Salar de Uyuni- Part 1

I left La Paz as planned and met up with Carsten from Germany who is closing out 10 months of traveling. We made friends with Nuala and Dani on the 12-hour bus ride with bed-seats, heat and a bathroom- which turned out to be 14 hours, in small seats, freezing cold and bathroom-less. This is just my commentary about the typical sales pitch that travelers find at bus stations in “third-world” countries. It was a fun experience, so was scraping ice off the inside of the windows in the morning!

We also met with Debbie and Brian and we booked a tour to see the Salar de Uyuni… 12,000 sq km of salt (a lake during the rainy season), associated volcanoes (you know I love these things!), geisers (seen from within feet this morning at sunrise, freezing cold (minus 20 Celsius last night), termas (not naked, but I wanted to); flamingos, foxes, vicuñas, llamas, altitudes up to 4800 meters, cactus---- yeah, pictures to follow once we six have the time to first send/upload/share them. Amazing to say the least… no, incredible.

I had to leave the Coca leaves at the Chilean border upon crossing this morning. They certainly helped with the altitude and understanding the culture. But I am in San Pedro de Atacama, looking to see some more amazing desert at the low altitude of 2500 meters [7500 feet] (down 2000m [6000 ft] from this morning).

My writing is in haste… I am trying to make a small entry and I’d really rather write more. Perhaps I will add some more stories later!

Soon