Americas

[Visited: January 2020]

My main reason to come back to Bolivia was to finally see the Salar de Uyuni, and do it in the rainy season, when you have a chance of seeing a thin layer of water turning the salt flat into a giant mirror. After exploring the southwest of the country for a couple of days, I am thrilled as we drive north, passing the town of Uyuni after which the salt lake takes its name, take a left turn at Colchani, and reach our small salt hotel, built completely of salt blocks - even the tables, chairs and beds are salt. The sun is already hanging low in the sky when we drive the last stretch, and start walking at the eastern edge of the salt flats. It is so different from what I expected: tens of cars are driving the salt lake, there are people everywhere, stalls selling small furry llama souvenirs, chunks of salt, boots, and many more things.
Not far from the start of the salt flat, I see a thin layer of water on top, and start walking away from the crowd, away from the stalls, away from the line of cars moving further into the salt lake. For some reason, I have the impression I am walkling on ice, and at every step I take, I look closely to the patterns in the salt crust, I avoid what look like holes, and meanwhile, I feel my shoes getting wet. I watch the sun, I try to avoid cars and trucks that are driving between the sun and me, and manage to find a spot where the setting sun is reflected in the shallow water. I feel some disappointment when I walk back to the salt hotel. Fortunately, we wake up early next morning, and there is only a hint of the end of the night when we drive back to the lake. This time, we drive straight onto the lake, and turn south in search of a place to watch the sun rise.
We get off the 4WD, and walk towards the east, through a thin layer of water, while the sky gets lighter and lighter, until finally the orange ball rises above the crest at the horizon. I am mostly looking west though: the endless lake, the flat landscape, the water that seems to continue to infinity are stunning. There are reflections of mountains surrounding the lake, far, far away. Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat at over 10.000 sq. km, and an altitude of 3656m. We drive further west, have breakfast at a restaurant on Banderas island (indeed, a cluster of flags) in the middle of the Salar, and drive further west. Unfortunately, there is too much water in the lake to go to Incahuasi island. We reach an area which is dry, and where we see hexagonal patterns in the salt, a result of the evaporation leaving salt to dry in lines. We do photo shoots, playing with optical illusion in the emptiness of the landscape. We see Tunupa volcano, which seems close, but in fact is something like a hundred kilometres away.We are again reminded of the vastness of the Salar de Uyuni. When we drive, there is nothing to give us a clue about our speed, apart from the indicator in the car itself. We stop at a spot where eater comes out of holes in the salt, and drive to the wet part of the lake again, where we take more pictures of the reflection. When we finally return to the shore, I am very satisfied. It will take several thorough washes with water to get my shoes clean again and the traces of the Salar salt are gone, but the memories will stay.

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Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia)

Salar de Uyuni > Bolivia > Americas

[Visited: January 2020]

Around the World in 80 Clicks