Salar de Uyuni tour day 3
Day 242 – Uyuni, Bolivia
Because we were supposed to watch the sun rise above the salt flats (salar), we got up entirely too early -4:30 am- to leave at 5 am.
As it had rained all night, we drove on muddy roads, crossing the occasional stream -four wheel drive, yeah!-, and finally arriving an hour later at the end of the road.
A literal end, as the road, that was until now raised above the flooded field we glimpsed on each side, went down into said field.
We had reached the flats, and as it is the rain season, the usual desert, salt-caked flats are under an even layer of water.
So we drove on.
Salar de Uyuni – Driving on the flooded flats
As the sky was hidden behind the clouds, we didn’t have any sunrise to enjoy. The light got progressively stronger until it was daylight.
So at first everything was dark, then blueish-light, greyish-light, then white.
We took pictures through the windows, looked at the other cars -we were a procession if 6 at this point-, and I was starting to find all that a bit repetitive, when we finally stopped for breakfast.
In 3 cm of water.
Salar de Uyuni – Stop for breakfast
I thought my shoes would hold on, but even though they are waterproof, they are not made to stay immersed in water for long periods of time, and there were cracked at the tip, so I did end up with wet feet -I should have taken them off.
But we were at this point in the middle of the flats, with water to the horizon on all sides. The mirror of the world, the locals call it. Everything is reflected, the cars, the sky, the people.
At some places, the reflection is totally perfect, with still water, every detail is as clear as the original.
So, breakfast in 7°C and and feet in the water, yeah! That’s something to live at least once. But I do have great pictures.
The guys in my car decided to play with the reflection: three of them made a half-hexagon, their reflection finishing up the picture.
Salar de Uyuni – Hexagon
At a later stop, they made the progression from ape to scientist (the one you can see on T-shirts all over the world).
At the end of morning, when some blue sky made an apparition between white and fluffy clouds (see picture header), we made a long stop for the famous picture-taking with objects: thanks to the flatness of the ground, you play with angles to make people stand on bottles, or go out of Pringles tubes. (I went barefoot this time, my socks hanging to dry on the window of the car!)
I calculate that we crossed the flats in 7h30, with at least 1h30 of breaks, maybe 2h, at an average speed of 20km/h. So that would be between 110 and 120 km?
With the world reflected in all directions as far as the eye can see. That’s impressive.
We finally approached the end, with a stop in a salt exploitation (?) with a small place where flags can be added (and have been!). There was also a monument to the Dakar Rally that apparently crossed here in 2016.
We made a quick stop in a small town with souvenir stalls -the same as in Chile-, then found asphalt again -we all sighed in relief- and drove to Uyuni.
There we had a visit planed to the train cemetery before lunch -I was starving by this point.
Uyuni – Train cemetery
We finally left for lunch, then we had to drop by the agency to write our names and passport number on a list, before being finally dropped at the bus terminal.
Since my four co-traveller and I were going in the same direction, we stayed together in the search for bus ticket. The luxury bus costs 225 bolivianos (around 30€), the luxury-but-old-equipment 90 bolivianos (around 10€). We ended up taking the cheap option -by myself I would have taken the expensive one. I’m talking a 9h-night-ride to La Paz. That remains cheap!
The buses have only three seats by row, two on one side and one on the other side, leg room, reclining seats, heating, blankets… The more luxurious option have a snack and water for breakfast, probably USB chargers, Wi-Fi, and an attendant to serve hot tea (that’s what I got later when travelling from Bolivia to Peru).
So the tickets out of the way, I finally went to an ATM. Since the driver didn’t want to stop to an ATM before dropping us off, I gave him what I had left, 30 bolivianos -and 50% odds are he took 100 from me, but still, I would have done something more for the three days of driving, taking pictures, and so on.
Uyuni
In the meantime the guys had booked a room for the afternoon to have a shower and Wi-Fi before the bus, in a hostel by the bus terminal, so I found them there. 25 bolivianos each for that luxury.
