Day 36 to 38 Salt Flats Uyuni

Day 36

Today we're going to the salt desert. How cool - finally. We were looking forward to it for 3 years. Bolivia has been very mixed so far - hopefully this desert can exceed our expectations.

First we go to the old railway remains. Way too crowded. Unfortunately. A great spot in itself. But we really don't want crowds and selfie-loving filter idiots.

Our guide Carlos either had an alcohol problem in the morning or was still intoxicated by the coca leaves. So it didn't really make it any easier.

After the ruins from previous years (railway with coal), we went to a saltworks. Was more of a sale again than anything else. We were rewarded with three nice passengers (an Australian couple Veronica and Charlotte and an Englishman Bernhard traveling alone). We sang every singable song during the journey and enjoyed the time. After the salt mine, the long-awaited finally started. We drove to the Salar de Uyuni. Indescribable - simply bombastic what nature produces. Just look at the pictures. This salt desert extends over 17,000 km2 according to Wikipedia, over 11,500 km2 according to the Bolivian guide and 10,000 km2 according to the Chilean guide. In Argentina a guide says at the end that there are only 5000km2 left. But it was gigantic - unimaginably big. In the middle of the desert there are islands - of course without water, but with cacti over 1000 years old.

At the end of the evening we were able to experience an indescribable sunset and were then taken to the salt stone hostel.

Day 37

And it went on - it was warmer than expected that night. Some idiot knocked on our door at night. Maybe I breathed too loudly :D

Now we went to the lagoons where flamingos lived and to a national reserve. Unimaginably beautiful. The pictures are all still on the SLR camera - sorry. But I'm sure there will be more to come at some point :)

At the end we saw sulfur geysers and drove to the next absurdity. The guide called it Rustic. We had no internet after the start of the trip on day 36. That was ok. But in the Rustic it was really great. 50 people - 3 working toilets - no showers - still electricity from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. - no sockets - shared rooms with 4 plus more - no internet. Yes, it was a challenge. Bed wasn't great and it was really cold.

Going to the toilet at night without the light was also very entertaining.

Day 38

Good morning Yes, you little ADHD bird at the window at 6 a.m. The alarm clock shouldn't go off until 6:30. But no, a woodpecker said - at 6 a.m. - that it had already broken the window.

It was kind of funny. After breakfast we went to two spots that weren't worth mentioning.

Then we crossed the border. Suddenly it became clear to many people - fruit, vegetables, wood, coffee, etc. were not allowed. Our Australian friends suddenly had 5 kg less luggage :D

When we arrived in San Pedro, we first looked for an internet-enabled restaurant, collected money and tour information and looked for the Airbnb.

Freddy's mistake was once again just booking and not reading - WITHOUT WIFI and hot water...

And opening the door was great too. Alicia had a family emergency and said she would send someone to open the door. 2 p.m. nobody there. The first ice cream has already been picked up from the supermarket. 2:30 p.m. no reactions. At 2:45 p.m. an old lady asked what we were doing here - 10 minutes later a lady came. But we couldn't get the lock open. When I was lucky enough to be able to open the lock, we were only standing in the inner courtyard. Opening the left door was harder than expected. The keys were only for the right door and separate beds. But it wasn't ours. So the key for the other door was fetched. But after opening it, it was discovered that someone was alive there. So we got the right space after all.

We then slowly let the day end.

Your Freddy