Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia (February 2023)

Our trip to Bolivia was planned almost solely for this trip to Sala de Uyuni. So we all were quite excited. But, we had to travel by car for another three and a half hours from Potosi to Uyuni town. We changed our vehicle to two 4x4 SUVs so that we may drive on the salt flat with salty water on it.

First, we had lunch that two new drivers brought at a restaurant in Uyuni town. This town has a population of 25,000 - 30,000 inhabitants. After lunch, we stopped by the Cemetery of Trains. Trains were left unattended and people took their parts away and only the train skeletons were left, hence the cemetery of trains. There were several artistic structures made of train parts. 

The next step was Colchani, a small town right before the Salt Flat. It is a tourist town with several shops. Also, there were a couple of places where people convert the salt collected from the salt flat to edible salt by adding iodine. 

Shops were selling other salt-made souvenirs, but their quality was poor.

Finally, we arrived at the salt flat. The salt flat was almost 3,900 square miles with the deepest part reaching 120 meters deep. Furthermore, it is located at an elevation of 12,000 feet high.  Eusebio explained that this salt flat was not formed from the sea, thus it does not contain iodine. It was formed because the water of lakes evaporated over many millennia, he said. When it rains, the water turns into salty water and crystallizes into salt, thus increasing the height of the salt flat. 

We noticed the process of bubbles coming up from deep in the salt flat accelerating the saltification process.

During the dry season, the salt flat looks like the one below, and cars can run fast and go far.

We took some photos with great joy and started playing with the sensation of long and short distances in the photo.

But, the most outstanding jump of all was of Mrs. Choi. She looked like an angel who was landing from heaven. Excellent!

Not only we played with our own gestures and jumps on the reflections, but also we thoroughly enjoyed the reflections of cars and clouds. They were absolutely otherworldly.

We were fascinated by the mysterious-looking background of our photos as well.

We drove for quite a while on the Salt Flat to a place called Dakar. This place used to host international car races on the salt flat. Nearby was a place called Playa Blanca or White Beach. It was the first salt-block-built lodging, but without a permit. It is now kept as a place of interest. 

I found a truck that was transporting people. Eusebio explained that Bolivian people use this truck to experience the Salar de Uyuni in an economic way. The trucks carry salt during the dry season and carry people during the rainy season.

As we moved around the salt flat, the scenery kept changing with the sunlight and the shapes of clouds. They were just wonderful and we all became speechless. 

No matter how good the photos are, they show only still images. Here are short video clips of the sceneries we enjoyed thoroughly.

We visited another place where salt block arts were in display. Local people made these arts so we paid a small entrance fee.

As we were driving on the salt flat, we felt like we were gliding on the glassy water. As the sun was setting, we started playing with the shadows. They were just beautiful beyond description.

As we were stopping at a point where we were planning to see the sunset, Eusebio and two drivers prepared a surprise party for us. Wow! Unfortunately, thick clouds kept us from watching the sunset, but we all felt warm by their warm gesture. 

Here is Edusebio who was our tour guide in Bolivia beyond La Paz. Good job!

After the impressive experience of Salar de Uyuni, we checked in at a hotel that was made of salt blocks collected from the Salt Flat. The ceiling was built with salt blocks. I was wondering how they actually maintain it, but it was quite interesting.

We had dinner at the hotel and both the ambiance and food were excellent.

The following morning, Eusebio and two drivers came to pick us up to take us to Uyuni Airport. We took a flight to La Paz and stayed at Camino Real Aparthotel to rest until we had to go to the El Alto Airport in the middle of the night to depart Bolivia. We all went to Bogota Colombia together, but from there we had to take all different flights to return home. So we took our group photo once again for the last time and said "Good bye" until our next trip.

Kristin and I took the flights from Bogota Colombia to Houston and San Franciso. Although everyone else was returning home, we were heading to our daughter Joyce's home to see their first child and our third grandchild, Myles. We look forward to seeing him for the first time. - Jeffrey