Salar de Uyuni (Day 3) - Day 14

Today started awfully early. We had to be packed and ready to head out by 5:30AM. Might as well, I had been tossing and turning since midnight. I wasn't as cold as I thought I would be, especially we were also given hot water bottles for our feet. But I was under a sleeping bag and 5 layers of wool blankets. There were just too much stuff on top of me and I was too constricted to sleep.

Anyway, we went on our way in the dark and in -8 Celsius weather to see a volcano named Sol de Mañana at 4860m. I have never been so close to an active volcano before. It was cool to see the piping hot steam pressuring through the rocks. It was also smelly too due to the sulfur.



We didn't stay for too long since it was so cold. The next stop was the hot spring. I contemplated whether to go in or not on the way there. I am sure the 35 Celsius pool would be really lovely, but getting out afterwards would be painfully cold. When we arrived, I stuck my fingers in the hot spring water, I was sold. When I am ever going to do this again! Hanging out in a hot spring pool next to a lagoon with a bunch of flamingoes in the background.



I was so glad I went for it. The warmth of the water felt so nice after the chilly early morning rise. I wasn't going to get out of the pool if it wasn't for the pancake breakfast that was awaiting for me. When I emerged from the water, it wasn't actually that cold. After I got dressed, I was warmer than when I got in and didn't even need my third layer of jacket. I felt completely rejuvenated at breakfast and ate two pancakes with caramel spread and hot chocolate.

Now we were off to our last major spot on the tour, the Green Lagoon. This lagoon is full of toxic copper and many other different kinds of minerals. That is why there were no flamingos. When we got there, there wasn't much wind which was good because we were not as cold, but not so good since the lagoon didn't appear to be as green as when the minerals are mixed by the wind. It was still a beautiful site to see with the snowy volcano of Licancahur in the background.






Then we started our very bumpy and dusty two hour ride to our lunch spot. After lunch, the roads got a little better, but still dusty. We made a few more stops at the red lagoon again and volcanic rock site which was full of mosquitos.

Overall this was an enjoyable tour organized by Red Planet. However, we had felt we were short changed by not having an English guide with us in the car. The guide we had did his best to keep us informed after the two cars met up. But sometimes one car arrives earlier than the other and we would missed on a lot of information before we had to moved onto something else. We decided to speak to the company about our thoughts after we arrived back in Uyuni at around 5:30PM. I was impressed with Red Planet and the staff who actually listened to our problems. They decided to charge us the Spanish tour price which was 700 bolivianos (105 USD) and issued us each a 45 USD refund. We made sure we tipped the guide well since it wasn't really his fault.

I was happy the tour ended well. It was time to check in to our Uyuni hotel and take a much needed shower!

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Location:Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni (Day 2) - Day 13

We hit the road in the morning just before 8AM. 2 hour bumpy drive later we were at a view point to see an active volcano. The view point itself was formed by volcanic rocks of many different shapes.







The second and third stops were two sulphur lagoons with pink flamingoes. I didn't know they even lived in such cold climates. We had lunch at second lagoon.





We also stopped at an desert area that bordered Chile to look at a rabbit/kangaroo like animal called Viscacha. They were very cute with their long ears and whiskers and brush tails.



Then it was a short stop at the Tree Rock which is a piece of volcanic rock that is in a shape of a tree. It is naturally formed by the strong wind. I also noticed the strong wind forms strange formation of snow/ice left over from the winter.



Our day ended at the Laguna Colorada or the Red Lagoon. The lagoon is dark red due to the algae in the water which the flamingos also feast on them. It is part of the national park. There was a 150 bolivianos (27 USD) per person park fee. There were a lot more flamingos in this lagoon.





There were nicely maintained toilet facilities at each major stops. But they can range from prices from 2 to 5 bolivianos (which was at the Red Lagoon). You get toilet paper with the price.


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Location:Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni (Day 1) - Day 12

We took a taxi to El Alto International Airport in La Paz. It costed us 50 bolivianos which I could've swore the hotel told us it should cost around 15. Oh well, we had a plane to catch. The airline called Amazonas had only recently opened up a route from La Paz to Uyuni in late July. We kept our fingers crossed for delays. To our delight the 1 hour flight departed and arrived on time. The plane was tiny and full with about 20 seats.  We did have to pay 15 bolivianos airport tariff (for domestic flights) before getting on the plane.







The Uyuni airport appeared to still be under construction and very small (I didn't even see it when we landed). Someone from Red Planet Tours was suppose to meet us at the airport, but we didn't see anyone. There wasn't even a phone to make a call. I had to borrow someone's cell phone and was told to just hop on the bus to town. The bus was 7 bolivianos (1.1 USD).

The tour was suppose to start at 11AM and we got to town centre and red planet office just before 10. Red Planet was suppose to provide us with an English tour guide, but they didn't have one! They offered us a shared guide with another group in another car and refused to give us a discount for the mix up. Although I was very annoyed with the mix up, we were stuck between a rock and a hard place. We had to take the tour and hope for the best.

While waiting for our 4x4 land cruise ride, we went out to grab extra water (2L per person) and toilet paper. Around 11:30AM, we were finally off on our 3 day Salar del Uyuni tour.

The first stop was the train graveyard. In early 1900, this area use to be a happening place rich in silver and the train was used to transport them out. The town of Uyuni had built wide roads with the potential to be the next big metropolis city like La Paz. However, when other new silver mines were discovered outside of here the mining experts moved out. The locals didn't know what they were doing and the industry died. The trains were then left to mother nature. The yard made for amazing pictures.









Second stop was the salt processing factory. The owner only works two days out of the week since there is no great demand for salt. The factory only supplies the local regions like Uyuni, Potosi and etc. There are no export since countries like Chile have their own salt field. The salt was very cheap and still packaged in a very traditional way. 5 bolivianos for half kg bag and 35 bolivianos for 50 kg. We each paid 1 to 2 bolivianos to the owner for the tour and demonstration.







The salt factory and surrounding buildings were all mostly made out of salt. They last approximately 10 years and the brown lines in the salt bricks indicated how much rained the area got each year.



We then moved on to learn more about salt. The salt field use to be a body of water thousands of years ago. Although most of the water is gone, the salt still contains moisture. So the locals put the salt into little piles to drain the water and dry the salt.



We had our lunch at a salt hotel in the middle of the field. Salt hotels are actually illegal here due to the pollution it causes the field. This particular hotel now only functions as a shelter for passing-by tourists to have lunch. There were a bunch of flags in front of the hotel. There wasn't a Canadian or Chinese flag. I urge whoever is going there next must bring one for me!









Next stop was Isla Inkahuasi (Inka House) or Fish Island which is an island in the middle of the salt field. The walk about costed 30 bolivianos (4.5 USD) and took about 20 minutes to get up and down. It was extremely windy and cold. I had three layers on and a very warm scarf. The island is best known for its giant cactuses. Unlike the cactus we know, these ones have no water inside when opened, but dry wood like with holes.






One of the biggest things to do in the salt field is to take perceptive pictures. We had a lot of fun taking these funny pictures.





It has been really windy and dry in the area. My hands have been cracking since the hand lotion I brought was not creamy enough. I really recommend anyone traveling in this area to bring lots hand lotion and cream.

It had gotten pretty cold by about 3:30PM. So we started head to our hotel. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere (but not on the salt field) and was made out of salt bricks. It was basic, but cozy. Definitely not as bad as I thought. A hot shower cost 10 bolivianos.






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Location:Uyuni, Bolivia