DAYS 152 - 154: SAN PEDRO TO UYUNI - BOLIVIA (PART ONE)
S A L A R D E U Y U N I , B O L I V I A
McKenzie and I both took a pinch of coca leaves from a plastic bag handed back from our driver, Orlando, and stuffed them into the sides of our cheeks. The leaves, Orlando explained, helped prevent altitude sickness - (they’re also the same ones used to make cocaine). In a matter of one day we had gone from sea level to 16,500 feet. And after watching another guest get carried back to the Jeep and in rough shape, a hard sell wasn’t needed. It wasn’t as if we would be drug tested anytime soon.
We had crossed into Bolivia earlier that morning from a small outpost in northern Chile - just outside the city of San Pedro De Atacama. After being hassled for a bit at the Bolivian border, we had piled into a burly Toyota Land Cruiser and met Orlando, a stocky grizzled Bolivian that spoke only Spanish and who would be charting our course through the sea of high elevation gravel that stretched for miles in front of us.
Over the next three days, Orlando drove us, and two other couples, over 400 miles to Uyuni, Bolivia. We traveled on beaten down jeep paths, barely distinguishable from the open terrain - always ending up in some tiny village in the middle of nowhere. Hidden in between those villages however, were magnificent natural wonders and some of the most remote and amazing country we’ve ever experienced.
We passed reflections of perfectly snow capped volcanos in emerald lakes. We drove through the high alpine desert that inspired Salvador Dali. We dangled our legs off the rim of Bolivia’s grand canyon. Hiked through slot canyons to hidden lagoons. Peered over bubbling geysers. Stopped to chase grazing llamas and took pictures of flamingos feeding in red lakes. We ate lunches prepared by tiny Bolivian women in their dirt and brick walled homes, soaked in hot springs, and sipped cactus beers in a deserted rail yard town. Everyday was action-packed. The next sight better than the last. It felt like speed dating Bolivia’s most scenic attractions.
The highlight of the tour came on our third day when we woke up at 4am to watch the sun rise over the world’s largest salt flat, Salar De Unuyi. At over 4,000 square miles, the crystalized surface of the long since evaporated lake seemed to stretch forever. We watched in awe as the stark white sea in front of us cracked and glittered, illuminating itself in the morning glow. It was an environment more moon than earth - truly unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
Our tour finished in Uyuni. We said good bye to Orlando and our new friends and caught a local bus to Potosi. We didn’t know what to expect traveling into Bolivia, but it had definitely amazed us so far. And we were pretty excited to see what else it had in store.
-Brad
