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We had one false start getting to the salt flats in Uyuni - We arrived at the bus station at 8:30pm as we were told to only to find out that our bus had broken down and wouldn't be going to Uyuni that night. Somehow every single person travelling on the bus was told about this during the day except us and 2 British girls. We sat at the bus company office for ages while the 2 other girls got quite angry and upset with the staff, without realising that in this part of the world complaining about the bad customer service doesn't really help! So we headed back to our hotel for the evening and eventually got on the bus the following night.
This was our first overnight bus, and because almost everything in Bolivia was so basic, we were both a bit apprehensive about it. It turns out it was actually pretty comfy. The seats went back really far and there was a good footrest so it was quite comfortable for sleeping. We got to Uyuni at about 7am and headed to the office of the company we had booked our tour with. There we met the other 4 people in our group - a Kiwi couple and a French/Dutch couple. On the tour you are in very close quarters with everyone else so we were really pleased that we got a good group.
We also found out that local communities had blockaded entry to the reserve we would visit on the last day and that we wouldn't be able to get to San Pedro, Chile as planned at the end of the tour, but since there were another couple on our tour heading there, that the tour company 'would figure something out'. After an hour of arguing with the company, we ended up having to book a private car to San Pedro from the Bolivian border at the crazy expense of $350. (We later found out that our tour company had ripped us off with this, but as we had already paid there wasn't much we could do about it). And then the tour begins..
When we told Courtney we were doing a tour of the salt flats, she told us to expect the best/worst three days of your life and I think that pretty much sums it up! There were 6 of us (plus the driver) crammed into a jeep for 3 days driving across a bumpy dessert. Accommodation was the most basic we have stayed in, the food was average (and we were on one of the higher priced tours available), but what we saw was amazing. The first stop was a train cemetery, which is full of abandoned trains from when the mining industry collapsed in the 1940's. After a wee play on that, we headed to the salt flats. The worlds largest salt flat (once a pre-historic lake) is truly incredible to see. 120 x 110 miles in size and with salt 10m thick - it is actually white white white salt as far as you can see. Our first night we spent in a salt hotel , which was exactly that. A hotel made of salt - the walls, the beds, the tables, the chairs - everything. The second day, we were up early and drove to a few amazing lagoons coloured white, red and orange. We saw flamingos (the best bird ever), Chinchillas and a very cute animal (I forgot the name) but looks like a cross between a camel and a llama. On the third day we just headed straight to the Bolivian border in the morning and took our very expensive personal taxi to San Pedro, Chile…
PS: Sorry there have been no photos for a while, the internet connections have been too slow to upload them. Will get them up as soon as we get some good internet!
- comments
julie ha ha funny photo. did you take photo of the salt chairs?
courtney fave entry. flamingos are actually the best bird ever. maybe even the best animal.