About 3 weeks ago my girlfriend came down from the States to visit. We chilled in La Paz, rode the WMDR (by the way she kills it on a mountain bike), stayed at La Senda Verde, and... went to the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. The Salar is one of the most surreal places I've ever been. Enjoy the photos!
Sara, mid photo pose, right before we got on the train for a 7 hour ride. Trains are the most relaxing way to travel!
Thousands of flamingoes flock to this shallow wetland right outside of Orruro. And you thought flamingoes were tropical creatures...!
Sara, oh so Vogue!
Workers loading up raw salt from the flat.
This guy showed us how he makes salt from the raw excavation of the salt flat. He operates one of two facilities that supply ALL of Bolivia's edible salt. And by facility I mean a shack that is about 15' x 30'.
Classic Salar perspective photo. It might be derivative but it's still cool!
Uhh, enter your own caption...
The "island" in the middle of the flat that has a unique ecology, including these cacti.
Sara with a hawk overhead. If you're into totem animals, Sara and hawks = eerily spooky and always around one another.
Two buses in the middle of the Salar.
Sunset on the Salar. Absolutely the best sunset I've ever seen. It didn't quit! It went on and on for over 45 minutes. Epic!
We stayed near a dormant volcano the first night. I got up and hiked near the caldera the next morning. Inadvertently, I left the salt hostel (hostel made of salt, go figure) and my guide and just started hiking on my own. Eventually I met up with another group and joined them for about 30 minutes right when they were venturing into this cave to catch a glimpse of about 10 mummies. It's a bit weird walking into a cave and seeing a bunch of dead people, but it was amazing at the same time.
Last, a classic view of the Salar de Uyuni at sunset.
Sara, mid photo pose, right before we got on the train for a 7 hour ride. Trains are the most relaxing way to travel!
Thousands of flamingoes flock to this shallow wetland right outside of Orruro. And you thought flamingoes were tropical creatures...!
Sara, oh so Vogue!
Workers loading up raw salt from the flat.
This guy showed us how he makes salt from the raw excavation of the salt flat. He operates one of two facilities that supply ALL of Bolivia's edible salt. And by facility I mean a shack that is about 15' x 30'.
Classic Salar perspective photo. It might be derivative but it's still cool!
Uhh, enter your own caption...
The "island" in the middle of the flat that has a unique ecology, including these cacti.
Sara with a hawk overhead. If you're into totem animals, Sara and hawks = eerily spooky and always around one another.
Two buses in the middle of the Salar.
Sunset on the Salar. Absolutely the best sunset I've ever seen. It didn't quit! It went on and on for over 45 minutes. Epic!
We stayed near a dormant volcano the first night. I got up and hiked near the caldera the next morning. Inadvertently, I left the salt hostel (hostel made of salt, go figure) and my guide and just started hiking on my own. Eventually I met up with another group and joined them for about 30 minutes right when they were venturing into this cave to catch a glimpse of about 10 mummies. It's a bit weird walking into a cave and seeing a bunch of dead people, but it was amazing at the same time.
Last, a classic view of the Salar de Uyuni at sunset. 
Your best blog yet. Unbiased opinion, of course.
ReplyDeleteI bet that was your best 3 weeks....I am surprised you didn't come back with her!!! :)
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