Salar De Uyuni - The Salt Lakes

We set off at 8.00am for Bolivia. San Pedro is 2500 m above sea level. We arrived at the Bolivian border at 9.30 am and were already at 4500 m. We had spent the last five days traveling through the north of Chile and had seem many wonderful things, but the first morning in Bolivia surpassed them all.

The border crossing:

The first stop was the Largo Blanco- a large lake which was- yes you guessed it- white and rendered a perfect reflection of the surrounding mountains. Next onto the Largo Verde which by a huge stroke of coincidence was an emerald green lake. We stopped for lunch at a series of natural hot springs and bathed while our Bolivian guides prepared the food. The afternoon was no less sensational. We stopped at a geyser field- bubbling mud of all different colours, steam geysers and boiling water shooting from the ground. Next stop was a geyser that shot straight up into the air- this was at 4870 m.

The next stop was the Largo Colorada- a red lake inhabited by thousands of Flamingos. It was very beautiful and we were told that we could walk around the lake and join the jeep at the other side. This gentle stroll around the lake was the last straw for our fragile bodies. I got back in the jeep and felt unwell, and Hamish froze the entire way around the lake. Fortunately, it was not far to the basic hostel which would be home for the night. It was only 4.00 pm or so but all of us in the jeep went straight to bed.

It is kind of hard to describe altitude sickness, but it is kind of like being drunk and hungover at the same time. I was having difficulty breathing and my heart was beating at twice the usual speed- even as I lay motionless in bed. Hamish could hardly move with the cold, and didn´t manage any dinner that night. The recommended speed of ascent is 300m per day above 3000 m with a rest day every 1000m. We had ascended more than 2500 m in two hours!

The second day of our journey was no less spectacular. We stopped to see strange rock formations in the desert.

The day was blighted by jeep problems. We had to change the tires three times, the third time having to borrow the spare from another vehicle. Towards the end of the day we were looking forward to getting to the salt hostel when the jeep got stuck in the mud. There ensued two hours of trying to get the jeep moving again. The combination of Bolivian jeep drivers and European passengers made for interesting viewing- 20 men and several different nationalities did not speed the process- too many cooks for sure.

I was about to give up hope when finally they were able to get the jeep going and we made it to the salt hostel. The hostel was surprisingly comfortable given the entire thing was constructed out of salt- walls, beds, tables.

Talk about saving the best to last! The third day was out-of-this-world breathtaking. We arrived before too long at the Salar d'Uyuni. This is the biggest salt flat in the world and is 12,000 square kms. It is the most reflective surface in the world and can be seen from the moon. We spent the entire day driving across the salt plain. We were very lucky with the timing. A few weeks before there had been too much water covering the plain to drive over it. We were told that in a couple more weeks there would be no water. As it was there was a few centimeters of water which the jeeps had no trouble driving through. The water meant that the surrounding mountains and clouds were reflected perfectly.

We stopped for lunch on the fish island- a small island in the middle of the salt plain made from coral and covered in huge cacti. The views out across the plain were spectacular.