Blogs from Salar de Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 10

20/3/12 We met our group at 7:45am in San Pedro and headed for the Bolivian border which was just an hour away. The Bolivian immigration office was at 4300m above sea level and absoluetly freezing. It was the strangest border crossing we have ever been to as it was a small hut in the middle of the desert, anyway our passports were stamped and we had breakfast with the group on our minibus. After breakfast we were split into groups of six and designated a 4x4 jeep and a driver for the rest of the tour. We were very lucky with our group as we had another English couple from London, an airhostess from Holland and a half Chilean plumber from Norway. Everyone was lovely and we all got on great, making our 3 day experience ... read more

We were picked up early from our hostel in San Pedro de Atacama armed with 10 litres of water and set off for our 3 day trip across Chile´s atacama Desert to Bolivias Salt Flats. There were 4 Jeeps in total on our trip with 6 eager tourists in each. We got lucky as our 4WD comprised of 3 couples, one from up north, one from Jersey, us and Felix our friendly (but strict) driver whom was very experienced and always sober which is exactly what you want when your driving through desert tracks and over mountains for 3 days. Our tour operator had informed us they would change our chiliean money into bolivian for the park entrance we need to pay and a bit extra for any bolivian souvenirs. Annoyingly on departure they said they ... read more

So after a couple of days in Sucre where I managed to meet up with Izzy and Siobhan and visit a local orphange I was off to Potosi. Potosi is the worlds highest city at 4070m and is famous for its silver mining history. The city was founded in 1545 following the discovery of silver in the Cerro Rico mountain. Today however the mountain has been drained of its most valuable minerals but is still heavily mined for lesser value minerals. Tourists can be taken into the working mines and watch the miners work as well as helping out with the dynamite explosions. Unfortuanltey I was really unwell with a bad cold where I arrived here and due to the conditions inside the mines was advised not to enter. Disappointing, but means there is something I ... read more

We decide as a group the night before that we would leave by 5:15AM at the latest so that we could catch the sunrise on the salt flats. For various reasons (it looked like the local guide/drivers overslept) we didn’t get going until 5:45AM. Fortunately we got to the salt flats just as the sun was rising. Formation of Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni salt flat): Scienific: This part of the Altiplano has no outlet to the sea. The salt deposits are the result of the minerals leeched from the mountains and deposited at the lowest available point. Legends(from LP): A rounded promontory juts into the Salar de Uyuni along its NW corner and on it rises Volcan Tunupa (5432m). One legend states that Atahualpa slashed the breast of a woman called Tunupa on its slopes and ... read more

Today we crossed the border into Bolivia. A short drive just to the edge of town was the Chilean border post where a short line had already formed. It seemed like about 20 minutes when it was our turn but we were informed that we left our bus without his permission (something to do with not clearing customs first) so we had to go back to the back of the line. Sounded like a big ego and a small you-know-what. Anyway, to not cause any trouble, we did and it took us over an hour in line to get our permission to leave Chile. There were quite a few transports with cars crossing the border, many from Paraguay, one even had a person in one of the cars! We were told that many stolen cars make ... read more