The small mining town of San Cristobal was our next stop, although not for long as there really wasn't much there apart from a few buses which had Mr JC´s stamp of approval...
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| JC, peace throughout the storm... |
We then arrived at the town of Uyuni which is the gateway to the salt flats. The train cemetery was our first visit. As per the Chilean train cemetery Id visited on my Pachamama tour, Uyuni previously served as a distribution hub for trains carrying to the Pacific ports. It unfortunately didn't have the same awesomeness as the cemetery Id visited in Chile. The trains themselves were in two parallel rows and all were in a state of disrepair. Despite this we were all like monkeys clambering all over them. Im surprised no one didn't hurt themselves...
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| The train cemetery |
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| Thats life... |
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| Peepo! |
From here we arrived at our Hotel in Uyuni which was as basic as basic can be and pretty dirty. It certainly did not live up to its glamourous name of Cristal with my rather childish looking bed sheets...
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| Can we fix it? no we cant... |
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| Luxury at its best. NOT. |
Thankfully this hotel had a shower, albeit one that had an electricity current running through it. I managed to was my hair without killing myself. I think my rubber havaina flip flops saved me...
The next morning we woke up at 4am to visit the 13,000 square metres of the Salt Flats of Uyuni which was the main reason for doing the four day tour in the first place.
We were expecting the salar to be covered in water as it had been raining quite a bit before we´d arrived. Whilst this wasn't ideal for the typical photos which are taken in the salar, it would mean there would be a reflection which could prove interesting in photos.
The journey there was pitch black and the road was bumpy. As we approached the flats, we started to drive through the rain water which had settled. It was the most surreal experience driving in the dark just with the rear lights of the 4x4 a mile or so up ahead to guide us.
The scenery was magnificent despite it being dark, as there were patches of light where the clouds were lifting as the sun rose. All of this was reflected in the water on the ground.
When we finally arrived at the Salt Hotel where we were scheduled to have breakfast, dawn had begun to fully break. The setting was awe-inspiring. It was freezing and it felt like we were standing on snow not salt. There were flags from around the world outside the hotel, but none of Blighty!! Therefore anyone reading this who decides to visit Uyuni in the near future, you know what to bring with you!
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| No Union Jack! |
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| The hotel that stank of wee |
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| This was taken before the sun came up, hence it being darker than the two earlier pics! |
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| They all looked like surfers waiting for the swell! |
The setting reminded me of being in Cornwall, England, the few times I managed to drag myself out of bed at the crack of dawn to go surfing.
We ate breakfast in the Hotel, which had everything inside made from salt, from the table and chairs to the walls. Thankfully our table was miles away from the toilets as they stank and were also extortionate to use - $5 bolivianos! You could stay in the hotel overnight, but at $80 US dollars I think it was a bit of a rip off, especially with the constant stench of pee.
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| Uyunis own version of Big Ben... |
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| Lovely pic of Bolivias President in the background... |
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| Traditional clothing |
It was Jordi´s birthday so our cocinera Maura had baked him a cake which we all devoured for breakfast.
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| Birthday brekkie |
Unfortunately for us, the birthday celebrations didn't last long, as the weather took a turn for the worse and began to rain. This made taking photos tricky and cold as we had to wear just flip flops to get the shots! But we endeavoured and got a few goodies:
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| Overcast but still amazing |
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| Waheyyyy! |
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| Giant |
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| Mini me |
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| 4x4s and people in distance |
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| This pic just shows how wet it was |
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| Check out the water |
Overall the trip was amazing, and Im glad I went with Tupiza Tours as they were very professional and certainly looked after us. We just all wish the weather had been at least a little clearer when we visited the salt flats as it meant that we couldn't take the typical pictures that are normally what you go to Uyuni for :(
I´ll just have to come back another time...!
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