Blogs from Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 21

After a tricky time in La Paz finding a bus out of the city to Uyuni (due to bus strikes), we set off on the long journey south. We arrive in Uyuni at 6am after a cold and uncomfortable bus ride. Needless to say it´s absolutely freezing when we get of the bus and set off in search of a warm room to catch up on some sleep. Finding that many places have no beds available we start panicking, our hands and feet turning to ice. So, at 7am we find ourselves banging on The Palace Hotel door until an old woman pops her head out the window and lets us in. After a few hours sleep I wake up, my feet still feeling like blocks of ice and able to see my breath in the ... read more

After an exceptionally freezing cold night bus from La Paz, we arrive at Uyuni at 6am. Its cold (very cold), so cold that the condensation on the inside of the bus windows was actually a thick layer of ice. We eventually find a hostel with room, check in and sleep til its warm enough to venture out. Uyuni is small, really small and focused on a main dusty strip with a few restaurants and shops. Being a desert town its warm and sunny in the day and freezing the moment the sun goes down, the cold was something we would have to get used to over the next four days. The reason we were her was to see the famous salt lakes and lagoons, we had been told of 4 day jeep tours you could do ... read more

In the middle of the Altiplano is the Salar de Uyuni, one of the biggest salt lakes on earth. I spent some days in the town with the same name visit the salt lake and to acclimatize to the high altitude conditions around there and the passes to come. With a group of mostly spanish speaking guys I had a guided tour of the lake. We drove in a run-down jeep across the extensive white, visited a salt producing family (Well, is more packing than producing, since the salt is already there. It just has to be dried and filled into plastik bags.), visited Isla de pescadores, a cactus island, had fun with salt crystals, and in the evening stoped for some pictures at the old train cementery. It was one of the best places I ... read more

After a harrowing eve in the cave hostel was exaserbated by equal amounts of caffinated coke as well as alcohol it was a sleepless night to be had by all. Still, we were onward by 8am. The Altiplano tours second through forth days consist of driving around in some pretty amazing scenery. Most of it is actually quite ´otherworldly´, and I imagine some great star wars type movies could be filmed here, just due to the oddness of the landscape. One of the biggest obstacles for all involved, including us, is the very high altitude. Most of the area is well above 14k feet, and the highest point we reached was above 16k feet. On humans, the most noticable effects are supreme out of breathness at the slightest exertion, and headaches. I was pretty lucky because ... read more

É uma viagem de três dias desde a cidade de San Pedro de Atacama até Uyuni. ... read more