Escape to the white desert

As soon as most the work with our project was over and we had published the letter of thanks we left on our last get-away to the southern Altiplano of Bolivia. Our destination was Salar de Uyuni, a.k.a the worlds largest salt flat. The salt flats cover and area of 10 582 square kilometers and are at an elevation of 3656m above sea level, so basically it's like a salt desert. We didn't know much about the Salar, only that it is one of the most amazing natural phenomenon in the world so we had to see it.

On Thursday we  jumped on the bus to Oruro which is a small city about 4-5 hours away from Cochabamba. We spent the night there and left towards Uyuni the next afternoon. For the first time we got to travel by train, and I have to say the seven hour ride was very dusty and bumpy at the same time as it provided us with breathtaking moments. Shortly after leaving Oruro the train goes through a lake which is a popular breeding place for the famous pink flamingos. The lake was so shallow that it looked like the flamingos were walking on the water. And when the train came closer to them the flamingos spread their wings and lifted towards the sky in huge flocks. The sight was amazing, but unfortunately impossible to catch on camera. Another very special creature we got to see during our trip was the vicuña. It is a relative of the llama and said to be the wild ancestor of alpacas. Our guide told us that as they only live in the wild and are endangered, they are protected both under the rule of Inca and the law and you get five years of prison for killing a vicuña. 

Vicuña on the rails

On the way to Oruro

In Bolivia every road is a death road.....

The train to Uyuni

A poor try to take a picture of the flamingos...through the window of the train.

Julia and our "matrimonial bed"

We got to Uyuni close to midnight, found ourselves a hostel where we had a short and very noisy night. As the hostel was almost full they offered us a matrimonial room to the price of 60 bolivianos (about 6 euros) so we even got to share the bed that night. Somehow it felt convenient as I'm actually starting to feel like I would be married to Julia... After all we have stayed together all this time through better and worse, in sickness and health. And we have spent 3 months sleeping in the same room, or bed for that matter.

Starting the tour

Anyways, the next day we left on a one day tour to the Salar together with a company called Huracán. During the day we traveled about 300 kilometers over the Salar, saw how the salt is processed, visited a salt hotel, did a little hike around Incahuasi island and at last got to see the famous train cemetery in Uyuni.

Afterwards we also found out some facts about the Salar. Apparently more or less 30 000 to 40 000 years ago the area was a part of the prehistorical lake Minchin. About 15 000 to 10 000 years ago the lake started to diminish until only a few small lakes were left. When even the last of the water evaporated one thing led to another (it has something to do with limestone, rock salt and gypsum :D), and the bottom of the lake was formed to a few meter thick white layer - the Salar. Unfortunately I won't get any smarter within this matter so I'll just leave it there. I personally prefer the other "theory" about how the Salar was formed, and that is the love triangle between three people-mountains. The Ayamara legend tells that the mountains surrounding the Salar; Tunupa, Kusku and Kusina were giant people. Tunupa marriend Kusku, but Kusku ran away with Kusina. The grieving Tunupa cried while breast-feeding her son, and her tears that mixed with milk formed the Salar. Bujaa!

Salt in process...

"Eyes of the salar" - water bubbling up to the surface from over a 150 meters depth.

Necessary tourist-picture

Lapsi on terve kun se leikkii. (Picture by Julia)

Former hotel made of salt. It is reconstructed to a museum.

Our guide preparing lunch at the desert.

In the middle of the Salar

Nowadays the area is said to have about 10 milliard tons of salt, and in addition to rock salt and gypsum the desert also contains more than half of the lithium resources in the world. There are also more than 30 small mountain islands at the Salar, which are the remains of volcanoes that submerged during the era of Lake Minchin. The most famous one is the Incahuasi island (also known as "Isla del pescado") which we visited during our trip at the Salar. The Island is covered with huge cactuses and the volcanic terrain gives a coral-like structure the rock-formations. 

Incahuasi island

FLAFS? :D

Me hyping (picture by Julia)

Llamas!!

Llamas taking a walk...

Train cemetery

 By the time of sunset we got back to Uyuni, sunburned and exhausted. The day had been long but amazing, and it still wasn't over. As the train only goes twice a week we had to take the train back already the same night, so we hanged out in Uyuni until midnight when we jumped on the train back to Oruro. Due to the "car-free" day in Cochabamba on Sunday we had to wait five hours in Oruro... until we eventually got to take the bus back to Cochabamba, which once again got stuck on the way so we didn't get back before late in the evening. Never take the bus in Bolivia if you have a schedule to keep... Well, safe and sound we ended our second last week in Bolivia, after enjoying another awesome adventure.

Killing time at a bar in Uyuni. (Picture by Julia)

Early morning view from the train

And back to Cochabamba...