The Tupiza-Uyuni Circuit (Part 2) |
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The curiously shaped Arbol de Piedra |
In the Desierto Silosi |
Cerro de Siete Colores |
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Race across the dusty desert |
The ice-covered surface of Laguna Honda |
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Laguna Charcot |
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Volcano, plain and the rocky ridge of Pasito Tuntun |
Pacific-Atlantic Highway heading towards 5865m Volcan Ollague |
Watching smoke drift lazily from a side vent of Volcan Ollague |
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Alone in the desert |
A 2m wide llareta (cushion plant) |
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Crossing the Salar de Chiguani |
Tussock covered countryside bordering Salar de Chiguani |
Blue-shaded mountains west of the Salar de Chiguani |
A tiny Bolivian field mouse |
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Today we were up early - 5.30am. Along with everyone else in the Salt Hotel we were off to see the sun rise on the salt flats of the Salar de Uyuni. A convoy of jeeps headed off, a string of lights in the pre-dawn darkness, back along the bumpy, dusty road for several kilometres before heading out on to the smooth surface of the lake. Salar de Uyuni is very big, over 12000 km2, and the different groups in their 4WDs soon separated out. By the time the first pink tints began to appear on the eastern horizon, we were 30 km out into the Salar and felt alone, surrounded by the vastness of the hard, tesselated salt surface in the early morning cold. To the west, the almost full moon was setting above the salt flats, tinted blue in the pale pre-dawn light. |
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Pre-dawn light on the salt flats |
Sunrise over the Salar de Uyuni |
It was a brilliant sunrise, with scarlet clouds above the flatness of the salt, the fine tesselations on lake's surface lighting up as a spidery network when they were struck by the first rays of the sun. We left this and continued on across the smooth salt surface to Isla de los Pescadores, a hilly island surrounded by a sea of salt and populated with tall cacti, up to 12m tall and over a thousand years old. |
We followed the well-marked trail up through the cacti, with many fascinating views across the lake to 5400m Volcan Tunupa on its northern shore, arriving at a lookout at the island's highest point. |
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Views across the cacti of Isla de los Pescadores |
The vastness of the Salar de Uyuni |
The absolute whiteness of the lake lends itself to photographic illusions due to the loss of size perspective with distance, and, during breakfast, we were amused by a group of Israelis setting up various poses, e.g a photo that would appear as a tiny person sitting on another person's hand and other such variants. |
Breakfast over and a wander out from the island to look more closely at the hard, strangely polygon-patterned salt surface completed, we headed off again for the 80km crossing of the vast whiteness of Uyuni to the village of Colchani on its eastern shore. How Marco must have enjoyed that drive after several hundred kilometres of rough dirt roads. On the way, we stopped to check out the Ojos de Agua, small holes in the salt surface, filled with water and large halite crystals, some tinted in greens and pinks. |
Blue and white - the colours of Uyuni |
Ojo de agua - the curious water-filled holes in the salt surface |
Group photo on the salt flats of Uyuni |
Pinkish crystals in one of the ojos de agua |
A brief stop at Colchani, a town based on processing the salt from the salar, for one last delicious lunch, was followed by a short drive into Uyuni and the end of our trek. We were all heading in different directions - Marco and Elena back to Tupiza and the next group of aventurers, Ben and Naomi, down to Villazon and Argentina, and the fair Nello and myself on to La Paz and Lake Titicaca. Goodbyes said, it seemed strange that the trip was over - this last day on the incredible white emptiness of the Salar de Uyuni was certainly the highlight of the five day adventure. |
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