Dusty ol' town
Trip Start
Aug 03, 2010
1
104
152
Trip End
Feb 01, 2012
Where I stayed
Hospedaje El Salvador
Uyuni, Bolivia
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
We left the chilly highlands of Potosi and headed towards Uyuni (at 12,000 feet above sea level), a military town placed out in the desolate altiplano (high planes) of southern Bolivia where the wind gathers strength and hits Uyuni with a vengeance. Luckily, we were prepared with this knowledge and dressed accordingly.
The Salar de Uyuni (nearby salt flats) has turned Uyuni into a launch-pad for tours into the otherworldlyness of the salt. There are tour agencies on seemingly every block with countless Toyota Land Cruisers gearing up for or unpacking from one of the 3 to 5 day tours. The Salar was the only thing on our must-see list for Bolivia before we left home and we're almost there, very exciting.
The salar is very remote and it’s easy to get "misplaced", so we found the best map of the area we could find at a small bookstore - the tourist office never opened, I guess they assume most people are with a tour and don’t need assistance. We stocked up on water and food from the Mercado, which we prepped in our room on the $3 hotplate we bought in Potosi. Bonus - the hotplate doubles as a heater in these cold rooms.
On the way out of town, we stopped at the Uyuni’s Train Cemetery, a large collection of old steam locomotives and rail cars rusting away on old defunct tracks.
Next stop… salt salty saltville.
Comments
Got a new camera?
Wha?!?! Salt?!!!! Mmmmmmmmm. ..... Saaaaaaalllt. Salt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!