Salt flats

From Potosi, I hopped on a local bus to Uyuni. Seven hours later we arrived. Later, we heard about an accident with the bus from La Paz to Uyuni. Apparently, the driver was drunk and flipped the bus on the way, in the middle of the night. I don't think anyone died, but it was pretty terrible nonetheless.

Shopping around a little bit for the salt flat tours, we decided upon a tour that pretty much sounded like every other tour. Three days through the salt flats, past lagoons and onto Chile. I'd been prepping for the cold weather all the way; accumulating a multitude of sweaters and other warm clothing that I probably couldn't even wear all at once. But at least I had them. For I was told that it'd be -25 degrees at night, and not much in the way of heating or insulation. I don't do the cold very well as most people probably know...

Off we went in our 4x4 jeep at 10:30 sharp (which roughly translates to 11:30...). Six of us and our driver. I'd heard some horror stories about other tours, with terrible guides and bad experiences. But I think the scenery is such that despite all that you still love it. And it really was incredible. The salt flats were amazing; a vast expanse of what once was a lake but now the largest salt flat in the world (I think). We visited a town where everyone was either involved in harvesting salt or used the salt to create artisanal products. Imagine just piles of salt, and houses built with salt bricks. Then imagine a random island in the middle of this white expanse with cacti that are hundreds of years old. Weird, yet beautiful.

And with this vast landscape we took ridiculous photos, 'cause there was no perspective. So why not? I'd bought my little polar bear in Uyuni. Time for some silly photos. But alas, not enough time for the plethora of stupid pictures I'd had in my mind...

Everything seemed...well...fairly non-suspect with our guide. He was fairly quiet; spoke only Spanish. No problem. But little did we know it was his birthday, and hence his excuse to get completely inebriated. To the point of uselessness the next day. We were lucky; we were able to flag down another tour to help us out, including providing another driver. A driver who liked racing through the desert - but at least he was sober! Our driver was pretty much drunk the entire second day. Despite this, we saw some amazing scenery. Beautiful lagoons filled with flamingos; strange rock formations; volcanoes; lots and lots of desert landscapes. It was cold, for certain, but not as cold as I had feared. I hadn't needed the plethora of layers I had acquired. Oh well.

The final day was filled with geysers and more desert landscapes. And a visit to hot springs, which were wonderful. 30+ degree water in amongst just wastelands and the cold. So worth it.

And yes, I made it over the border. No problems. It was amazing the difference as soon as we entered the Chilean side. Paved roads! And it was warm! Finally!