Tupiza and the 4x4 tour up to the Uyuni salt flats

Leaving Potosí proved to be more difficult than we first expected, as the driver of the bus we had booked decided that there were too few passengers to make the journey worthwhile. The company neglected to tell us, the passengers, of this decision, resulting in a wasted hour at the bus station. In the end, we took a shared taxi with another couple of travellers, and the comfort was certainly appreciated. The addition of the aforementioned travellers, two lovely Irish guys, bought out little party up to six, as we were already travelling down with an English guy we had met in La Paz, and a Swiss girl we had originally met whilst swimming with the dolphins in the pampas, and whom we'd run into again in Potosí. 

It turned out to be a fantastic group, and the first night and day in Tupiza were great fun. The highlight for me, of course, was the five hour horse ride through the incredible red rock scenery which provided the backdrop for the final days of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Unfortunately, accessing the actual scene of their final moments would have meant a much longer, camping, tour however I feel that we certainly got the feel for the area, which included incredible canons and vast colour changes - from the red rock to green rock all punctuated with stunning cacti. We were even given chaps and sombreros to wear so we felt very western! I was given a lovely little grey mare who flew like the wind (though not as fast as Ginger!). As we were having a gallop up ahead on our own, she even took me down a path with a little jump cheeky pony, and I surprised several hikers and a goat herder as we careered round a corner in a cloud of dust, with my hat almost flying off! 

The following day, the six of us joined three further tourists on a four day tour in a 4x4 up through fantastic scenery first through the area surrounding Tupiza, then through the Altiplano (high planes) and ending at one of the largest salt flats in the world outside Uyuni. 

We ended up having really quite an adventure! The first day passed as expected as we drove along a very bendy road flagged by deep canons (Mum would have hated the trip already), until the scenery changed into the bare landscape of te Altiplano. Here, the temperature dropped fast and we were already faced with snow and icey rivers to cross. We stopped often to take pictures of the wonderful views, which included a slightly creepy derelict village which was apparently abandoned due to a haunting! We stayed the night in very basic accommodation, where the temperatures inside was about -8 degrees which was cold but nothing compared for what we were in for next! 

The next day we were back in the jeep early heading to our first destination: the strange rock formation called L'Arbol de Piedra or "Rock Tree". This does have a remarkable resemblance to a tree, and the general scenery was still making us look twice. I never tired of watching the llamas and wild vicuñas grazing the bleak plains, and we saw plenty more wildlife including ostriches and at the end of the second morning, a lake full of flamengos. We stopped early for lunch and had some free time to soak in a hot spring. I was slightly apprehensive at first, as it was actually snowing outside by this time, however once we were in it was wonderful. We even got out and rolled in the snow and jumped back in! 

After too short a time, it was time to dry off and head in for lunch. Then the real adventure began! We plan for the afternoon was to head to the Laguna Verde, or "Green Lake", and then on to see the geysers. Unfortunately, we never made to it to either as we were caught in a blizzard. We ended up in a convoy of about a dozen other jeeps, driving through the snow for about 5 hours. The drivers simply couldn't find a way through, and I suspect they were rather lost at some points as well. A helpful Canadian tourist even tried to help by lending his GPS system to them, though it seemed to me that they might have been lacking a map, so I'm not sure how much help that would have been. After several close calls, where jeeps were stuck in snow up hills, and several loops of the same area, finally the snow started to abate and the last planned stop for the day, the Laguna Colorada (Coloured Lake), appeared in front of us. It was the perfect time to see it, just at sunset and it was spectacular, and we felt as if it hadn't been a day lost. It was very cold however so we didn't stay long but headed swiftly on to our stop for the night. The temperature dropped to -15 degrees inside there and we coped by burning dried fungus and making hot whiskeys with honey and lemon to keep the chill out! 

The third day was centred around a line of lakes, where we were reassured that we would have plenty of opportunities to capture photos of flamengos especially. We were not disappointed, there were more flamengos at each lake, as well as opportunities for some incredible shots of vicuñas, and even both animals together. It's hard to explain how beautiful the surroundings were - the gorgeous lakes surrounded by snowy peaks were the perfect background for such wonderful creatures. 

We had lunch outside served out of the back of the jeep in the company of several mountain chinchillas which were adorable. In the afternoon, we drove to a ancient burial site, which also served as a mirador over the very edge of the salt flats. We were nearing the main attraction of this trip, the Uyuni salt flats, among the largest in the world. That night, we stayed in a hostel made entirely of salt. We would visit the first of its type the next day, but those built on the salt flats itself have been outlawed for environmental reasons. However, the hostel was fantastic (not least because it had hot showers, a luxury we had not had for the last 2 nights!), as everything was indeed made out of salt. The walls were made out of salt bricks, as were the tables and chairs, and even the floors! We whiled away the evening happily accompanied by a couple of magnums of red wine which a cholita (traditionally dressed lady) was selling in the hostel! 

We awoke before dawn the next day in order to drive out onto the salt flats and see the breathtaking sunrise from there. We had breakfast on one of the five islands in the flats, Inka Wasi, or the Inca's Home. The island was covered in cacti and was amazing to wander around. We then drove out into the salt flats again and spent a good two hours taking hundreds of the stereotypical perspective pictures which the flats lend themselves so well to. I have to say, we got some good ones, and I hope to share them with you all at some point! We did see the original salt hotel, though I was a little underwhelmed after our excellent salt hostel, and we ended the morning at a train cemetery, which is exactly what it is described as! All the old spanish steam trains are simply abandoned on the outskirts of Uyuni, which again makes for great photos! 

Uyuni itself is possibly one of the most depressing places I have ever visited. We had a few hours to kill before our bus back to La Paz, and it was a few hours too long. However, it was back to La Paz we were heading, as next on our list was to attempt to climb out first peak over 6000m,Huyana Potosí (6088m), which towers over the city. I hope to let you know how we get on soon in another post. 

Lots of love, 

Emma