Uyuni

Uyuni is a small, wind-swept ghost town whose main economy is now catering to tourists wanting to visit the Salt Flats and surrounding areas. Because of this, it only took all of one hour, and one mediocre cappuccino, to find a driver to take us to the Salt Flats for our three day tour.

Also in our jeep were four folks from England; Alex (30), Charles (26), Jemma (23) and Hannah (23). Jemma and Hannah had graduated from university together and were travelling around South America for a month or so. Charles and Alex met a week prior during their own independent travels. The four of them met at a hostel, where the girls convinced the guys to join them on the Salt Flat tour. For lack of a better description,, I found the four of them intellectually unstimulating. This resulted in Marcia and I having

Rompin' in the train graveyard

delightful and thought-provoking conversations from the very back seat of the jeep for three whole days.

Our trip started off visiting a train cemetery just outside the town of Uyuni, a glorified playground of old rusted train cars. Let's just say they were in need of a very experienced mechanic! My dad and my old FEI co-workers would have definitely nerded out here for the day! However, my favorite part of the day hands down was exploring Salar de Uyuni. I remember seeing photos of the vast polygon shaped patterns of the salt flats in National Geographic when I was a little kid. Seeing it with my own two eyes

Loving the Salt Flats!

was just as unreal as the pictures made it seem. It took hours to drive across the salt flat, and it began to sink in how vast and unique this place really was. I was amazed at how harsh it seemed, despite its beauty. The wind, the cold, the endless plain of pure salt made for quite the dehydrating and humbling experience.
That night, we stayed in a hostel made out of salt blocks on the outskirts of the salar. It was freezing cold, but that didn't deter Marcia and I from taking in the gorgeous night sky. It was a new moon, which made for brilliant star gazing to the very edge of the horizon line. The shooting stars, and the wishes I made to go with, were truly the cherry on top of an already magical day.

Because you have to do the cool shots too...

The next day we were up before the sun, ready for a full day of exploring cool rock formations and lagunas on our drive down south. Most of the lakes that we came across on our way to the National Reserve Eduardo Avaroa were inhabited by flocks of flamingos, which were so so so cool to see. Other than the Galapagos earlier on in my travels, I had only previously seen flamingos in the zoo. And there I was, looking at dozens of these majestic birds, complemented by a beautiful blue

sky and snow capped volcanoes in every direction.

Flamingos, Lagunas, and Volcanoes - Oh My!

At sunset, we entered the National Reserve Eduardo Avaroa which protects many endangered species that live in the salt flats. The landscapes that we saw along the drive changed drastically, and each one resembled a moonscape. In fact, the whole tour felt as if we were on another planet. This place is unreal!!!! We gained some serious altitude during the day and were in a snowstorm by late afternoon. brrrrr.....and to think that I am missing my Portland summer! It was at this point that I was thankful for our driver, Freddie, as we towed other 4WD vehicles that got stuck in the snow. He was awesome! The chill sunk into our bones as the sun went down, but hardly took away from enjoying the incredible landscapes we were in. Picture this: herds of vicunas roaming the vast plains of the reserve, snow capped volcanoes in the distance, an orange sunset, and patches of white snow all around. The days go by so fast here!

We woke up long before sunrise on our third and last day of our excursion. We started the day cuddling

Warming our hands over the hot springs

mugs of hot beverages and worked up excitement for geysers and hot springs. Exploring the geysers was wonderful, as the hot steam was a nice reprieve from the teeth chattering and frigid air. This is no Yellowstone, folks. You can walk right up to the geysers and stand over bubbling stews of scalding mud. It did get a little sketchy at times when you would be looking over a boiling pit and then start to feel the ground give out beneath you. I think I understand why Yellowstone has everything roped off now.......

Later on in the day, we went to some hot springs that seemed randomly placed in the reserve. It was

awful getting in to just a swimsuit in the freezing cold. I hurriedly tip-toed across a sheet of ice to the

Rompin' in the Moonscape

hotspring, and luxuriated in the steaming sulphury bath of awesome! An hour later, we were back in the 4WD, making good time and tracks back to Uyuni. To the east of Salar de Uyuni on our way to the Dessert of Salvador Dali, there were some really cool rock formations that we had the chance to explore. I have never been to Arches or Moab, but this area is what I imagine it would be like. Brilliant red rocks -which were a blast to climb - completed the desert scene.

All too quickly, we were back in Uyuni, hurriedly repacking our bags, saying the all too common goodbyes, and catching the night bus for an 11 hour bumpy ride back to La Paz. Zzzzzzzzz.