Mar 23 - Across the Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats
Morning
dawned bright cool and clear and today we are off to cross the Salar de Uyuni,
12000km2 of salt desert up to 120km deep. Very exciting !!
There had
been much discussion about what we were going to be able to do as it had rained
a lot a few days before so there was a lot of water and sink holes in the salt.
We wanted to go to Inkahuasi Island in the middle of the flats but it hadn’t
been possible for the previous few days.
 |
| only 4" of water but enough to cover everything in salt |
After much
back and forward with the office and discussion with other drivers coming back
the other way.
 |
| one of the entry points to the salt flats |
Serapio our driver gave us the thumbs up that we could go to the island but that we needed to access the flats from another point as the edges were too wet with too much water.
 |
The edges of the salt flats are too soft and dangerous
to drive so only a few routes are available |
 |
| nice clean jeep - not for long !! |
Off we set
to Juloca where we found a small narrow road onto the infinite expanse of the salt
flat. This got us over the worst of the wet area but when we came off the road and
drove across the flats the water spray was coming up all around.
 |
| Steve freezing his toes off |
Once the water
was down to ankle deep, we stopped, slipped on our water shoes (bare feet in
Steve’s case) and went for a paddle in the freezing cold surface water with
pure salt fields below and nothing in sight for miles on a landscape where the land seamlessly joined the sky.
We arrived at Inkahuasi island having not
seen another 4WD all day to find we were the only people there as everyone else
had thought it was still too wet, so we had the island to ourselves.
We climbed
to the top of the island which is populated by giant cactus, a strange little
green oasis in the middle of this vast salt desert, for wonderful views of the
surrounding areas.
The climb which would at normal altitude would have been a
breeze, had us all puffing and panting due to the high altitude of this vast salt lake but it was worth the climb.
 |
| all furniture built from salt...not to most comfortable |
After this
we had picnic lunch on the edge of the salt flats sitting on salt chairs at a
salt table.
From there
we crossed the vast salt desert heading for Colchani our next stop just on the
edge of the salt flats near Uyuni. Steve was keen to have a drive and Serapio
our driver let him have a go across the wet flats. Not to be outdone the rest
of us had to have a go too. Serapio had a quiet afternoon !! All we had to do was avoid the sink
holes……………….
We found a couple of big ones and Serapio pulled out from these some of the most beautiful salt crystal formations including a rose salt one.
These beautiful rock salt crystals are found everywhere but are very fragile
 |
| scenery just like a photo set |
The sun was
incredibly powerful both from the altitude and from the reflection of the salt
and we had been fortunate that it had been cloudy so far. At this point the sun
started to break through and we got some great reflection pictures and we
horsed around taking silly snaps for a bit. (This was to end us up with Steve
burning his ears and Janette burning her head and inside lip – all in 30
minutes !)
We headed in
to Colchani via the old salt processing plants and as we neared the town, there
were large trucks out collecting salt (manually shovelled in by guys with long
shovels). The salt regenerates every time it rains so it is a permanently
renewal salt field.
 |
lack of technology meas that bags are sealed
with a gas lance |
We stopped in at one of the original salt processing plants to see how the process used to work before the big companies industrialised it.
They even gave us a bag of salt to keep each but our unwillingness tp transport white powders across South America meant we had to ditch them !
....and from there on to our Salt Hotel where the building and rooms are all made
from salt. Most bizarre….
Serapio and
David headed off to Uyuini to get the 4WD cleaned as it was completely
encrusted in salt after the crossing in the wet (as were we !)
 |
| Salt everywhere |
Just one of
the most magical days ever. It really isn’t possible to describe the scale, the
remoteness, the whiteness of this most wonderful place.
The pictures only give
a small glimpse but we hope it conveys some of what we experienced.
 |
| A deserved sense of achievement |
 |
| Bye Bye |
 |
| just one last picture - probably impossible top do it justice |
From there
we crossed the vast salt desert heading for Colchani our next stop just on the
edge of the salt flats near Uyuni. Steve was keen to have a drive and Serapio
our driver let him have a go across the wet flats. Not to be outdone the rest
of us had to have a go too. Serapio had a quiet afternoon !! All we had to do was avoid the sink
holes……………….
We found a couple of big ones and Serapio pulled out from these some of the most beautiful salt crystal formations including a rose salt one.
....and from there on to our Salt Hotel where the building and rooms are all made
from salt. Most bizarre…. 
Serapio and
David headed off to Uyuini to get the 4WD cleaned as it was completely
encrusted in salt after the crossing in the wet (as were we !)
The climb which would at normal altitude would have been a
breeze, had us all puffing and panting due to the high altitude of this vast salt lake but it was worth the climb.
No comments:
Post a Comment