playing with dead trains After spending over a month in the jungle in Villa Tunari, we decided we were in need of a few days of civilization. A couple bumpy bus rides later we found ourselves in Sucre, a beautiful, clean and relatively quiet city (such a nice change after nasty La Paz) with a bunch of history we weren’t really interested in. Our main achievements in Sucre were eating some good food (so nice to have options again!), loitering at a number of cafés to catch up on our blogging, and finding a laundromat with hot water so we could sterilize our mold encrusted jungle clothes. Sucre treated us nicely, but just the same we were soon ready to get back on the road and make our way down to Uyuni to check out the much-anticipated salt flats.
By far the most visited tourist attraction in Bolivia, the salar de Uyuni is salty, flat and incredibly huge, covering over ten thousand square kilometers. We caught an overnight bus to Uyuni and sought out a tour – booking ahead is for chumps. There are a ridiculous number of companies that offer identical tour packages for the salt flats, making it a complete crapshoot when deciding which to go with. After speaking with a few different agents and hearing the exact same description but with wildly varying prices, we decided to go with the second-cheapest and most racially-appealing option, World White Tours. The next morning we met our driver Pepe (who we were ensured was not a drunk) and the rest of our group, consisting of Luiz and Renata from Brazil, Casey from the U S of A and Gabriella from Israel (and a bunch of other places) and headed out of town.
By far the most visited tourist attraction in Bolivia, the salar de Uyuni is salty, flat and incredibly huge, covering over ten thousand square kilometers. We caught an overnight bus to Uyuni and sought out a tour – booking ahead is for chumps. There are a ridiculous number of companies that offer identical tour packages for the salt flats, making it a complete crapshoot when deciding which to go with. After speaking with a few different agents and hearing the exact same description but with wildly varying prices, we decided to go with the second-cheapest and most racially-appealing option, World White Tours. The next morning we met our driver Pepe (who we were ensured was not a drunk) and the rest of our group, consisting of Luiz and Renata from Brazil, Casey from the U S of A and Gabriella from Israel (and a bunch of other places) and headed out of town.
salt crack geometry
Our first stop just outside of town was the "train graveyard" where a bunch of old trains have been left to rot. I’m not sure why they’ve been left there, but it’s a cool place to take some pictures with rusty, graffiti-covered trains. Somewhere in the mix was the very first locomotive in Bolivia… kinda cool, I guess. The real highlight of the first day was, of course, the giant frickin’ salt flat. It’s really, really big! Once we’d driven far enough onto it, it was pretty unreal – nothing but flat, white, salty crust almost as far as you could see. If you’re lucky enough to visit during the wetter season the salar becomes a massive mirror, causing the sky to blend in with the ground making for an incredibly confusing horizon. It was in a dry mood for us, with the exposed salty crust forming hexagonal crystals into the distance. There was the odd spot where the crust had broken and the salty brine was visible underneath. To me it felt a lot like driving on a huge, frozen Lake Superior – the chilly air was about right, too! We stopped for lunch at Incahuasi Island, a lump of land covered in thousands of fuzzy cacti, where we made an attempt at some funky perspective photos (all the cool kids were doing it). Finally, after a long day of salty driving, we left the salt flats and pulled up to our cozy little salt hotel (yes, a hotel made of salt) where we were treated to a salty dinner and then rested our salty heads.
salty flamingos The second day took us through a variety of incredible landscapes, including a vast Martian desert, distant snow-capped volcanoes, and colourful, flamingo-filled lakes. The scenery was beautiful and we wished we’d visited on our own so we could take our time and experience it a little more. As it was, though, most of the day was spent driving, with only a few ten or fifteen minute breaks thrown in allowing for a quick walk and a bunch of photos. I’m not sure what the big rush was, either, since we pulled up to our non-salt hostel around 4pm and then had nothing to do. Bah.
the salty family Luckily, our group was fun and it quickly turned into a little family road trip, complete with classic rock sing-alongs and poorly timed potty breaks. Casey and Gabriella did a good job DJ-ing, saving us all from the horrible mix-CDs Pepe had brought along. Although Luiz and Renata spoke little English, we were able to communicate surprisingly well with them speaking Portuguese and us speaking Spanish, who knew they were so similar? We weren’t really sure what to make of Pepe to begin with, however, since the first few times we tried to talk to him he basically ignored us. He also dozed off a couple times while driving on the salt flat and, although it’s huge and empty and flat, I don’t think that’s okay. On the second day, though, we finally realized that Pepe had a sense of humour, albeit a strange one. While coming up on an unmistakably red lake on the second day, for example, one of us asked Pepe why it was red. Instead of providing us with an explanation or admitting he didn’t know, Pepe simply replied, “it’s not” and kept right on driving. Oh, Pepe…
putrid geyser fumes! On our third and final day we got a painfully early start to catch the sunrise over a steamy, geyser-laden mountainscape, pretty spectacular. We checked out a couple different sites with putrid geysers and rancid mud-pots (I hate that sulphury stench!), stopped for a quick dip in a small hot spring (my only attempt at bathing for the trip) and arrived at the Chilean border by 10am. After ensuring we got our passports stamped, Pepe ushered us out of the Land Cruiser, unloaded our stuff from the roof, and was off to pick up his next group for the reverse trip back to Uyuni. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am.
All in all, I’d say the tour was worth doing. A shorter half-day tour would have been enough to see just the salt flat, but the three day deal packed in a variety of unique and stunning scenery making it a worthwhile upgrade. Although things were a bit rushed, it was a relatively cheap and practical way to check things out while making our way into Chile.
We’re now in the small border town of San Pedro de Atacama and the difference from Bolivia is already so clear; we’re back in the first world, complete with boutique teashops, fancy restaurants, and washrooms stocked with toilet paper (what luxury!). Thanks Bolivia, it was fun, but Chile awaits!
Until next time, keep bein' chili!
~Mandrew
All in all, I’d say the tour was worth doing. A shorter half-day tour would have been enough to see just the salt flat, but the three day deal packed in a variety of unique and stunning scenery making it a worthwhile upgrade. Although things were a bit rushed, it was a relatively cheap and practical way to check things out while making our way into Chile.
We’re now in the small border town of San Pedro de Atacama and the difference from Bolivia is already so clear; we’re back in the first world, complete with boutique teashops, fancy restaurants, and washrooms stocked with toilet paper (what luxury!). Thanks Bolivia, it was fun, but Chile awaits!
Until next time, keep bein' chili!
~Mandrew
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