Salar de Uyuni Tour

We went on a 3-day land tour heading south across the spectacularly scenic and undeveloped terrain from Uyuni, in southwestern Bolivia, to the border of Chile. We traveled in a land rover with our Spanish-only speaking tour guide, two British couples, all of our luggage, at least three days worth of gas, many gallons of water, and one spare tire.

Day 1 - The first day we crossed the Salar de Uyuni, the largest dry salt lake in the world. The white salt from an old sea has dried on this high desert plateau in hexagonal shaped tiles that stretch for miles to the horizon. It is fantastic! The contrast between the bright, white salt floor and the clear blue skies is brilliant! After it rains, there is a thin layer of water resting on the salt, and the sky is reflected so clearly in the water that it is impossible to tell where the salt ends and the sky begins. We saw a man mining the salt with only a pick-axe and a shovel. The extracted salt laid in piles in the sun to dry (see picture in column on right). We stopped for lunch at Isla Pescado, a tiny island covered with rock, cacti, and other desert plants. The island looked like a landscape from a mid-western state desert, except that it was surrounded by this expansive sea of white salt.

Shortly after lunch, we got a flat tire from the sharp salt crystals, apparently a very common event. Our driver quickly changed the tire. But we were all unsure of what we were going to do if we lost another tire. We had only had the one spare.

The harsh weather on this high desert plain consists of hot, sunny days and very cold nights. Due to the extreme brightness of the sun reflecting off the salt that day, my face was burned and my eyes were red. Then the weather cooled very quickly as the sun went down. It was very cold that first night, but with our sleeping bags and the thick blankets on the beds we were okay.

That night we stayed in a hotel made of salt. The walls, tables, chairs, bed platforms, window sills, etc. were all made from salt blocks. The hotel was on the other edge of the salt flat near the small town of San Juan. It is hard to believe that a town has been developed there, considering its location in the middle of an unforgiving desert, and so far from the nearest town.

At dinner, a couple of local children stopped by the hotel with their wind instruments and drums to entertain us. The music was horrible. And the children couldn't have looked more unhappy to be there. The little girl who danced to the music was absolutely miserable and frowned at the ground all night. We felt terrible for her!

Day 2 - On the second day, the drive began across rocky, dusty, desert terrain. Within minutes the land rover was covered with dirt, and it wasn't long before the bumpy ride started to hurt my back.

That day we visited a rock desert, and a few other sites with interesting, galactic rock formations. We saw Volcan Ollague, had lunch at two small lagoons spotted with flamingoes, and visited the Arbol de Piedra, a tree of rock (see picture in column on right).

That night we stayed in a place on Laguna Colorado, a lake fascinating for its red-algae colored waters.

We had climbed in altitude, and by late afternoon it was miserable cold outside and my back hurt from the long, bumpy ride. So while the others went on a walk down to the lake side, I curled up in my sleeping bag and tried to stay warm. Our hotel that night was terrible. It was a building in the middle of nowhere with only a few large rooms and one bathroom. Our room had nothing except six cheap metal dorm beds, and the bathroom was so filthy it was tolerable only out of necessity. It was considerably colder than the previous night and without any heat in the building I couldn't get warm enough. At this point, I was just ready for this tour to be over. That was when we were informed that we needed to be up by 4:30 the next morning to be on the road by 5:00.

Day 3 - The sun had not risen before we left this morning. And not more than 30 minutes down the road the truck broke down. At first I thought another tire had gone out. But, actually, the front suspension had cracked and the front of the truck was laying on the front wheels. This surely would have been cause to call a tow truck and find another form of transportation in our country, but in Bolivia they don't have such resources.

We all piled out of the truck. It was even more miserable cold that morning as the sun was just beginning to rise. In fact, I don't think I have even been so cold in my life. And seeing the state the vehicle was in, I figured warmth of any kind was nowhere in sight.

But our driver was more resourceful than I could have imagined. He used rocks and a steel rod to jack up the truck and rested it on a propane tank. Then he used the steel rod to prop up the truck in place of the suspension. It was amazing. Albeit at a much slower speed, we were on the road again in under half an hour.

Our first stop that morning was the geysers at Sol de Manana. There the steam vents vented steam into the cold morning air. And the ground was covered with bubbling hot pools of mud. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was rising over the red hills and the snow covered mountains in the distance.

We had breakfast that morning near several natural thermal pools. It was still freezing outside so I opted out. But the rest of my crazy group changed into their bathing suits and jumped in the water. The water was very warm, but then they had to get out!

The last stop on our tour that morning was Laguna Verde, a lake of vivid jade green color set against the backdrop of two volcanoes.

The scenery along this tour really was spectacular. And so diverse. From flat white salt plains, and desert islands, to rocky, red mountains and snow-covered volcanoes. And the multi-colored lakes! Words cannot suffice to describe the awesome scenery.

At the end of the tour we were dropped off at the border to Chile. Before we were allowed to cross from Bolivia into Chile, we had to wipe down the bottom of our shoes!