Our second day in the Salt flats was very long, but interesting. We had to get up at 4am for breakfast and then hit the road by 430. The Jeep bumped along as I snuggled up into Ivan and drifted off. I may have my order wrong (it was a 12 hour day in the Jeep for god sakes), but I think our first stop was to see one of the lagoons which was dotted with flamingos! I have only ever seen flamingos in the zoo, so it was quite amazing to see them in their natural habitat.
We drove along and stopped to see many interesting sites...the rock tree....a large formation of rock that had been shaped into a tree like structure from the dust and salt blowing against it in the harsh winds. We stopped to view a volcano, as we stood on the petrified lava.... but the highlight of the day was the Fumerals. Which were large craters in the earth with steam and heat flowing out of them....temperature inside could rise to 150 degrees...so we were warned not to run and to walk with caution.....then we came upon a huge basin filled with hot, wildly bubbling grey mud....it was gorgeous to see....and facinating...never seen anything like it! And then my favorite...LUNCH! Yet another wonderful lunch prepared by our cooks....a very typical Bolivian dish made of potatoes, chicken, sausage and onions...spicy and delicous. After lunch we drove a very long way again to see a green lagoon....we were all so tired by that time, and it was soooo windy that many of us stayed inside the jeeps.
We ended off the day at a natural hotspring with gorgeous 30 degree, fresh beautiful water. We relaxed and cleansed our bodies for a while and it felt great (since there are no showers on the salt flat tours). Then we arrived at our shit hole of a hostel....again in the middle of no where....we arrived and this time the divorce papers were looking much more clear! It was really gross....not heated, so it was very cold since we were at such a high elevation, the beds sucked...we shared a room with the only other couple on the trip....which was fine...but we were all in little single beds AND, I had the worse farts I had ever had in my life.....not a good thing when sharing a room with new friends. My only saving grace was that I was tucked into a sleeping bag....so basically just gagged myself all night!
The next morning came, not quick enough and we were off once again. Ivan insisted that the hostel added to the character of the trip. NOT! We stopped to see the red lagoon which was absolutely gorgeous! Apparently the color is red due to a specific type of alge....and this is the alge that the flamingos eat which subsequently gives them their pink color!!!!!
We bounced along gazing at the limited selection of wildlife....llamas and more llamas, these adorable deer like animals, an Emu, a fox and that was about it. There are not too many animals that can survive the high elevation....so lucky for me snakes do not exist up there, and the only spiders they have are insy wincy ones....which I was happy to not see even one.
We finally arrived at our proper hotel in Uyuni where we showered up and went out for some delicious pizza at a place called Minuteman Pizza....it was really excellent...especially with a bottle of the local Bolivian wine.
Everything is extremely affordable here....you could easily do this trip on the cheap with out a tour company...although it is so nice to have everything planned for you...and you dont miss out on anything. The accomidations are around 30 bucks per night...which is high end...and a beautiful meal for 2 with wine will knock you back around 30 or 40 bucks again...lunch for 2..around 10 bucks....the food has been pretty wonderful as well....nice big portions and interesting creations to Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Salt Flats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salt Flats. Show all posts
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Salar de Uyuni
So, after our experience on Death Road, we slept well and woke up early the next morning to join our GAP tour. We have never travelled with a tour company before, but had heard GAP was awesome, and we didn´t have time to plan the trip ourselves.
It was a LONG day of travel to Uyuni, by sick, disgusting bus, and the bumpies, rockiest, bounciest train ride ever...thank god for my Ginger pills (natural cure for nausia). We had a brief stop over in Oruro for lunch at a lovely restaurant called Nayjama. It was also recommended in the Lonely Plant book, and their speciality is lamb. So we shared a platter and enjoyed it very much.
We arrived late in Uyuni, but stayed at a lovely little hotel, unfortunately I cannot recall the name, but it was clean and charming. This was the start of our 3 day journey to the Salt Flats-Salar de Uyuni. We were asked to pack a small seperate bag for 2 nights, and we couldn´t bring our big packs. There are 13 of us in the group (from all over the world) and we hopped into one of the Jeeps with 3 others....one being our adorable Gap guide named Sollydad (Solly for short) a La Paz gal who is very passionate about her country.
The jeep bumped along some very rough terrain (can be very dangerous, as they say 13 people die each year from the Jeep tours, so it is important to choose the right company...again another reason to use GAP)...there was so much to look at...and it seemed every hour or so the scenery would change. We arrived at our first stop to see large piles of gleeming white salt, and saw the production line, of how it is ground down and then placed into bags for sale...some of the most pure salt around...of course we had to buy a bag!
Then we drove on...it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere....all your eyes could see is white salt and then the sky...Solly said if you drove stright it would go on for 100 kms. We arrived at an ¨Island¨...in the middle of nowhere called Isla de los Pescadores....it was a big rocky hill covered with cactus, a few lamas and an extrodinary view. It was called an Island, because all of the salt flats used to be part of a prehistoric saltlake, when it dried up, it left behind 12,000 sq km of salt!
We did a little hike to the top for photos and then went back down for a wonderful lunch. We had 2 cooks travelling with us for the 3 day tour, and it was wonderful because we ate very well. Lunch consised of potatoes, veggies, local cheese, tomatoes and LAMA steaks. It was awesome...never tried Lama before..it was a little on the tough side...but very tasty!
After lunch we continued along for an hour or so, and stopped in the middle of no where....all your eye could see was pure white salt. Here is where we took some awesome prospective photos....for example, a miniture Ivan standing in the palm of my hand.... a tiny me sitting on top of my hat....jumping on a banana, and being chased by a dinosaur....again, cant wait to post these photos..they look so fun!
After that we drove for a few hours more, I couldnt imagine where we would be sleeping, because there was nothing in site....but eventually, we came around mountain side to this old dumpy looking village...lamas everywhere, and we parked in front of what looked like an old abandon shit hole....I was more than unimpressed...Ivan could tell....he tried to make jokes.....I imagined the divorce papers. We grabbed our bags and ventured inside to a pleasant surprise....one of the most unique, creative and cool places I have ever been....EVERYTHING was mad of SALT!!!! The ground was pure white corse salt, the tables in the dining hall were huge slabs of gleaming salt..even the cute chandalieres were made of salt.....then we went to our bedrooms and our BEDs were big huge slabs of salt with a mattress on top...all of the walls were salt (we licked them to be sure)....we were in one of the famous Salt hotels....there we enjoyed a typical Bolivian Christmas dish of beef, creamy mashed potatoes with corn in a spicy sauce....it was wonderful!
Another lesson not to judge a book by its cover eh! It was most certainly an experience to remember..although one night was plenty enough to enjoy!
It was a LONG day of travel to Uyuni, by sick, disgusting bus, and the bumpies, rockiest, bounciest train ride ever...thank god for my Ginger pills (natural cure for nausia). We had a brief stop over in Oruro for lunch at a lovely restaurant called Nayjama. It was also recommended in the Lonely Plant book, and their speciality is lamb. So we shared a platter and enjoyed it very much.
We arrived late in Uyuni, but stayed at a lovely little hotel, unfortunately I cannot recall the name, but it was clean and charming. This was the start of our 3 day journey to the Salt Flats-Salar de Uyuni. We were asked to pack a small seperate bag for 2 nights, and we couldn´t bring our big packs. There are 13 of us in the group (from all over the world) and we hopped into one of the Jeeps with 3 others....one being our adorable Gap guide named Sollydad (Solly for short) a La Paz gal who is very passionate about her country.
The jeep bumped along some very rough terrain (can be very dangerous, as they say 13 people die each year from the Jeep tours, so it is important to choose the right company...again another reason to use GAP)...there was so much to look at...and it seemed every hour or so the scenery would change. We arrived at our first stop to see large piles of gleeming white salt, and saw the production line, of how it is ground down and then placed into bags for sale...some of the most pure salt around...of course we had to buy a bag!
Then we drove on...it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere....all your eyes could see is white salt and then the sky...Solly said if you drove stright it would go on for 100 kms. We arrived at an ¨Island¨...in the middle of nowhere called Isla de los Pescadores....it was a big rocky hill covered with cactus, a few lamas and an extrodinary view. It was called an Island, because all of the salt flats used to be part of a prehistoric saltlake, when it dried up, it left behind 12,000 sq km of salt!
We did a little hike to the top for photos and then went back down for a wonderful lunch. We had 2 cooks travelling with us for the 3 day tour, and it was wonderful because we ate very well. Lunch consised of potatoes, veggies, local cheese, tomatoes and LAMA steaks. It was awesome...never tried Lama before..it was a little on the tough side...but very tasty!
After lunch we continued along for an hour or so, and stopped in the middle of no where....all your eye could see was pure white salt. Here is where we took some awesome prospective photos....for example, a miniture Ivan standing in the palm of my hand.... a tiny me sitting on top of my hat....jumping on a banana, and being chased by a dinosaur....again, cant wait to post these photos..they look so fun!
After that we drove for a few hours more, I couldnt imagine where we would be sleeping, because there was nothing in site....but eventually, we came around mountain side to this old dumpy looking village...lamas everywhere, and we parked in front of what looked like an old abandon shit hole....I was more than unimpressed...Ivan could tell....he tried to make jokes.....I imagined the divorce papers. We grabbed our bags and ventured inside to a pleasant surprise....one of the most unique, creative and cool places I have ever been....EVERYTHING was mad of SALT!!!! The ground was pure white corse salt, the tables in the dining hall were huge slabs of gleaming salt..even the cute chandalieres were made of salt.....then we went to our bedrooms and our BEDs were big huge slabs of salt with a mattress on top...all of the walls were salt (we licked them to be sure)....we were in one of the famous Salt hotels....there we enjoyed a typical Bolivian Christmas dish of beef, creamy mashed potatoes with corn in a spicy sauce....it was wonderful!
Another lesson not to judge a book by its cover eh! It was most certainly an experience to remember..although one night was plenty enough to enjoy!
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