The thought of waking up at 3:30am so that we could go see the sunrise two hours later was disturbing, especially considering how arduous the past two days had already been, but ultimately, I must admit that it was sooo worth it.
We had after all taken this trip (tour) to experience the Salar de Uyuni, and that’s where we now were heading. Let me tell you, it lived up to all my expectations.
If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen some of these pictures, but there was a lot more than mere photographic fun. The Salar is the largest salt flat in the world. It measures 50 kilometers in each direction from its center, and it is a spectacle to behold. At its center, the salt is about 50 feet deep. We drove its entire width, the first half in the dark, so we could get situated and watch a spectacular sunrise from its middle, while having an al-fresco breakfast. Our driver spooked all of us when he shut off the headlights and drove for several minutes in absolute darkness, before reaching our destination.
We were in a part of the flat where water had accumulated from recent rainfall and were required to wear flip-flops to avoid ruining our shoes. The water was freezing, and so were our feet. We came to this wet part of the flat because the reflection of the sunrise makes the event much more dramatic, and it sure was.
We then relocated from there to a drier area, and that’s where we had a terrific time posing for shots and videos. We also walked a couple of kilometers on its surface.
Before heading to the town of Uyuni for lunch, we stopped at a market area. Diane found her Nativity Scene that she collects from each country we travel to (when we can find them), which made her day.
Uyuni is the largest town we visited. If not for the Salar, it would be pretty forgettable, but there is a train cemetery there that is quite unique. Hundreds of steam engines and train carts dating back from the late 1800s are just rusting in the sun in what used to be Uyuni’s train station, before the railroad ceased to exist.
In Uyuni we changed vehicles. Our driver was done for its part, and the new driver would drive us on the way back over the next couple of days. Our Bolivian experienced was only four days and three nights, but it was extremely intense and activity packed. Memorasble indeed.
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