Salar de Uyuni- Part 2

So, I managed to get some photos up... I am running on a backlong, I can't even keep up with myself. I realized today that I am "ahead" of schedule... so silly... Even though I am flying along, my stories are two steps behind and my fotos haven't even finished the first lap.

The Salar was wonderful... I think what I liked the most was that the area was so remote that multiple times a day, in varying settings, I could sit and hear absolutely nothing... absolutely everything... and gaze off into the distances that one only dreams of as he sits near the top of the world. Pure white, relentless wind, freezing cold, smoking peaks and sunny days all mixed into one... words bungle up the description of awe. The Altiplano is an inspiring place.

Traveling by '97 Toyota Land Cruiser with two Bolivian guide/cooks and five strangers- who have become friends- was quite posibly the best way to pass three days. Repeated 80's classics like, "I Want to Know What Love Is" helped liven spirits every time the car broke down (we'll make it another five minutes, I promise!)

Back to the desolate... this Southwest Bolivia excursion was just another reminder that humans and their "power" is insignificant compared to the earth on which they reside. I watched from inches as geisers blew off steam in the morning sun, sat in natural springs reeking of sulfur and stared as the Volcano Ollague vented its impeding explosion... with all of the power of the planet, I was indeed humbled, awe-struck and at peace.

The six travelers: Irish, German, English, Swiss, Kiwi and me... As expected when traveling internationally, we all spoke a different language but we managed to communicate effectively!

What else? While riding the top of the Andes for so long- earth expressions, rainbow rock, distant desolateness, pristine peaks...

Carsten and I were dropped off at the Chilean border and the others headed back to Uyuni for... I have to catch up with more of the story, but this entry is long enough... I will save those words a bit longer, as the fotos pray for the chance to catch up too!

Soon