katie and I huddled together by the porch and drank it all in, hoping to see a shooting star. We were not to be disappointed, as during our 15 minute vigil, at least 4 or 5 lit up the sky above us. It was simply breathtaking.

The night passed without too much discomfort, and the following day we set off for Laguna Colorada, a strikingly adobe-red lake frequented by large population of andean flamingos. Unfortunately, during the winter months large portions of the lake freeze, driving the flamingoes lower in search of readily accessible food, and as a result the resident population was much depleted. Strangely, there were dozens of dead birds scattered around the fringes of the lake, and Joe found a completely severed flamingo head which he pocketed for subsequent use as a photo prop on the Salar! The afternoon´s drive took us through yet more boulder fields with all manner of weird and wonderful rock formations, and on to the tiny mountain village of San José. As we arrived the whole town was out on the football field watching a girls´ football match, and to a man they waved and nodded greetings as we drove by in our jeep. That night we were staying in a salt hotel: an entire complex, complete with a dozen guest bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen and eating area, all made entirely out of salt! It really was an incredible feat of engineering, although we all made sure to eat and drink with extreme caution for fear of spilling something and dissolving the kitchen table! Just before dinner, I went out with the boys to the local village pub and had a couple of beers, which was good fun, but sadly not full of rowdy locals with whom we had hoped to share a pint or three. After dinner, we sat up playing cards and drinking until the early morning (Katie included this time!) until we were forced into bed at the behest of our guides who were concerned about our readiness for an early start in the morning!

The final day was spent visiting the Salar itself: a vast shimmering expanse of crystalised salt that is supposedly the remnant of a prehistoric salt lake which covered most of southern Bolivia. And at an amazing 12,000 sq km, it is not exactly a small remnant! The sheer size of the white blanket creates an incredible optical illusion, allowing for some pretty unusual and hilarious photos, the evidence of which you can see on my facebook page! We spent around 2 hours simply trying to get the best photographs, before heading on to a local artesan town for lunch and some shopping. That afternoon, as we headed towards our final destination of Uyuni, we made a short detour to a train graveyard just outside the town. Containing the remnants of dozens of old steam trains and their carriges, it made for a great few hours of climbing and posing for photographs. What´s more, we were lucky enough to bump into a film crew making a music video for a local folk group, who invited us to be in the video! So there´s my claim to Bolivian fame, although I´ve yet to find it on youtube! Uyuni itself is an uninspiring place, so once we had arrived and grabbed a bite to eat, we set about booking a bus to leave that same evening to Potosí with the boys and one of the two French girls, Marion. Unfortunately Audrey had a flight out of Santiago awaiting her the same week, and so we had to say our goodbyes as she returned to San Pedro with the jeeps. Katie took it quite hard, as the two of them had formed quite a bond over the week we had been together. But hey, that´s why they invented facebook, right?

Altogether the trip more than lived up to Lonely Planet´s estimation, and what´s more, our initial pre-sentiment had been entirely correct: it was indeed to be the start of the most thrilling, varied and rewarding section of our trip so far, as we pressed on into the heart of Bolivia.

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