Tuesday, April 26, 2011
This morning we got to “sleep in”, only had to be up at 6am. After forcing myself out of bed into the cold I threw on clothes for the day and ate breakfast. The jeep was so cold all morning; I was just waiting for the sun to heat it up. Some eroded lava formed rocks were our first stop of the day, including the famous and highly photographed Arbol de Piedra. Jaclyn provided us with an 8:30am bubblegum pop; great way to start the day.
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| Arbol de Piedra |
A couple of still-water mountain-reflecting lagoons later we arrived at another area of nature-carved rocks. It was hard to believe how quickly the landscape changed. At noon we stopped in a small town to have lunch before continuing on towards the city of Uyuni. Tours used to spend the night at a salt hotel, but that seems to have changed in the last couple years. Before going into town, we played in the train cemetery on a bunch of rusty old train carriages and locomotives. That’s where the latest inside joke of our trip came from. Alex and Faye overheard a kid say, “Jasper, Jasper mate, take a photo.” That was all it took. Next thing I knew they were imitating the kid and putting down rich English gap year travelers (whose trips are funded by their rich parents). The rest of the day we were trying to come up with other traditional British names; Jon’s attempts were fairly pathetic J
After dropping our bags, we went for a short walk in Uyuni. The books are correct; it is really just a jumping off place for the Salar. Our hostel in Uyuni was pretty basic, but at least they had showers with hot water (well, a shower that had some form of non-cold water). It felt good to get clean before dinner. Have to say that was probably the best meal of the trip, just soup followed by simple spaghetti with tomato sauce and a bottle of wine. We toasted to a wonderful journey through the southwest of Bolivia. Not a late night since we had to wake up early for the salt flats.
La Torre description of Day 3 (with a tiny bit of editing)
After driving by the Laguna Colorada you will pass through the Desert de Siloli to visit the famous Arbol de Piedra, one of the most visited by tourists. The tree stone is an Eolic formation, formed of ignimbrite (petrified lava foam), volcanic rock. The bottom part of the rock has a softer composition made up of Biotitic quartz crystals and others. The top part of the structure has a great amount of harden materials rich in iron which makes it harder and resistant.
The rocks in this area have strange shapes that form through time. This is due to the sediment that the strong and violent winds carry, hitting the rocks and sculpting them into different shapes. After visiting this attraction you will arrive at Laguna Onda, the smallest of the surrounding lagoons. It has a variety of wild ducks and partridges and offers a spectacular panorama, thanks to the surrounding extinct volcanoes and the different rock colors caused by numerous mineral deposits.
You will continue at Laguna Chiarkota, at an altitude of 4285 m. The lagoon is characterized by a very small number of flamingoes (all Lumber). The mysterious colored water, due to the minerals that are found below its surface, can trigger anyone’s imagination. On the shores of the lagoon one can find the nests of wild ducks and other birds. Next is the Laguna Hedionda (a foul smelling lagoon). This rather strange lagoon lies near Lagoon Cañapa at an altitude of 4250m above sea level. The sulfur saturated waters of the lagoon give off an incredible odor that can be noticed from several kilometers around the area. However, it is still a natural habitat for three varieties of flamingoes that fly from lagoon to lagoon in the region. On the outskirts of the lagoon one can also observe the partridge nests in the Thola plants. This will be the last lagoon that you are going to visit. At an altitude 4265 meters above sea level, the lake spreads out more than one hectare, with a depth of only 10m at its deepest point. Located at the foot of Mt. Cañapa, it is surrounded by mountainous terrain and extinct volcanoes. The green colored water contrasts majestically with the flamboyant colored flamingos that inhabited the area.
After lunch we will pass by volcano Ollague (5865), which is classes as semi-active, as its crater is constantly releasing smoke and continue through the Salar de Chiguana. Then you arrive in San Juan (3750m) with a population of approximately 980 Quechuan and Aymaran residents. This village is one of the passing points on the route from the Salt Flats and is also an important place because it is the central distribution road that unites Uyuni, Tupiza and the Chilean border. Necropolis de San Juan, which are archaeological evidence that pertain to the first habitants of these regions during pre-Hispanic times.
From here you will head to the train cemetery, located (3600m) southwest of Uyuni. At the cemetery one can observe a great number of antique steam locomotives and the rail cars of the early railroad days built mainly in France and England. Now totally rusted, these trains transported minerals to the ports of Chile from where they were to be exported to the rest of the world. Finally you will reach Uyuni where you will spend the final night.
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