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Well we reached Uyuni 14th October ready for our Salt Flat tour after the 11 hour over night bus ride....
We began at 11am ready and half awake to jump in the landcruiser with Anthony and Brian, plus two Brazilian girls and our Spanish only speaking tour guide...yay! We began by seeing the old train wrecks (good photo oppertunity really) and then went back to town to pick up 'Mama' who would be cooking for us during the 3 days.
The Salt flats are huge, we started at one end by driving onto the salt where they´re collection the salt for business. Then we travelled across to a Salt Hotel and saw how they had made the brick, tables, chairs etc our of salt blocks. We bumped into Laura and Laura (from our Machu Picchu trek) on this tour and had a good catch up. We took some photos which I will add onto Facebook soon.
(Salt Flat facts - Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). It is located in the Potosí and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, and is elevated 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above the mean sea level.[1] The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves,[2] which has yet to be extracted. The large area, clear skies and exceptional surface flatness make the Salar an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of the Earth observation satellites.The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a major breeding ground for several species of pink flamingos.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyuni_salt_flats
Thats night we stayed in a Salt Hostel, which was chilly, but funny.... we just hadnt expected... word of advise, NEVER ever look in the 'kitchen'
Over the next couple of days we visited Lagoons, Moutains and Volcanos. This will be the first time i say i have seen a Red, Green and Blue Lagoon. All of which have Flamingos in the waters. I have never eaten so much sand, salt, dust and dirt before! Just make sure when visiting, you have something to cover your face, as it all dries out your skin, eyes and lips.
We travelled around for 3 days via jeep, with 'papa' and 'mama' whilst looking at the strangest barren views. On the last morning we woke at 4am to get to the Steam vents and the hot springs for sun rise. Rebecca, Anthony and Brian braved the Hot Springs... I just couldnt... too COLD brrrrr. We made it back to Uyuni at 5.30 after travelling through rivers and barren sand, we got a puncture mid way and on the home stretch the car broke down, but luckily papa knew how to fix it!
at 5.30 we was back and ready to check in to a hotel with a hot shower and a bed not made out of salt. Anthony and Brian had now departed for their next leg! and we are now on to the next leg.... Chile tomorrow evening
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