Tag 103: Salar de Uyuni

The alarm clock rings, 5:30 a.m. In fifteen minutes, we're leaving. We pack our things and get ready, the drivers are rushing us, we have to leave in 10 minutes. The sunrise in the salt desert is supposed to be the highlight of the trip. We drive in a convoy of four jeeps through the darkness. Outside, it gets brighter and the vast whiteness reveals itself beside us. The salt floor becomes brighter in mesh-like formations, and in the distance, we see blue mountains. After about 15 minutes, we stop somewhere in the middle of the salt desert. The sun is still hiding behind the horizon, and the sky is glowing in soft pastel tones. We are tired but excited. After three days, we finally stand at this one spot and will soon experience what we've been looking forward to for so long. If it had rained yesterday, the ground would now resemble a perfect mirror. The sun rises faster than we can realize. Our shadows stretch across the snowy white ground like chewing gum, and the sky turns neon orange. Like everyone else, we start taking lots of photos, trying to make the most of this unique moment. The driver urges us on and wants to continue driving. We drive through the endless whiteness, without a road, without a destination? After some time, a small island covered in countless cacti suddenly appears in the desert. Here, we will have breakfast. For a few Bolivianos entrance fee, we are allowed to climb the island. Although we only gain a few meters in elevation, we pant as if we had conquered Mount Everest. But the climb was worth it. From the summit of the cactus island, we have a breathtaking view. The snowy white ground and the ocean blue sky sit on top of each other like building blocks. Nothing as far as the eye can see, except for small blue mountains in the distance. The island seems like an oasis in the middle of the desert. We hike back down, breakfast awaits. After a satisfying breakfast at one of the most incredible places in the world, we continue driving. I look out the window, white and blue. Occasionally, a small group of tourists lying on the ground, taking photos, and looking ridiculous passes by the window. Suddenly, we stop. Why? We are also supposed to lie on the ground and take ridiculous poses for photos. At first, we are somewhat hesitant, but then the ideas slowly start to flow, and after a few minutes, we lose our sense of embarrassment and can't hold back anymore. Due to the infinite vastness of the desert, all sense of scale is lost here, allowing us to balance on an ordinary bottle or walk on the hand of your friend. After countless funny photos, we drove to our last stop in this breathtaking piece of land. A star-shaped salt formation where 'all' the flags of the world can be found, so that tourists can leave their mark with a pen and take a selfie. We drive out of the salt-covered desert. The landscape changes from bright white to dusty, dirty brown. We stop at a small market in a small village. The usual things are offered. Sweaters, keychains, salt, sculptures, jewelry, etc. We continue driving to admire our last sight on this tour. A cemetery for old trains in the middle of the desert. At the 'Cementerio de Trenes,' there are trains from the 20th and 19th century. Covered with bad graffiti and corroded by the salt of the past hundred years, these witnesses of time languish in the merciless desert sun. We take lots of photos and jump from wagon to wagon. Then we continue driving. It's quiet in the car, we are tired and hungry, overwhelmed by the mass of unique impressions of the past few days. Uyuni, the final destination. We are dropped off at a small 'restaurant' in the dirty and dusty city to have our last meal of the trip. Then our paths diverge. Some go back to Chile, some stay here, and some continue further inland. We take care of cash first. After successfully withdrawing money, we arrange our bus tickets to La Paz. The bus is supposed to leave today, and we don't want to stay in Uyuni longer than necessary. With the ticket purchased, we have about 4 hours left. Since the whole city is one big market, we use the time to dive into the hustle and bustle. Fake clothes, bad food, outdated electronic items, live animals, etc. You can buy everything here, and everything is cheap. After a few hours at the market, we decide to go out for a meal before our ten-hour bus ride. By an incredible coincidence, we meet our Turkish friend Ömer again at the restaurant. The joy is great. In a group of seven nice people from different countries, we enjoy pizza and beer and then set off for La Paz.