Tour on the Bolivian Altiplano

May sixth,
My days in Bolivia pass by so fast. It is already may! Only a few days left (17!!) before I head to New York… My last few days were a bit intensive. I went on a three days tour around Uyuni (south Bolivia). We were with a nice group of 6 people representing Canada, Chile, Austria, Holland (yeah I know, what are the chances!!) and ofcourse Belgium. 6 of us with a driver all seated in a big 4 by 4 to to explore all the nature that surrounds Uyuni, beginning with the biggest salt flat in the world!
A bit more info about the Salar:
Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers. It is elevated 3,656 meters above the mean sea level. The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves,which is in the process of being extracted. The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a major breeding ground for several species of pink flamingos.
One major tourist attraction is an antique train cemetery. It is 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) outside Uyuni and is connected to it by the old train tracks. The town served in the past as a distribution hub for the trains carrying minerals enroute to Pacific Ocean ports. The rail lines were built by British engineers arriving near the end of the 19th century and formed a sizeable community in Uyuni. The trains were mostly used by the mining companies. In the 1940s, the mining industry collapsed, partly because of mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned, producing the train cemetery. There are proposals to build a museum from the cemetery.
The first night we slept at this lodge runned by a family. It was cold but nothing compared to what we had to deal with the next night (how little did we know…). Also, we had enough alcohol to resist the first wave of freezing tempetures before going into bed. The following morging began really early and some of us were dealing with the sideeffects of having a really warm night (due to several shots of ‘miners’whiskey … but the stunning scenery of the Bolivian Altiplano that surrounded us made it all good! I can’t describe how it looks like, just look at the pictures.
There were several highlights during this three day trip but a think that I was the most amazed by the field of geysers. It was like walking in this prehistoric field of destruction. The only thing that was missing were the dinosaurs skeletons. The air was filled with a penetrating smell of all sorts of gasses, and they didn’t smell particularly good. You really don’t want to fall in these ‘pools’ of bubbling ‘’volcano fluids’’.
Another highlight was during the last day. We had to get out of bed at 4.30 am (!!!). It was freezing cold and everybody thought that we would never get warm that day. Untill we stopped at this hot waterpool (due to volcanic activity). I had goosebumps from my little toes all the way up to my eyebrowns; it felt so good! Laying there in a hot spring with a B E A Utiful view and surrounded by ‘gringos’ who were experiencing exact the same. Amazing! When I got out , eventually, my whole body looked like these giant geyser itself, so much damp! You have to drive yourself quickly because it s still like 2 or 3 degrees… .
When we came back in Uyuni –after a last day drive of 7 hours- we were all exhausted and longing for a shower. We had our last meal together and then said goodbye. The Canadian couple already left us at the Chilean border this morning, Anna (Holland) and Manuela (Austria) were heading for Oruro on the midnight train and Andres and I had or bus at 6.00 a.m. the next morning, destination Tupiza!


Hey marlijke, jammer dat het ook overnachting is als ik mee op zeeklassen ben. Helaas… ik ben er zeker van dat het spannende verhaal ook lukt zonder meester Benjamin ;) (iets over piraten en een schat doet het em altijd! )