2014 Latin America Adventure: Day 31

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In order to be fit for the Inca Trail walk in 10 days, and the high altitude, I decided to start doing some exercise. So it was an early morning start at 6:40 am, still freezing cold, probably below zero, and very very dry.

And it was windy and dusty... really like a Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western set, for those who are old enough to watch one !

Uyuni is on he annual Dakar International Rally itinerary.

After an hour of brisk walk, covering 5+ Km, I did not notice any breathing problem, this is a good sign, especially, Uyuni is at 3800m ASL. The test of the pudding, is of course, when I started climbing heights, unfortunately, this place is FLAT.

And I saw many locals, just about setting up their Sunday stalls, and many of them are the old ladies with the Charlie Chaplin hat.

During the walk, the most annoying thing was the local dogs, strayed or not. But it appears that they are more an annoyance, then a worry. So really not much of an issue, after all. But I still kept an keen eye on them.

We were later picked up by 3 Landcruisers ( 80 and 100 series , quite battered, but probably good enough for the job), to take us into the Uyuni Salt Flat.

For more information read here: Uyuni Salt Flat. It is about the same size of Greater Sydney, and 10 times the size of Hong Kong SAR (not just the Island ).

First we stopped at a salt factory, a small operation, which basically just dried up the salt they collected, mixed them with iodine, and pack them into small packets. However, I did not see them either filter or attempt to clean them.

Salt harvested in piles

We were taken, a 100 Km inwards, to an island, named Incahuasi, right in the middle of the Salt Flat. And it is a white flat landscape, 360 Deg, to the edge of horizon.

And we were just in the middle of the Uyuni Salt Flat after 100Km drive.

A nice lunch was served by the car team, on salt tables, yes, tables made by compressed salts.

Apparently, during the wet season, this island could be cut off by a small lake, giving rise to those stunning photos with the sky’s reflections on the salt flat.

We left for a spot in the middle of the whiteness to try our hands on trick photography, and here are some of the results....

The next stop was an abandoned hotel built purely with salt, including all its internal furniture.

Unfortunately, due to the pollution of its sewerage system, it stopped operations some time ago after 15 years in existence. It is now a ruin for memory only.

Before we reached back to town, our driver took us to the “graveyard” for trains, full of abandoned old trains left to rot. One is an old steam engine type, wonder when did they finally leave that to rest?