Wow! This could be a long one...
So, having arrived in San Pedro de Atacama and made some pretty rapid decisions (for once), we found ourselves on a three day tour to the Bolivian salt flats of Uyuni. The tour was something we always intended to do, but the original plan was to book it once in Bolivia. However, due to time restraints and what would have been a hairy border crossing we decided the best way to get to Bolivia was to book on to the trip and then stay in Uyuni rather than returning to San Pedro - it seemed to be what most people were doing too so we thought we'd follow the crowd.
We were up early to head off, only to be stalled at Chilean immigration for over an hour as they didn't feel like opening until 9:30am. After getting a few stamps here and there we continued to the Bolivian border - I'm never quite sure what happens on the in between bit. I mean, techinically you've left Chile but it's an hour until you reach Bolivia and hope to get entry there...does that make it no man's land or what? Don't worry, the lovely Bolivian men didn't even bat an eyelid and stamped us straight through, so we're not still wondering around out there somewhere.
At the border we were treated to a much needed breakfast and met our drivers for the next three days, along with our not so shiny jeeps. Despite there being many English speakers around, we were a little slow on the uptake and ended up in a car with 2 Brazilians and 2 Argentines. You can imagine how this was going to go... we bonded over Jamie Oliver as it turned out the Brazilians were big fans and had every one of his books, as well as the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton...of course. Through muddled Portuguese/spanish we also managed to gleen that they really wanted to visit London, although I think this was just a roux to butter us up and get the best seats for the trip. As for the Argentines, they seemed very friendly and completely uninspired by England...perfect!
We set off towards our first few stops, which were Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde, just inside the national park. A great way to start! Already the scenery was stunning and we bonded with our co-tourers more over some stone skimming on these pretty lakes... who said anything about a language barrier! From here we headed towards a thermal spring, which was located beside the road (not really a road, more of a homemade track) and spent a good amount of time bathing in steamy water while gawping at the incredible scenery around us. It was certainly a highlight.
Feeling slightly light-headed from the altitude and toasty waters we headed to our next port of call. The local geysers. These bubbling vents were pretty impressive and we were able to roam freely around them while they steamed furiously and let off an interesting eggy aroma...lovely. Feeling pretty hungry and with everyone suffering a little from the altitude, we sped on through more spectacular scenery to our first lodging. Admitedly we climbed yet higher, which didn't massively help with the altitude sickness...headaches and nausea seemed to be pretty popular with most.
Our first night was to be spent at 4900m in a rather chilly refugio. The altitude and -10 night time temperatures prevented much sleep. We were sharing a room with the contents of our car and were unimpressed to find that the Brazilians were partial to snoaring (very loudly). The difficulty everyone was having with breathing made this even more fun and our Argentine companions resorted to dragging their matress outside the bedroom for some sounder sleep. Needless to say the Brazilians were completely perplexed as to what had happened to them in the night when they woke to empty beds the next morning. We had heard that the next night there was the chance to sleep in slightly more private rooms, and ourselves and the Argentines has already made a pact that if there should be just one double room left the Brazilians could have it to themselves!
The next morning we headed off early again and passed the Laguna Colorada, which we had also taken an evening trip to before bed the night before. The algae in the lake meant that it looked red and also meant that hundreds of Flamingos chose to feed there. Apparently Flamingos with red butts are Chilean and those with black are Bolivian...we were learning on this trip too!
From here we went to El Arbol de Piedra (stone tree). Literally a rock that has been eroded to appear like a tree. I know, I know, sounds a bit suspect. But, actually it was really awesome and the area surrounding it was strewn with huge boulders that we couldn't resist having a bit of a climb on. It was as if someone had thrown a play ground in front of us, and I think we would happily have spent the day there. As it happens, climbing in hiking boots at altitude is actually quite tiring.
Our next few stops consisted of many more lakes with stunning scenery and wildlife. Our 4x4 was put through its paces as we arrived at a river and our route was mostly through the water. Despite our driver's ninja driving, we may have got a little stuck at one point. With a bit of boulder moving and some assisted erosion of the river bed we freed ourselves, only to discover further up the path that the suspension was buggered. We pulled over for half an hour and luckily our driver was able to fix the problem and we set off again...phew, I did not fancy being stuck in the desert. A phew more lakes and rock valleys later, including some with some interesting formations (our driver showed his true sense of humour at last) we ended up at our second lodging. A very cute hostel run by a hardworking Bolivian women in traditional dress and a very adorable young girl called Jimena. I spent a little time playing with Jimena (and her balloon), and was impressed at how simple her life is, yet how happy she seemed to be. It was also surprising to hear that the lady running the hostel had never seen the things we had spent the day visiting, despite them being on her doorstep. At this point I think the whole group really appreciated how lucky they were.
After a much better night sleep, we set off in search of the much-anticipated Salar de Uyuni (Salt flats). As we headed towards them, the land started to blend with the sky and the mountains became reflected in the surface. We arrived at the edge and after a collective gasp proceeded on to the flats. Due to the time of year and lots of rainfall, the flats were under water, but this seem to just add to their beauty. Our driver let us out of the jeep, we rolled up our trousers and walked in the salty waters to our lunch stop, further inside the salar. We had an awesome time taking photos that played with perspective and gazed for a long time into the never-ending distance. The odd local bus seemed to head out on to the Salar and it was very surreal to see. At the longest point, the salt flats are 180km long, so you can imagine how extensive they are. This was the ultimate highlight of the trip.
Later on the same day we arrived back in Uyuni, where we got some much needed rest before we head to Potosi. It's been an incredible few days and we can't wait to see more of this amazing country.
