Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia)

The promising highlight of our trip through Bolivia was going to be a 4-day trip to the Uyuni salt flats and the countless lagoons and volcanos in the deserted area of Southwest Bolivia. It is so remote that you can only go there by driving hours and hours in a 4X4. And believe me... you really need a 4X4, since there are no roads.
The success of this tour depends heavily on the agency. Before we came to Tupiza we heard good stories about Tupiza tours and especially about their English speaking guide Archie. And for once, we were very lucky: we got Archie as our guide/cook and Martin as our driver, Ttwo great Bolivians that did everything to nake these four days as pleasant as possible.

We shared the 4X4 with two Australian girls that appeared to be very nice. This is not to be underestimated, since you don't only share the car, but also bedroom, toilets, food, etc... Basically it's four days without any privacy. But we had good fun with them, so that wasn't really a problem.

Going on this tour is quite an adventure. The facilities in this part of Bolivia are really poor, so there are no hotels, no restaurants, nothing... The two first places where we spent the night were basic, very very basic! A room with four beds and 2 smelly and dusty blankets on each bed, that was it! No closet, no sheets, no showers, no heating, nothing... The whole tour takes place between 3500m and 5000m altitude, which means the nights are freezing. We slept three nights with all our clothes on, including our hats and gloves. Not that easy I must say... The last night we spent in a 'hotel' conpletely made out of salt and - best of all - they had hot showers! You cannot believe how this feels after three days and two nights in your clothes. The downside was that there was only electricity from 7 pm to 10 pm, which was a bit weird. Especially because we had to leave at 5 am, when it's still completely dark.

The nature during these four days is hardly to be described: colored lagoons full of flamingos, hot deserts, inpressive semi-active volcanos, boiling geishers, snall villages without electric power or running water, etc... But the most impressive was the salt flat on the last day. The Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat and it's one of the largest lakes in South-America. We drove one hour to the middle of the lake very early in the morning. Then, during a magnificent sunrise, the white lake slowely became visible. We never saw something like this before and we'll probably never see it again. Truly a unique view in the world.
We visited the Incahuasi island with its huge cactuses, we spent more than one hour taking funny pictures (during which Joke stepped through the salt layer with one leg).

Although it was so basic (really a milestone for Joke), we had a great time. Stunning nature, fantastic guide, very skilled driver, delicious food (unbelievable how Archie made this food in these harsh circumstances), good Australian company and an experience we'll never forget!