The salt flats of Bolivia

From Uyuni Salt Flats

It all began with a piece of meat.  It sat there, on the window sill of the bus we had just boarded in Potosi, looking just cooked and yet inexplicably there.  Further examination yielded two other pieces on or near the window.  Funnily enough, that wasn't the first sign that things weren't going exactly to plan.  We had bought the bus ticket to Uyuni from a little store with a nice big bus sitting in front of it and we were assured that we were taking a bus of similar quality.  Ten minutes before departure, the lady who sold us the ticket received a phone call and became quite distraught and angry.    We didn't piece together until after we saw the meat that the subject of the call was probably that the bus wasn't coming.  So instead of our modern, big bus, we were put on a small micro bus with meat in the window sills.  Our destination was Uyuni and the salt flats of the same name.  Our guide book had mentioned these flats as one of the top places to see in South America, not just in Bolivia.  Giant white expanses of salt as far as the eye can see give it an other-worldly appearance.  Not only that, just south of the flats are tons of lagoons of different colors, flamingos, geysers and very-high mountains all around.  “Sounds like fun” we thought.

We had been warned by a nice English couple that all trips to the flats began or ended with a story about Bolivia and its roads.  They had told us of their adventure, on the way back from the flats, their overnight bus had somehow lost functionality of its alternator or its connection with it and the battery and all electricity went out, including headlights and dashboard lights, so the driver couldn't see how fast he was going, nor did he have any lights to illuminate the road at night.  After trying to diagnose the problem, he gave up and went through the bus asking for flashlights so the driver could see the dials on the dashboard.  As for headlights, he decided to be guided by a luckily full-ish moon!

So we were slightly prepared for something on the way to Uyuni, and the meat on the window told us that this might be it.  “Well, that's not so bad” we said.  “Definitely weird, but not as bad as the headlights going out”.  Then the other passengers got on the bus, including a lady with 3 large cartons of eggs who stood along with 5 other people in the aisles of the bus for the entire 7 hour bus ride to Uyuni.  Still, not so bad as our English friends.

We got to Uyuni that night and booked our tour for the next morning.  Tours consist usually of 3 days, 2 nights.  Day 1 is at the salt flats, staying at a hotel made of salt, Day 2 is seeing various multi-colored lagoons, and Day 3 you see geysers and head back or if you like cross the border to Chile.  Since we wanted to get to Chile we chose the latter option.

The next day we began our to the flats.  They were quite amazing.  Nothing but flat, white salt for as far as the eye could see.  The only down side was that it was a bit cloudy that day, but it didn't rain or anything.  It was great for pictures also.  The real adventure began the next day.


After staying a night in a salt hotel (fully made out of salt, the chairs, tables, walls, box-springs, etc) we woke up to the sound of rain falling on the roof.  As we set out, we found out that it doesn't rain there very much at all this time of the year and consequently, the great flat plain we would be driving over turned into a giant lake with very deep mud.   Check out this video:

From Uyuni Salt Flats

It wasn't all that bad until our companion land-rover suddenly stopped in the middle of the lake.  We pulled up behind and our driver got out and tried to help the other driver figure out the problem.  They thought the wires of the vehicle had gotten wet and they tried to dry them off but after an hour of trying, they gave up.  The next plan of action was to seek help at a nearby military base that was only on the other side of the lake.  So we all got in and drove to the military base, leaving the other car in the lake.

The military base was tiny as far as bases go more of an outpost really.  Just a couple of oval-shaped buildings surrounded by a fence.  Once we arrived the soldiers stationed there came up to talk to the driver and see what was up.  The driver explained and the soldiers began scouring the base for a cable to help us out.  The best they could find (apparently they don't do this much) was a very thick cable about 10 feet long.  It was about as thick as a bridge suspension cable and it was only a cable.  It had no hooks or anything else to attach it.  We had no idea how they were going to use it to tie two vehicles together but that was all they had so we put it on the roof of the car along with two of the soldiers and headed back to the other car.


Once at the other car, we witnessed the ingenuity of the soldiers who must improvise all the time.  They took some pliers and unraveled the cable into smaller cables until it was thin enough to be malleable to tie knots around the car frames but still strong enough to pull the other car through the mud lake.  Only twice did the knots they used fall apart on the way but eventually we were able to pull the other car and its passengers to the military base.  Since we were on a paying tour, our driver said we had to leave the other group there and try to continue on, even though we were four hours behind.  So we did, the other group was forced to spend the night at the military base.

So four hours late, we continued our journey, but the rain did not stop and as we got higher the rain turned to snow!  Hence most of the usually very picturesque landscape was hidden behind snow clouds while it got darker and darker.  Suddenly we realized that our driver was driving at over 13,000 feet in a snowstorm at night.  We prayed our truck would not break down as there were definitely no trucks behind us and we knew that we had no radios or cell phones to call for help.  We got to the sights, lagoons and the tree that looks like a rock but it was night and snowing so we didn't linger.  Our one desire was to get to the night's lodging.  Finally as we got close the driver turned out his headlights and asked us to look for lights that would be the sign of the hotel.  Luckily we found it quickly!

We had a late dinner but we were soo cold!  We were over 13,000 feet and there was a snow storm outside and the hostel had no heat and only a couple of blankets on the beds. We decided to sleep together with our clothes on in order to combine our blankets and body warmth.  Unfortunately we were not quite used to sleeping together on a twin bed so with the cold and the space we didn't sleep well.  Luckily this would help the next night!

So we woke up still freezing but in a way happy.  Today the sun was out and we were leaving Bolivia!

Plus we were to see the Laguna Verde (green lagoon) which is a highlight of the trip and then we were only a 45 minute bus ride over the Chilean border where warm water, showers and civilization awaited!    After seeing some beautiful lagoons full of flamingos which gave us some wonderful flying shots, we split from our tour group to head over to the border.


 All we had to do was wait for the bus that would take us down from the altiplano.  Here nature took one final shot at us.  A sudden storm came up from the west and we waited and waited but the bus did not come.  After two hours of waiting, the guides came out and told us that the border was closed and that we'd have to spend the night at another (even higher) hotel and hope the border opened in the morning. So we went back and the long wait began.  If the previous night was cold, this was even worse!  We were convinced the hotel was just a degree or two above freezing.  We were able to take our backpacks and put on every speck of clothes we had and still we were shivering.  So we ripped blankets from the beds and cloaked them around our bodies and waited.  The storm blew and blew and the day we waited felt like three.  We went to bed assured by the guides that at 9:00 am we would be able to go if the border was open.  From the night before we learned that we needed more blankets so we stole 3 more from another empty bed and pretty much wrapped our bed in blankets.  Exhausted, with a slightly larger bed, my warm wife by my side and covered in blankets, I actually slept very well.

The next day we woke up and of course at 9:00 am we found out that the border was still closed.  Our next best hope was 11:30.  Then after that deadline passed we were told 4pm.  At this point Suzanne lost her cheery outlook as the prospect of another night at the hotel loomed at us.  Then at about 3pm we heard a cheer from the crowd of tourists who were outside in the sun and we knew the border had been opened.  We got in a clean bus (with no meat on the windows!) on a paved road and no one stood in the aisles!  We had gotten out of Bolivia!   Hot showers and a warm bed awaited! At least for one night... Next began our 4 day and night bus journey to Quito. But that is definitely another post...

~Mike

Slideshow of Uyuni with all shots:


Slideshow of Potosi (mostly the mines):