Several months before our trip, we had bought bus tickets for the four-hour journey from Potosí west to Uyuni in southwestern Bolivia.
We hoped to then arrange a three day/two night tour of the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, that would leave the next morning and drop us off in Chile on the third morning. Though we could have bought cheaper bus tickets at the station that morning, ours had only cost ten dollars each which was worth our peace of mind.
Photos of the desolate countryside on the bus journey:
I've long forgotten the name of this 'town' but do remember it had a small clinic.
As the Lonely Planet tour guide stated, "Uyuni, standing in defiance of the desert-like landscape that surrounds it, occupies a desolate corner of southwestern Bolivia. Mention Uyuni to a Bolivian and they will whistle and emphasize harto frio or extreme cold."
After checking into our sketchy hotel, we walked around the small town as all the tour agencies we needed to check out were closed until mid-afternoon. The town, founded in 1889, was an important military base as well the headquarters for tours leaving for the salt flats. Mining was the other major source of employment as the world's largest lithium reserve - about 100 million tons - lies under the neighboring salt flat. That amount of lithium could potentially fuel all the i Pads and electric cars the world could build over the next 100 years.
Uyuni's main streets! Remember, I did say we arrived during siesta time!
This monument was our first clue about the 2017 12-stage Dakar Rally that traveled through Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina last January via motorcycle, quad bike, car or truck over extreme terrain. Competitors and support crews came from around the world to challenge their mechanical, driving, and orienteering skills. More on the rally in an upcoming post!
We had hoped to buy some cheap and warm clothing at the town's market for our adventure in the salt flat as so many people had written about how terribly cold it would be. As you can see, though, the market stalls were also closed.
The snacks didn't look very appealing to munch on during the trek.
I had spent umpteen hours about this time last year checking out tour agencies in Uyuni for our proposed trip, what the best itinerary should include and every other detail you can imagine. That was why I grinned when I saw the collection of plastic dinosaurs in one of the shops for tourists heading out to the salt flats and wanting the 'perfect' perspective photo. I had been carrying a small purple dinosaur ever since we left home two months ago just for our time in the Salar de Uyuni. I had found it last spring when helping to clear out all the junipers in our neighborhood playground in preparation for the one-day Community Playground Build. I couldn't wait to finally put it to use after lugging it through South America. I hope you'll think it was worth it when you see our photos of Mr. Dino!
After making the rounds of the tour agencies that had very good reviews online, we found one that seemed to fit the criteria we wanted for our three-day jeep trip. Those who follow my blogs know this was one of the very rare times on any of our adventures through the world we had chosen not to reserve a tour of this length in advance. That was because all the reviews I had read assured me it would be far cheaper and very easy to arrange a tour on arrival in Uyuni. After booking it, we could only say, 'Let the next part of our adventure begin!'
Next post: Train Cemetery, Salt Hotel and Mr. Dino!
Posted on March 18th, 2018, from snowy Littleton, Colorado.
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