Introduction
Day 2 of my 3 day Uyuni tour was a day filled with diverse landscapes. From quinoa fields to deserts, from lakes to volcanos. The longest day of the trip, it was a 13 hour car ride that took us through many of Bolivia’s unique landscapes. It was difficult to pick a highlight for this day as every area was so different from each other. However, with full on personal bias, I probably settle for star gazing in a hot spring (more on this later!).
Reaching the heights of Altitude - Day 2
Sunrise
After visiting the salt flats on day 1, we had stayed at a small hotel that I believe only serves my chosen agency. Being so far away from Uyuni city, in a little town, I was surprised had how comfortable and clean everything was. Could have easily been a 3-star hotel if not for its size and lack of amenities. And just like many other accommodations in the wilderness, it boasts spectacular sunrises.
Breakfast with a view
Quinoa Fields
First activity of the day - visiting Quinoa fields. Now if you find the word Quinoa familiar, it may because it has been widely reported in media to be a super food, containing many important nutrients. Due to the discovery of its properties and wide media coverage, the price of Quinoa has skyrocketed, making this long held trade profitable once again. In fact, many people are returning from cities to their family fields to boost farming efforts.
Road Trip!
Railway
Along with the visits to Quinoa fields, we came across the railway that runs from Bolivia to Chile. Clear skies, a railway and mountains in one place, cue tons of tourist shots. And yes, there was a train some 600m away from us.
Breakdown
At about 10.30am, on our way to the national park, we encountered the biggest hitch in our journey. One of two cars in our convoy broke down in the middle of a desert. With little success repairing it, our guide was forced to call for a replacement, that was all of 3 hours away, back in Uyuni city. At this point, I had conflicted emotions, on one hand, it always sucks to be stuck in-between itineraries, and the sun was blazing hot. On the other hand, the car picked a pretty nice spot in the desert to breakdown, with large rocks, ledges and mountains in the background. With little to do, we settled for an early picnic lunch and explored the surrounding area. Occasionally we spotted dust devils in the distance and rain falling over the mountains.
Siloli Desert
We spend all of 13 hours on the road on day 2, most of which involved traveling through the Siloli desert. Contrary to what some of us think, a desert is not defined by the massive number of sand dunes, but rather by the amount of rainfall in a year. In the Siloli desert, we drove past hills, mountains, lakes formed by melted snow and volcanos. In fact, most of the rocks in the area were spit out by volcano eruptions in the past. Given the large distance between the rocks and the nearest volcano, and the never ending number of big rocks lying around, it was fascinating to contemplate how powerful a single eruption was.
101 Salt Lakes
The main highlights of the desert trip were several salt lakes. With the chance to see various types of flamingos, our group had to be extra cautious each time we exited our vehicle, so as not to scare them. By this time, we had gained altitude to about 4,500m in the desert (we would hit 5,100m by the end of the day). It was pretty cold, windy and it even snowed at one point. Snow in the desert, crazy.
Spot them flamingos!
Rock Tree
Another attraction was an area of natural rock structures, the most famous being the one that resembles a tree. If you arrive here at the right time, and the shadows created by the setting sun should create some interesting compositions for photos. Given our earlier breakdown, we barely spent any time here, so I probably will not be able to do this place much justice in this post.
The famous rock tree.
Red Lagoon
Another highlight of the day was the visit to Red Lagoon. For some in my group, they had joined this tour specifically for this attraction. Due to a type of algae in the water, the lagoon appears in varying shades of red throughout the day. In addition, hundreds of flamingos call the place home for most of the year.
Can you spot all them flamingos??
Sol De Mañana
Sol de Mañana is a volcano that is popular with tourists as volcanic activity can be seen up close in the forms of fumaroles and boiling mud pots. Despite arriving at the area well after dark, at a height above 5000m, and a temperature of around 4 degrees celsius (with heavy wind mind you), the volcanic activity was quite the sight. The smoke in the photo was gushing out with intensity and velocity. Though, I have less the pleasant things to say about the smell of steaming hot sulphur, but walking in and around the mini-craters was quite the experience.
Was totally unprepared for the cold, shivering like crazy.
Hotspring under the Stars
Now on to my personal favourite highlight. We arrived at our accommodation for the night, a highly simplistic hostel in the middle of the nature park. Frozen from all of 4 degrees and heavy wind, and fatigued by the long hours of travel, we could not wait to get into the natural outdoor hot spring. And yes, it did not disappoint. At a temperature of 38 degrees, it was a safe and comfy haven for our weary bodies. Couple it with a clear night sky, constellations filled and shooting stars abandoned. Soaking in the hot spring, sheltered from the cold wind, while taking in all of the beautiful night sky… for the second time on a single trip, I felt that all was right in the world.
Tip: you can even buy beer and have it in the hot spring!
Up Next
2 days down, and 1 more to go. Day 3 of Uyuni tours is often heavily underestimated. While my guide did not say it, I kinda figured that we entered his favorite place on the tour on day 3. What is this place? and what is so special about it? Stay tuned as I bring an end to my Uyuni trip in my next blog post!
