DAY 3:
We woke up just before sunrise and our bathing suits hung outside were frozen solid! The day started with another long drive over a desert. The colours against the blue sky looked amazing – almost like a painting.
When I asked for the name it was the Dali desert and we could see why, it looked exactly like a Dali painting! Then we got to an area with lots of different rock formations shaped by the wind. The most interesting was one shaped like a tree.
They were quite easy to climb too as there were loads of holes in them so we climes to the highest rock for a good view.
Kirstin & Cedric even tried a bit of bouldering.
We then were taken further north and higher, where there was a series of 5 lakes all with amazing views and different wildlife.
In the final lake – largo colorada – there were flamingoes. The lake was supposed to be a red colour but with the light it was more of a brown. Despite the biting cold winds we did manage to take a walk around the lakes to take in the views.
We had seen a lot but the day wasn’t over yet! We stopped near an active volcano – we could just about see the smoke – and took a walk around the amazing lava rock formations made from a previous eruption. Some even looked like waves!
Then we had a long drive up to the salt flats, and very close to the Chilean border where a railway track divided the two countries.
Our accommodation for the night was pretty special – a hotel made entirely of salt! (Apart from the bathrooms)
The tables, floors, walls, beds and chairs were all salt. It was really cool and felt a bit like we were in an igloo. Another bonus was they had hot showers! Well, one hot shower, but we arrived before other groups so could get in quick!
DAY 4: The Salt Flats!
It was a VERY early start! We were told that we could be on the salt flats for sunrise so had to get up an hour before. Although the hotel was right on the edge of the flats it still took a long time to get to the area where our driver wanted to stop. When we got out we were in awe. We couldn’t see anything but white ground, and the sun rising on the horizon. It took our breaths away!
After sunrise it still took a fair drive across the flats to get to ‘fish island’ which is a sort of fish-shaped oasis in the middle of the flats with hundreds of huge cacti. It has some height to it and we still had enough time before breakfast so we walked around the island where we were treated to a 360• view of the salt flats. It’s just incredible to believe that something so big exists. The salt flats are the biggest in the world at 10,582 kilometres square.
Arriving at Fish Island
Good friends Cedric & Julie
The island was pretty cool as well. Most of the cacti towered above us and the rocks were a sort of coral, reminding us that millions of years ago this area was underwater.
After breakfast (which involved cake) came the fun part – the perspective pictures!
With salt all the way up to the horizon and nothing in between, it is the perfect place for taking illusion pictures. At first it took a bit of practice again to get the right position and focus with the camera. We quickly learned that the simpler the prop the better. We tried with all sorts – hats, toothpaste, cards, wine bottles and even cedric’s guitar, but the easiest and best ones were with each other.
The gang taking pictures
We even managed to get a cool video of all of us in one take! (Thanks to Elvis the other guide)
Click to see Video!
It was great fun, and something we may not do again so were happy to have had a lot of time – probably more than what our guide wanted! I think we were meant to have gone to the train cemetery too but arrived at Uyuni late, so our driver just pointed in the direction it was! We decided to give it a miss.
As we had come up from Tupiza we hadn’t had the ‘pleasure’ of seeing Uyuni! Let’s just say it is pretty high on our ‘crap towns’ list. The only reason tourists go to Uyuni is to arrange a salt flats tour. There is an army base at one end of town and a road where the buses leave from at the other. In between there is a stark reality of poverty, with rubbish everywhere and a lot of families living on the street. Despite this the hostels and hotels rake it in as they are all overpriced and even charge different prices for warm and hot water! Lots of people go straight to the bus street and get an overnight bus out of Uyuni. We were not that smart and they were all full by the time we got there. We also heard that a strike was going to start the following evening so we booked the first bus out the next morning! (This was lucky, as the blockade lasted 3 weeks, preventing a lot of tourists from getting in and out of Uyuni!)
Top Tips:
1) Try to get straight out of Uyuni if possible, and if not – treat yourself to a nice hotel, although they are expensive you´ll want some comfort after the tour.
2) Taking pictures is fun but remember to take your eye away from the camera and take in the view yourself.
Axe & Kirstin's Adventures 