Finally, probably what we had probably booked this tour for we headed to Uyuni.

Another 4 hour bus ride from Potosi ( after the delays of the day before something we were not looking forward to. But when you’re not the person responsible and you’re literally just along for the ride , you just roll with it – lesson in life there I’m sure.

We left on time, had great seats thanks to Tina our guide and off we went. Scenery once we got out of potosi was stunning. Very grand and dramatic. Dramatic sweeping mountains, arid almost desert like hills with cacti and then suddenly a green oasis with crops planted by a flowing river. Lamas, lots and lots of Lama’s. They seem to be able to adapt to all conditions. They often have small bits of fabric on by their ears or in their coats as identifiers.

So we arrive quite late in Uyuni , if it wasn’t grey and red dust instead you’d swear you were outback Australia. Very wide roads , mostly single level dwellings and a kind of bleak sense to it. The tourists being the ones keeping it propped up.

Next day after our briefing ( love these , the we are doing this, bring this, don’t forget this be here at this time) we piled into our 4 wheel drive to our first stop. And it was a weird one.

The train cemetery.

Uyuni was a transfer port in the late 19th century for minerals to the port in what is now northern Chile. There was a war, Bolivia lost the port and suddenly they had no sea access and no where for these trains to go to. So they sat in Uyuni and have been there ever since.

It was kinda eerie , and weird at the same tone. Crawling with tourists it had not been open the days prior due to the roads being too muddy but here it was now! And dry as a bone. Odd the things that become tourist attractions, yet again absolutely no restrictions and tourists were on top of, inside of and even dismantling these rusty hulks to get their own souvenirs. Surely there must be accidents? Tetanus, broken bones? I must be getting old. The folly of youth .

Then back into the 4 wheel drive and after some lunch we headed off to salt flats. Pictures ( and geez there are a lot of them) do not do this justice.

Uyuni salt flats are 10,500 sq kilometres. They were formed tens of thousands of years ago when tectonic forces landlocked the sea that was there and then slowly the water was evaporated leaving only the salt behind. The salt layer is on average 10m thick and up to 130m thick in place. The brine underneath is the world’s biggest source of lithium. This place is immense and beautiful. Apparently Neil Armstrong saw the reflection of Uyuni from space and decided he needed to sed it so visited in the early 70’s and it’s only really been popular as a tourist destination since the 1990’s. You may have heard of the Bonneville flats in Utah, also salt beds. A place famous for setting land speed records ( Burt Munro and the movie fastest little Indian) by comparison Bonneville flats are 100sq km.

We had blue skies and clear weather, but this is rainy season and many people come at this time of year to see the mirror effect of the water sitting on top of the salt but in the last few days it has all evaporated, that didn’t matter to me. Still spectacular.

Lots of trick photography shots seems to be a thing to do as well so feast your eyes. When in Rome…

Having driven over the lake and gone another hour over land we headed to what was being called homestay but was called a hostel in the brochure. But again, we need not have worried, David and I were given a great room with two beds and an ensuite in walls built completely of salt bricks. Definitely more hostel than homestay but that’s fine. No wifi which is great so I’m writing this offline and will publish later.

One of advantage of being so remote is the night sky, it’s quite spectacular with no city lights. So lights out , early to bed and with the odour of salt it wasn’t long before we were fast asleep..

Wonder what the next day will bring?