Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Good Wednesday to all, I hope the best month of the year is treating you all delicately and with care. Today will be a jam packed entry so grab a drink and get ready!

We took the night bus to Uyuni and it was as it always is, which is comfy and chill. Around 04:00 I I woke up to cold toes and they didn’t warm up until about 09:00. We got picked up at the bus station thanks to the help of our tour company and then were taken to a breakfast cafe. Seems we all got dropped off here periodically until the tour company opened at 08:00. We all hung out around there and had breakfast for a couple hours. Once they opened, we all walked to the tour place down the street where we waited two more hours for our 4x4s to arrive. We split into three groups; two groups of six and one of five, which was ours. Then we set off on our adventure!

Now, here’s where things could get out of hand because we literally saw so much you guys! I don’t know how to explain to y’all how many different and stunning things we got to behold, but I’ll try. It may seem scattered, but hell, that’s normal.

We did a three day two night tour with Skyline Traveler. It was 1300 Bolivianos for the English guide. We debated doing the Spanish option for practice, but our guide and group were great and I am glad we did English so as not to lose any of the history. We learned so much.

Day 1: Train Cemetery, Colchani (a town where they mine and sell salt), The Eyes of the Salt, the original salt hotel, the salt flats, the Incahuasi Island at the center of the salt flats, a sunset lookout, then dinner at the hotel where we stayed overnight. There’s a lot to highlight for today. The Train Cemetery gave off big cadillac ranch vibes. That first city we went to has about 3000 people and seventy percent work in the salt industry. We went through a small display of the salt process: clean dehydrate, mix with iodine, shrink down the granules, and bad them. A family can produce 30,000 kilos per day. The next part was going to see the actual salt flats. Was surprised it happened right away and was confused how we still had two days left, but I kept my questions to myself. We have been waiting all month for this and the time finally arrived! As with all of these, who knows if I took accurate notes, so this could all be false.

The flats are 180×79 meters and continues expanding each year. There’s some sulfur in the salt flats because of the nearby volcanoes. Satellites are brought here to get calibrated because this is the flattest place on earth. Sorry for the brag to all my west texas readers! I knew were were coming up on the flats because the mountains in the distance were starting to reflect down below along the horizon. So cool. So much salt omg. We were just driving around the flat in our 4x4s and there was nothing but salt as far as the eye could see. At the lunch spot the USA flag was nowhere to be found. Most likely the wind got the better of it, but it was funny to think what else may have occurred. There was an elevated area of salt filled with flags from all over the world and the wind was so powerful it was such a loud spot. We would have brought a flag if we’d have known, so if you go plan accordingly. Then we did the cheesiest photo shoot you can think of. A dinosaur attacked us, we ate one another, we danced out of a can of pringles, etc. By the way, I have an instagram with trip photos. I changed my mind about uploading photos to the blog. It’s too much work. Follow my instagram (same name) to see these stories come to life. We tried the salt, just broke off pieces from below our feet, and it was different than expected but salt none the less. Sooooo salty. I bought more salt as a souvenir in the town earlier. I need to be stopped because when I told the driver he said, “that;s not a good flavor.” Oh well, I liked it when I tried it.

Right, so after the photo shoot we went to the island. What a wild place! Literally in the middle of nowhere, yet there’s a giant island teeming with cacti. The flats used to be under a giant lake that stretch all the way to Lake Titicaca. The lake was dried up around 40,000 years ago. I think it was called Lake Minchin. The lake was 120 meters deep, which is how deep the salt flats are today. We hiked up the island and got a 360 view of the flats. One thing I wished for were the tire tracks from the 4x4s to not be there, but we can’t win everything. I just decided to take photos from angles that didn’t show the tire tracks. I wonder what white rubber tires would do?

The island is where they all go for Pacha Mama day on the first of August every year. We all remember pacha mama from my Machu Picchu post I’m sure. This island is the second of the three types of volcanoes that they have – a dormant volcano. They know this island was underwater because they have petrified algae on the rocks. There were three different lakes here over the course of history. The cacti emerged after the lakes finally dried up thanks to birds spreading seeds for them. They are thousands of years old, and have wood inside them which is probably common knowledge but I didn’t realize. We got some Uyuni beers and then started our drive towards the hotel.

Along the way we saw the sun start to set and once we found a good spot we stopped and got out to watch. Again, there were 360 degrees of sunset painting the sky! I couldn’t stop spinning in circles this entire weekend. I’m calling this midweek tour a weekend because any day can be the weekend here because no one can tell me it’s not! Hah! We then went tot he hotel and left the salt, which was sad. Just kidding it was so cute and the hotel was actually made of salt. Super cozy vibes. We had a classic Bolivian dinner, but I forgot the name unfortunately. It’s where they have beef, fries, onions, tomatoes, hot dogs, peppers, and hard boiled eggs in a serving dish. Oh and of course soup! I’ve always been a soup girly, but this trip cemented that. Then Mer and I went to our room and went to bed. The beds were super comfy. They offered sleeping bags for 50 BOB but we risked it. This paid off because we didn’t need them either night. Maybe they would be more necessary in the winter when it’s colder? I started a new book on this trip: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. That way I can see the movie when I get back to the states. NOTE: I did indeed do this.

Day 2: Today’s attractions included one million (give or take) flamingos, small salt flat called Chiguana, Ollague Volcano (semi active), Lagunos Cañapa, Hedionda, and Chiar Khota, Siloli Desert, and the Laguna Colorada. Let’s get into it.

The volcano was cool, and the place we viewed it from was awesome. Lots of random rock formations for climbing, which was a trend for the day. The volcano is 8500 meters up. A tall queen that is actively smoking. After that, we headed to our first few lagoons. Drumroll please for the flamingos making their debut. As we learned in Peru, flamingos like shallow lagoons. They start coming to these lagoons in Bolivia in September and then make their way to Ecuador. Some do stay all year because the lagoons have some hot springs, but not many. One thing I did not expect were the noises flamingos make. Not sure how to even describe it for y’all. Kind of ribbet-y mixed with a bird and a duck and then perhaps the faintest of meows on top? That should get y’all nowhere! I suggest looking it up. We saw three types of flamingos today, pink with grey legs, semi-pink with black butts, and then semi-pink/pink with black under their wings. They come here to look for a mate. The process is to form a group and then dance. Hence, the Flamenco dance! They then will make a protective nest in the middle of the lagoon in a volcano shape. This is in December. They eat mollusks and microorganisms. Flamingos live to be about thirty years old and are monogamous.

We had lunch and watched the flamingos from our table. Then we drove for a bit more and saw some volcanoes, lagoons, and a crater from a comet! Eventually, we made it to the national park. 150 BOB was the entrance fee, but we did get a stamp in our passports with a flamingo on it. This is where we saw the stone tree. All the rocks in this area are from long ago volcanic eruptions. We climbed some big boys here. The only thing you can’t climb is the stone tree. A little fragile baby that is super cute on its own. The views are endless and ever changing.

After we cleaned the dirt our of our mouths, we headed to our final flamingo lagoon of the day. The Laguna Colorada is one of the most important wetlands on the planet. “The Red Lake.” True to its name due to specific algae that makes the water red and the flamingos pink. This lake has some glaciers as well. Two rivers feed into this lagoon, which is a common theme I’ve learned, and it has three volcanoes surrounding it. We then made our way to the lodging for night two. They’d built up this place for days, stressing that it’s not “glamping.” We were nervous, and yet when we arrive it’s more than fine! The only thing is you share a room with your carmates and guide. Like most hostels. No hot water here (yes the first place had hot water). Either way, someone must have made an unnecessary fuss about it once upon a time so they warn people now, but it was perfectly fine.

We stepped outside and Hector (our guide) pointed out the constellations for us. I saw Capricorn! It got me excited for the Atacama desert. Our group, Akhil, Julia, Jake, Mer, and myself, had some deep convos with our guide. Politics of our countries, drugs, the future of AI and our part in technology, vegetarianism, etc. Also, Akhil has such a precious tradition he shared with us. He has a small journal that he asks people on his tours/treks to write in giving advice to their younger self. I got emotional writing mine, and yet now, i have no idea what I wrote. That night I went to sleep still thinking about the flamingos. I spent fifteen minutes mesmerized by them at the red lake. They would stand and bob their heads down into the water and come back up. Looking for food I assume. Then from across the lagoon they’d take off flying, wings flapping until they began gliding about a foot above the water for a bit, then they pull back and their feet come out to start walking on water until they eventually dip down into it and land. Took my breath away. Made me wonder what their feet are made of and how they can be in the same water as glaciers. Lots of thinking for an animal I haven’t thought about since middle school.

Day 3: Geysers, Hot springs, Salvador Dali desert, Lagunas Verde and Blanca, Licancabur Volcano, Chilean boarder, Valle de Rocas, and San Cristobal Church.

The last day was an early rise, 04:30 am, but easily done for a pro early riser like myself. It was well worth it. The geysers! We drove in the dark and got to the site just as the sun was coming up and wow! The steam from the geysers formed white clouds against the sky. Then light started to peek through and more of the land came into view. Before this, we only had the hissing and bubbling sound of the geysers. 190 meters down there’s magma. When w got out we were walking around a giant crater in a boiler volcano. Bolivia is testing out using steam for electricity. I have a note about something being 5000 meters deep so let’s all pretend I elaborated on it. After this martian adventure, we drove to the hot springs for breakfast and a dip. It was about 38 degrees celsius and felt divine on an extra cold morning. I wore my tevas with socks the entire time even though I had my boots. I’m not sure why I did this. It was normally hot in the car, but outside the wind was mad. That’s probably why my heels and toes are cracked nearly beyond repair.

After the hot springs we went to the desert that they say inspired Salvador Dali’s melting clock piece. Super cool. All this driving is literally across giant open dirt landscape. It is so large and hard to wrap my head around still. Just beautiful and makes me feel free and alive and hopeful. We also saw a montana de los 7 colores again. Guess they aren’t so rate after all. 😉

The last stop with our whole crew was the Green Lagoon. The area is 13 km and it’s the highest concentration of some poisonous thing so flamingos don’t come here, but they do vibe at the while lagoon right next door. Around 11:00 it starts changing color with the sun’s reflection. There’s so many volcanoes surrounding the Green and White Lagoons. One is the natural boarder between Chile and Bolivia. It’s 5000 meters tall. Then four others around it as well. Also, if we look far past the White Algoon we can see the natural boarder between Bolivia and Argentina. Oh! I almost forgot, we made a random stop along the way to see the Viscachas. They live on these rocks and look like a kangaroo, bunny, chinchilla combination. Kangaroo is probably not a necessary descriptor. They are adorable little creatures! Allegedly they inspired Pikachu. I love them.

We dropped our three new friends off at the Chilean boarder. They were then to head to San Pedro de Atacama. We debated going this route but ultimately decided against it just to not have to cancel our bus tickets we already booked. It turned out great for us because we saw such an awesome last lagoon. I loved it so much! Catal, the black lagoon. The entire 150 km valley is from, you guessed it, a volcanic eruption. This valley was stunning. We walked on the hard yet forgiving grass that has bumps holding water for the alpacas to live off of during the dry season. We hung out on a rock overlooking the lagoon for about fifteen minutes with Hector just soaking in the weekend. Finally, we drove back to Uyuni – Mer, Hector, Vladimir (our driver), and I. Highly recommend this tour, everyone must come and experience it!

Making it to our hostel we were so excited to see hot showers. Piedra Blanca Backpackers Hostel was a great spot. Large lockers and yummy breakfast that was more than the usual bread and tea. We had supermarket ramen for dinner because we had been craving it. The next day was a rest day. Good hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and real toast made in a toaster, oatmeal, and real coffee according to Mer. We dropped our laundry off and then walked around the market and I found a passion fruit! Finally! Got some pens for when mine eventually runs out. Had a menu del dia for lunch, hung at the hostel, and called the fam and journaled, etc. We got dinner at Minuteman Pizza and it was actually super good. Finally redeemed us after that monstrosity of a place in Copacabana. We then packed and slept early to catch our morning bus. The man on the bunk below me was quite the character! Traveling with only a saxophone case. I believe a sax was inside but unsure. He said he’s never bought the visa.

Thanks for reading!