Uyuni Salt Flats

Jan 28

The tour was to start at 10:30am and last about 5 hrs, we decided against taking the bikes onto the lake bed as it is currently covered with 4-18 inches of water depending on where you drive. This of course is not a good environment for anything that salt water will corrode so we opted for a jeep tour instead. We finally got going at 11:15 in a nice new Toyota Land Cruiser, our driver was very quiet but seemed to know the road very well as we weaved around holes and navigated the water crossings. Our first stop on the tour was at the train graveyard, just 3km from town. There is a nice collection of old steam engines and other period railway cars, unfortunately there is a lot of graffiti on the trains which takes away some of the nostalgia and replaces it with disgust. Is it really necessary to spray paint your name on the side of a train, lots of idiots think so.

 

Brenda doing some weight lifting.

 

 The next stop was a small market in the town of Cholchani for a quick look at the crafts and then off onto the salt flat. The entry to the lake was quite deep and our decision to take a jeep was reinforced as the bumper was submerged under the water, then it was a long 10kph drive out to the Hotel del Sal. This is a hotel build out of salt blocks, it is no longer used as a hotel but is still a good base for the jeep tours to gather and such, there is not much left other than a few walls and a washroom. We took off our shoes and walked barefoot in the ankle deep salt water, taking pictures and getting sun burn. There were lots of people and many jeeps buzzing around the hotel. Soon enough it was time to pack up and head back to Uyuni, the slow drive off the lake was almost painful but allowed for a good long last look. 

Back in town we were surprised to see the kid from Sucre, he was selling his maps here and when he seen us he said hello then went on with his business. We are still puzzled how a 12yr old kid gets from Sucre to Uyuni, all for the purpose of selling maps to tourists. There is not much to do in town except eat, drink and shop. We settle on eating and call it a day as tomorrow we have a long day of gravel and from what we hear, water crossings and mud.