Salar de Uyuni
| The Salar de Uyuni tour in Bolivia is one of the most enjoyable trips I have ever taken. Tickets can be bought from various tour operations in La Paz, and the trip usually takes four days. From La Paz one has to first travel to Uyuni to start the tour, and this journey is a trip in itself. We took two buses to get to Uyuni--one to Oruro (a 3-hr ride) and then from Oruro a seriously bone-rattling 9.5-hour bus ride through the night before reaching our destination. |
| All tours are done in a 4x4 vehicle (Toyota Landcruisers seem to be the ones of choice for most tour operators) and involve staying at small lodges or hotels in towns along the way. What made the trip so enjoyable was not only the variety of scenery along the way, but also the amount of it. |
| Our vehicle of choice was an old Chevrolet Suburban, which (fortunately) has two rows of passenger seating behind the front seats. We watched as our driver, Criso, loaded the roof of the Suburban with fuel canisters and supplies, and strapped everything down. For the next four days we would not encounter another gas station. |
| Our group consisted of 8 people, plus the driver and cook. Hendrik and Annelieke were from the Netherlands, and Stuart, Martin, David, and Rick were from Australia and South Africa (I can't remember who came from where exactly). Therefore the eight of us represented four continents (North America, Europe, Africa, and Australia). |
|
|
|
|
|
| Travel across the Salar (salt), visit the salt hotel, and explore Isla del Pescado, an "island" in a sea of salt. Spend the night in San Juan. | Day of lagunas (lakes). See the flamingoes and beautiful colours of Laguna Chiarcota, Laguna Canapa, and Laguna Hedionda. Spend the night beside the red waters of Laguna Colorada. | Steam vents, hot springs, and more lagunas. Wake up at 05:00 in the morning to drive to some geysers, and go for a dip in a natural hot spring. Visit Laguna Verde and Laguna Blanca, and stop in the the town of Villa Mar. Spend the night in Alota. | A bumpy ride across the desert. With the overload of stimuli over the past four days, I didn't mind that there wasn't as much to see this day. Stop at the train cemetery before returning to our starting point in Uyuni. |
