The Day I Walked on Water [Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia]

20 de Julio, 2015

stuck in the suburbs

The trip is over. I'm back at my Ma's in the suburbs of Chicago and although I love seeing my friends and family again, I can't help but look back at one of my favorite days. Bolivia is home of the world's largest salt flats located in the southwest region of Potosí and stretches across 10,582 sq kms. The Altiplano sits at 3,656 meters [11,995 ft] above sea level and contains 50-70% of the world's lithium. The sun shines bright with beautiful blue skies and few clouds, but the temperature drops rapidly on this high plateau as the sun sinks into the night. Most travelers book a 3/4 day tour visiting geysers, hot springs, flamingos and more picturesque desert scenes, but Ryan and I opted for a one day trip to check out the best part.

Salar train panorama

[the many 4x4 tours visiting Isla de Pescado]

First we visited a train yard cemetery just outside of Uyuni and climbed around on old cars, engines, and railways.Next we stopped by a 'traditional' market with loads of local handcrafts. Then over to small lakes where the water boils up and to the piles of salt that are used for artisanal crafts.We hopped back in the jeep for a 30min ride to Isla de Pesacado. What used to be an island on this prehistoric dried up lake is a small hilly isla full of crazy tall cacti and rock formations. We had a group lunch and most went to hike around the island. Unfortunately I had a migraine and sat this one out.

[Honey I shrunk my leech]

Then our driver took us to a wide open space [there are miles of these] where we could take photos playing on the hexagons. Because there is nothing near to compare depth perception, you can have an entertaining photoshoot.

Group attempt

[little me]

[soaking up the surreal surroundings]

Next we stopped by a salt hotel where you can actually rent a room and sleep on a bed made of salt. The entire building is made from salt and as I said the temperatures drop rapidly at night out here, but they ensure it's warm within. Just outside the hotel, hundreds of flags wave in the wind from past visitors and just a half mile away displays one of Bolivia's most proud races. Dakar. The insane three country [Argentina, Chile, Bolivia] rally that includes motorbikes, quads, cars, and trucks racing across 9,000 kilometers.And then we headed off for the best part of the day, sunset on the water. Our driver carefully drove over the salt and when we reached our destination we realized wellies would have been ideal. About 3inches of water sat on top of the water giving an incredible reflection. Most don't get to see the water reflections on the multi-day tour, but thankfully ours did. For an hour we ran around in the water snapping breathtaking shots and watching the sun set in magical colors. I walked on water like Jesus and almost had to pinch myself watching the colors expand above and below me. It was a trippy, once in a life time experience and I'm glad to share it with you. Thanks beautiful Bolivia xlove and light,Tor