Uyuni and the Salt Flats

Thursday, March 3

We woke up after noon and ventured out into the town to get something to eat. We soon realized that most restaurants were open 8am-12pm and 4-8pm, closed during the day. Well, this left us few options… We ended up at a place that advertised coffee and sandwiches, including vegetarian ones. We tried to order something with chicken and the woman shook her head vigorously. We tried to order a bottle of water and again, like a dog shaking water off it’s coat, she shook her head from side to side. Ok…we ordered three espressos, two paninis, and a side of fries. The food was surprisingly good.

We walked around the little town and walked into a street market. Apparently the market is only on Thursdays so we were lucky to stumble upon it the day we rolled into town. There was stall after stall of clothes, gadgets and food. The market seemed to stretch on forever. Feeling like we were in the old west, we stocked up on supplies for our upcoming journey. Carl got socks and a cowboy hat! We also bought some sugar cane juice with ginger and lime and a weird pastry that was like very sweet pink frosting between two salty biscuit pieces, covered in coconut flakes. We wandered back to the hostel and spent some time blogging and trip planning before going out to dinner.

For dinner we went to a touristy place that advertised Bolivian food. We split a big ol’ Bolivian beer and the Lomo Saltado, a pile of rice and fries with steak and fried eggs on top. That night we stayed up late figuring out where we should go after Uyuni…

Friday, March 4

I’m fortunate enough that in my 32 years I’ve had several days that were so great, I wish I could live them all over again, moment by moment. When we woke up we speculated the day would be great. We didn’t realize it WOULD be one of those ‘try to capture each moment in your mind to relive forever’ days.

Our hostel, Eucalyptus hostel, served the best hostel breakfast we’ve had in a while. The fruit juice was freshly squeezed and they scrambled the eggs just right. Also the bread was fresh and good!

At 10:30am our guide, Oscar, and driver, Adalid (Add-Uh-Leed) showed up. Right away Oscar was so full of energy and enthusiasm, it really seemed like he had to be on drugs to be that ecstatic. Every time we stopped he would say, “Let’s go guys! Out of the car! I want to tell you about —-!” In contrast, Adalid, with black, square-rimmed glasses, was very quiet (his English was not as good) but he would often check on us in his review mirror and give a shy smile, revealing his clean braces.

We drove a short distance over to the travel agency office, Salty Tours, to pick up the other tour participants. We met Line (Lee-Na) and Anton, a Danish couple who were on a many month long honeymoon through South America. We also met Luke, an Irish boy from outside of Dublin, who only joined us for the first day. The 8 of us piled into the four-wheel drive car and set off.

The first stop was the train graveyard. Oscar told an immensely passionate yet condensed history of Bolivia. He explained the British and US had funded railroad construction to support the copper mine until the mine collapsed and all the American tracks and British train cars were left where they stood, sinking into the sand, rusting away in the salty air. One hundred years later they’d prove to be a good enough tourist attraction to make it our first stop. Oscar also explained how Carnaval caused Bolivia to lose their coast to Chile. For one decisive battle the Chileans had come ready to fight but the Bolivians had been drinking for a week to celebrate the holiday. Oscar warned that we were still in Carnaval and that Sunday would be a big drinking day.

We took tons of photos – made better by Carl’s new cowboy hat – and then piled back into the car.

Then it was off to the Salt Museum. Again Oscar got us out of the car quickly and hurriedly but thoroughly explained the chemistry of salt flat formation and how the locals mined and processed the salt. He showed a block of salt flat that had been excavated. The block showed alternating layers of salt and dirt pack, evident of the wet and dry seasons that had formed it.

We walked through the several steps of salt production, tasting a little bit at each step, and marveling over the crystals. The natural salt crystals formed interlocking cubes, sometimes forming like little miniature Mayan temples. The crystals were beautiful and I wanted to keep one as a souvenir but knew it would not make it in my bag.

Finally, we drove to the salt flats. This was one of the moments I wish I could relive. The scenery was unreal. The shock and awe that fell over everyone in the car was palatable- our brains could not process what we saw. In every direction it was blank, white nothingness that glowed with a heavenly aura. In this distance we could see mountains but their bases were erased by optical illusion making them look like islands floating in a white sea.

We got out near some pools. Oscar explained that because we were near the shore we could see evidence of pressure on the salt flats through the bubbles of air coming to the surface of the salty water. He tested this theory with us. We found a little pond that had no bubbles and stood in a circle around it. We all jumped and stomped and – suddenly- bubbles started forming in the water- air escaping the many salty rock layers below.

Oscar advised us that the salt water was good for the skin and overall health so a few of us took off our boots and put our feet in. The water was not as cold as you’d expect, probably because it was shallow and being heated by the sun. Oscar explained that clouds never formed over the salt flats because of the sun rays reflection of the giant white surface. I liked splashing around with my feet and I would have submerged my whole body in the salty water if I’d had my swimsuit.

For lunch we drove over to the Salt Hotel and picnicked inside it. The Salt Hotel is a circular, domed structure out in the middle of the flats that is almost entirely made of salt blocks. Tour groups like ours are not allowed to stay at the hotel (in fact, Oscar was surprised the Gov let the hotel be built until he learned the builder/owner was the son of a very well liked salt miner from the area) but we were allowed to eat inside and use their modern, flushable toilets.

Adalid opened up several giant thermoses filled with food- rice, chicken, veggies- and we sat in salt blocks and ate off a salt table (with a nice fabric table cloth).

After lunch is when the real fun began. We drove over to a dry area for some perspective photos. Oscar was the MASTER at framing photos. We felt like actors on a set and he was the director – shouting at us to go left or right, forward or backward, lifting limbs and turning heads. He took so many awesome, funny photos.

The dry area was good for playing with perspective. Then we drove to the wet area to play with reflection. Again, Oscar barked out instructions for us to follow to make the perfect Instagram posts. My favorite part was when he and Adalid got in the car and drove around us in circles, taking a time lapse video while we performed different poses.

Then we had some ‘free time’ and we experimented with our own cinematography skills. As we took thousands of photos, the clouds to the south darkened and we started to see bolts of lightning out on the horizon. This cloud variation made for amazing light and it just kept getting better as the sun set. We moved to an area closer to shore for sunset and Oscar and Adalid got out a plastic table and placed it right in the water, putting a bottle of wine and 8 glasses on top. We cheers to the sunset and poured a little wine out for Pachamama- the indigenous name for Mother Earth. After the sun went down the sky continued to change colors, getting more beautiful each second. And then the crescent moon came into view. With the moon to one side, volcanos in the distance to the other, and a thunderstorm to the south, we were literally surrounded by beautiful views and couldn’t figure out which direction to take pictures, overwhelmed by the many options.

After the sunset we drove back to Uyuni and stayed in a hostel called the Salty House. No furniture made of salt here, but the staff were a little salty toward us – likely tired of the non-Spanish speaking tourists being churned through their doors. We rinsed the salt out of our clothes and gratefully took hot showers. We thanked Pachamama for a beautiful day, and went to sleep early.