Amazing beauty high in the mountains of Bolivia

The hotel and flags slipped into the distant background. A small cloud of dust swirled behind a separate caravan of four-wheel drive vehicles. Off in the distance we could see the tops of the mountains which surround the salt flat. Our two vehicles veered off into a separate direction, “all the better,” so the driver said, “to find a relatively secluded spot where we could enjoy lunch and take in the vastness of the space across we had and would be traveling for the rest of the day and into the following day.

A couple of tables appeared out of nowhere, along with a number of plastic seats, then table cloths followed. Clamps were added to keep the cloths from blowing away, while a camp stove was set up to heat some water and food. Within a very short period of time our lunch was ready, with plenty of salad, and quinoa. I had taken the opportunity to walk off toward an area where the salt was being ‘mined’. Long rows of small piles of salt lined what appeared to be a roadway. Scraped together, the salt was left to dry in the sun before it would be collected the following day. As I mentioned earlier, the salt that covers this area can be anywhere from a few centimeters to several meters in depth, and salt mining is still a major economic activity.

Island in the ocean of salt

With lunch finished, all items were packed away again, and we were on our way to the next destination, an island in the middle of this vast area – in actual fact, the ‘islands’ are peaks of mountains protruding through the surface, and in a weird and wonderful way, some plants have managed to take root and flourish in what is for all intents and purposes a hostile environment. We were left at our leisure to explore the area, and most of us slowly clambered up the side, following a rocky track to a viewpoint at the top of the hillock.

From here the view across the vast white plane was amazing, and it was not difficult to understand what it is that attracts thousands of visitors to this area of the world to experience one of nature’s wonders. As it was September, the climate was still dry; the rains do not come until January, and even then, there is very little of it. When it does rain, however, the huge of expanse of salt is covered by a thin layer of water, and the giant surface acts like a huge mirror, making for some stunning photographs. (As an aside, the flat surface of the Salar de Uyuni, with a variance of only a few centimeters across its surface, and the mirror effect of the water at certain times of the year, has made it the best place to calibrate distances and satellites, and as such, the accuracy of satellite remote sensing is based largely on the accuracy of measurements and calibrations performed by satellites in this desolate expanse of salt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun(ny) photographs

Having explored the ‘island’ our drivers were ready to take us on to the next location, one which is likely well-known to many people around the world, if not directly from having visited the location itself, then from funny pictures they have seen of giant people drowning groups of others in a rush of water, or of groups of tiny people balancing on a pair of shoestrings. These forced perspective pictures are possible because there is nothing else on the horizon that will give a clue as to distance, hence creating a confused perspective. We spent the better part of an hour or more in the late afternoon coming up with our own variations of pictures and antics, or participating in shots suggested by the drivers (they’ve seen it all, and they all have their standard set of shots that all visitors will likely get, and sometimes its best just to follow their suggestions).

 

The sun slowly set, and we had all taken our pictures. We waited for the final blip of the sun to drop below the horizon, all the time taking pictures, yet no one spoke; we all sat mesmerized, enjoying the peace and quiet of the sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

Hobbit country

Slowly we returned to the vehicles. With the sunset, the temperature had dropped, and continued to drop rapidly. We set off in the dark to find our accommodation for the night. Nearly 45 minutes later, we finally drove into the courtyard of a very quaint resort, and if I hadn’t been certain that I was still in Bolivia, I might have been forgiven for thinking that we had arrived in Hobbit country, with the small bungalows having been designed in line with hobbit homes. We trooped off to our rooms, deposited our bags, and went in for dinner in the dining hall. The day had been long and tiring, and sitting down to a warm and fulfilling meal was the perfect end to a wonderful day. The food was traditional, and we all enjoyed the taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It did not take long for us to finish, and we lingered only temporarily around the dining table. Most of us were too tired to stay awake long, and slowly we made our separate ways to our rooms. A quick shower was followed by a dash for the bed and the thick blankets – the temperature had continued to drop, and already it was hovering around 10 degrees. Just before turning off the light for the night I reached across and took an altitude sickness pill, we were above 4,000 meters, and I wanted a good night’s sleep. It was a precaution well taken, and I had a full night’s sleep, yet dawn came much too early.