After a few days exploring the colourful streets of La Paz and learning all about the culture (including some interesting time at the witches market) it was time to jump on a night bus and head to Uyuni, gateway to the famous Bolivian salt flats.
Having booked our night bus through our hostel we seemed to have lucked upon the luxury option which came with a hot dinner - a giant lasagne complete with garlic bread! After both demolishing this we settled down for the next 9 hours, doing our best to get some sleep. At about 6:30am the next morning we disembarked ready for another adventure. We’d chosen to go with Red Planet Expeditions and were soon picked up by them and taken to the office to meet the rest of the group, Marlene and Joel a German and Swiss couple, and Mirte and Nanda, two Dutch. We then headed out in our jeep, with our first stop being the train cemetery.
After a short journey to the other side of Uyuni we arrived at the train cemetery to the sight of multiple British made steam engines. The remains of the trains are left rusting in the sands, open to the elements, and locals are known to steal off cuts of metal from time to time.
We were able to explore and climb the remains of the trains taking some cool photos, however it was really windy resulting in some funky photo hair. From here we drove closer to the Salt flats, stopping at the town of Colchani to visit to a Salt mine and our first lunch of the tour. Here we saw our first houses made from Salt bricks, and learnt how they extracted the salt from the flats.
Next up was a brief stop to see the only salt hotel on the actual salt flats, and to see the flags, before the moment we’d all been waiting for, the time to take the infamous salt flat perspective photos. Our guide Ivan was an expert in creating these and what followed was a hilarious half an hour of different poses - below are a selection of our creations!
After the photos were done we headed to Isla Incahuasi, an island covered in coral and huge cacti from when the salt flats were under the sea, before jumping back in the jeep to find the perfect sunset spot.
Sharing some local red wine we watched as the horizon turned red and orange, before taking a few more incredible photos against the sky. It was the perfect way to end our first day before making our way to our accommodation for the night, a salt hostel, for dinner and some games before bed.
We woke early the next day, having been fixed into position in our single beds with our weighted, yet incredibly warm, blankets. Packed and ready to leave at 6.30am our first stop was in a small town of only 60 residents, where we were able to pick up any final supplies, or in our case some local quinoa beer for the thermal pools later that evening. Our drive took us through the dessert of Chiguana, and past some impressive looking rock formations eroded by the incredibly harsh weather. We were also rewarded with views of the volcano Ollague.
Following lunch we drove to the red laguna where we had time to walk and explore the vast lagoon and the numerous flamingo’s up close. Having been protected by the winds on one side, we were subsequently battered on our return to the waiting car. It was a really beautiful spot and we’ve never seen so many flamingo’s in one place!
Our final stop for the day was a semi-active volcano, volcano Sol de Manana. Walking around the crater we were able to see bubbling mud pools and steaming geysers, creating a landscape that looked like Mars.
It was then time to head to our home for the night, a basic hostel shared with the other salt flat tour groups. The highlight of this place was the thermal pool just across the road. After dinner we all changed into our swimsuits before managing to persuade Ivan to drive us the short distance across the road (lazy but our excuse is that it was freezing!!). We then all quickly ran into the pool before enjoying over two hours in there, chatting, drinking beer and watching the stars and the Milky Way. It was an incredible experience, even if all of our hair was literally freezing as we sat there! Cold but happy we then headed straight to bed, thankful for the hot water bottles we’d been given.
Our third day started with a drive to the Chilean border to drop Mirte off, stopping on the way for a final group photo in the Salvador Dali desert, and briefly to admire a green lagoon. After saying our goodbyes at the border crossing it was back the way we came, making brief stops at last nights hostel to refuel the car, and again at another rocky landscape before lunch. Our final stop was in a slightly larger town of San Cristobel where we stretched our legs and checked out the local church and markets. The drive back to Uyuni would take 6 hours in total, arriving back at the shop where we had begun around 6pm.
With one final night left in Uyuni before we crossed to Argentina we made plans to meet Nanda, Joel and Marlene for a final dinner at Llama cafe, a local vegetarian spot. Sharing some falafel salads and sandwiches was the best way to end an amazing few days on the salt flats. Next up is the bus across the border, taking us to our eighth country of the trip!