Salar de Uyuni - Day 1 Fri 14/3/2003   In the belief that I had to be at the office of my tour company at 8am, I got up at 7:30 after a very short night and wandered around Uyuni on the lookout for Colque Tours, which had been suggested by the Escuela Latinoamericana in Sucre. This timely appearance turned out to be unnecessary as on arrival I was told to return for a 10:30 departure (and to buy my own water for the trip). Uyuni lives off the tourism and there are some 20 companies all offering tours around the Salar de Uyuni, so selecting the right outfit may not be as easy as it seems. Colque was recommended for its good Jeeps and decent food, both would turn out to be more or less true, and from what I could gather from other travellers we met en route, they also seemed to be using some of the better hostals along the way. So at 10:30 am we set out in a group of 5, (3 other Germans and one Aussie) in a red Toyota Jeep driven by our guide Primo to the the Cementerio de Trenes (Train Cemetery) just outside of Uyuni. We left the somewhat unimpressive fly infested cemetery quickly behind us and headed off to the world's largest Salt Lake, covering about 700 sq Km. The second stop was in a small village where the wet salt from the lake is dried and processed (ground, iodine added and packaged) for sale in Bolivian supermarkets. Shortly afterwards we got to marvel at the remnants of the Salt Hotel which due to environmental reasons was in the process of relocating to the edge of the Salar (They were planning to be finished by June '03). The remaining buildings gave a small impression of what the hotel was like with salt tables, beds and furniture! Then after a very smooth two hour drive across vast planes of blindingly bright salt we arrived at the Isla del Pescado, named after it's shape - not the good fishing. The smallish island in the middle of a sea of salt boasts a huge number of cactuses, yet not much else apart from a fairly new and sightly visitor centre where we paid our 7Bs entry fee. Like all the other tourists I too made good use of the boundless photo opportunities along the trail around the island. After a delicious lunch continued for about 1 hour to the Hotel Chunica which is tucked up against the mountain side above the village of the same name. The hotel would turn out to be the most comfortable abode of our entire trip with great food and warm showers. (The Hotel is owned by Colque)	Hotel Chunica Colque Tours Exclusive, Chunica
Salt Collection in Salar Hotel de Sal Panorama Salar de Uyuni Isla del Pescado - Cactus Forrest Isla del Pescado Isla del Pescado - Richard Isla del Pescado Giant Cactus - Richard Isla del Pescado - Casa Isla del Pescado Panorama Isla del Pescado Close up of Cactus Giant Cactus 1200 years old
Salar de Uyuni - Day 2 Sat 15/03/03   Got up early to catch a glimpse at the sunrise over the Salar, but wasn't that impressed with the display so had breakfast and after some waiting around packed up our jeep and headed South along the Chilean border towards the Volcano Ollague, which is one of the active volcanoes in Bolivia. Observed at a distance some of the steam coming out of the side of the volcano and climbed about the rock formations taking some pictures along the way, before heading on the the Laguna Cañjapa. At the laguna everyone tried to get a good look or photograph of the many Flamingos feeding there whilst enjoying the warmth of the sunshine and the splendid landscape. Continued on to the Laguna Hedionda where one could get even closer to the colourfull birds, so the hunt for close-ups and good views was on again, and after some more birdwatching had lunch overlooking the Laguna. Our next stop was a rock formation in the middle of the barren landscape which was home to a colony of Vizcacias, which seemed to be very tame, so managed to get very close to one of the furry buggers before it decided to jump off. The following "attraction" which we reached after about another hour of driving was the Arbol de Piedra, volcanic rocks which had been eroded by the intense wind and temperature changes. One rock which had been eroded around the base, formed a bizarre tree like rock after which the area was named: "Arbol de Piedra" - Tree of Stone. The surrounding rocks were nonetheless spectacular with their varied shapes and colours. Our final stop of the day was the Laguna Colorada, the entrance point the the national park (30Bs) and location where we would be spending the night in the Hostal Huayllaharas. Apart from a few Llamas, which we had not seen that many before, the place did not strike me as interesting, so after a short stop at a lookout over the Laguna we headed to our hostal. Had a decent evening meal there but due to our late arrival got put in a not so nice room, which still was clean and ok. Had dinner at the table in our room and then went outside to marvel at a distant thunderstorm lighting up the horizon on this otherwise very cold and clear night.	Hostal Huayllaharas Laguna Colorada
Hostal Chunica Sunrise Volcan Ollague Laguna Cañapa Flamingos Pano Laguna Cañapa Laguna Hedionda Pano Laguna Hedionda Flamingos Laguna Hedionda Vizcacia Rocas de Vizcacias Arbol de Piedra Arbol de Piedra Rocas cerca de Arbol de Piedra Formacion de Rocas - Ricardo Pano Arbol de Piedra Llamas Laguna Colorada Llama Laguna Colorada Thunderstorm Horizon
Salar de Uyuni - Day 3 Sun 16/3/2003   After having gone to bed very early, got up in the dark at 5am to drive to the Sol de Mañana Geysers at 5000m a very very chilling morning experience. (From the temperature chart at the national park office I had learned that the lowest temperature is measured there between 5 and 7 am) The 45 minute drive from the hostal up to the Geysers was rather exciting with the first signs of the rising sun greeting us shortly after our departure. By the time we reached the actively bubbling and steaming geyser field the dawn had progressed enough to walk around without a torch but the freezing dry cold made many people retreat to the vehicles after only a short time. The sun rose shortly before leaving the site and dipped the surrounding landscape of red rocks into an amazing display of colours, though only for a few minutes. With the arrival of the sun the temperatures started to climb noticeable right away, but still the next stop at the "Aquas Calientes" - Hot Thermal Baths provided a welcome and relaxing opportunity for most people to warm the freezing feet, knees and hands. Most of our group, including me got our swimming trunks out and slipped into the Thermas de Polques for a half hour of perfect warmth before drying off and getting some breakfast. From there we headed over to the Laguna Verde sitting tranquil below the highest peak in the park Volcan Licancabur with a height of 6008m. The Laguna was of a milky green colour, which changes to bright green in times of Easterly winds, however due to the calamity we only got to see the milky grey/green colour captured on the photographs. After most of the people in my group left to go to San Pedro de Atacama, all 5 people returning to Uyuni re-combined into a different and older Jeep driven by Jochen (Mosque), known for his swift driving, and headed along the other side of the Laguna Colorada to Villa Mar where we would be spending the night in a rather basic hostal. (no warm water) After arriving there headed off into the town where the Sunday local football match was in full fling and bought some wine for dinner before trying to get some nice pictures of the llamas grazing in the river flats surrounding the village.	Hostal Teofilo, Villa Mar
Geseyres Amanecer Geseyres Amanecer Geyseres Geyser Pequeño Pano Ambiente Geyseres Thermas de Polques Cactus Landscape Altiplano Landscape Alitplano Landscape Alitplano Grupo Laguna Verde Pano Laguna Verde y Volcan Licancabur Llamas pequeñias - Villa Mar
Salar de Uyuni - Day 4 Mon 17/3/2003   As everyone wanted to get back early we tried for a 7am start on the 5-6 hour drive back to Uyuni, but as usual got going an hour late (la hora Boliviana). The delay was not up to the driver, but rather because we didn't get breakfast till 7:15 and then watched some llamas in a nearby pen being guarded out to the fields. Only a short while after our departure we stopped at the Valle de Rocas, an archaeological site which was inhabited by a pre Inca community of Quechas. The valley was full of prehistoric buildings, some of which were still quite intact as well as many artefacts such as clay pieces of plates or vases. The community living there 2000 and some years ago was estimated to number about 80 people and legend has it that they did not know the sun - only the moon. One day when the sun appeared they were all killed by its rays. The people were estimated to not be taller than 1m and the entrances to their houses reflect their small stature. The constructions are so small that the two people living in one such "house" would be sleeping in a sitting position. After this rather interesting archaeological morning we continued on our way back to Uyuni, stopping in culpinaK, a model village for eco-tourism and local initiative to improve the standard of living of the local people. The village was truly amazing, not only in the ingenious use of local materials and colours but also in the enthusiasm and participation of the people living there. I really had the impression that the effort will pay off as they were building a truly unique and special little place which undoubtedly will enchant many other visitors passing by. If they succeed they will have managed to progress from a purely agricultural based economy farming quinoa to a service based economy based on the incredible variety and beauty of local natural attractions. Our last stop was again the Cementerio de Trenes, which had not really improved over the last 4 days, so only briefly stopped there for some group photos and then headed back into Uyuni concluding our trip. Bought the train tickets for my journey down to Tupiza that night and then met up with the rest of the group for a llama steak at a local restaurant. The llama was very lean and tasted a bit like 2/3 pork and 1/3 chicken. Then caught the train to Tupiza at 22:15 which was only 15 minutes late and tried to sleep as much as I could in my "Clase Ejecutivo" seat. When awake the full moon allowed some glimpses at the incredible landscape passing by the window and I wished that I had had a chance to take this journey during the daytime. Arrived in Tupiza at around 4am and walked the 2 blocks to the Residencial Valle Hermoso, which would turn out to be one of the friendliest and best hostels I had stayed at in Bolivia!	Residencial Valle Hermoso Av. Pedro Arraya 470 Tupiza - Ph:(62) 2592
Sunrise in Villa Mar Llamas in Villa Mar Valle de Rocas Valle de Rocas - Quecha Casa Valle de Rocas - Casa Destruyido Valle de Rocas - Casa Pano Valle de Rocas Valle de Rocas - Entrada Casa Pano Valle de Rocas Pano CulpinaK Plaza ClupinaK Niños en Plaza Casa con Escupltura Secundo Plaza CulpinaK Avestruces Emma Taking Photo of Salar Grupo Cementerio de Trenes Read about Tupiza and Tarija in part 3.