El Camino de Salar de Uyuni, dia tres

After fitful night of sleep and ice freezing temperatures, we rose early for the least exciting, yet rather short day. Fortunately the incredible view lifted our spirits, along with the excitement of leaving behind the shack.


It was a day of rocks and lakes. We first saw the Arbol de Piedra, a rock that looks like a tree. We could climb the other rocks and the early morning sun and air was refreshing.

Arbol de Piedra



The lakes started with first Laguna Hedionda Sur, then Laguna Hedionda Norte, and finally Laguna Negra.


Laguna Hedionda Sur

Laguna Hedionda Norte

Laguna Negra

The trend continued with La Valle de Rocas, a vast plain full of red boulders. The boulders were massive and each one had a lot of character.

Favorite rock of the day

Random fact: I used to collect rock. Maybe this helps explain why I loved this valley so much.


We continued to a field for lunch, were there happened to be many llamas, my new animal of choice. We got to be so close to the cute, furry little guys. I could even hear them munching on grass. My heart instantly connected to the wild animals. Llamas have been in Bolivia since before the Inca era in the 1500s. It's amazing how they remained such an important part of the southern Bolivian culture, from their meat to their fur.

Llama skeletons. They often die from the lack of water in the antiplano.

Llama hat, llama gloves, and llamas

Las montañas hermosas Beautiful Mountains

Hola llamas! Hello llamas!
We traveled along the plains until we were just outside of Uyuni, our pueblo of the night. We could see the Salar de Uyuni from a distance, and our excitement level surged. Before we went to our hostel, we stopped at El Cementerio de Trenes, a place where the dump the old trains. Bolvia is a rail country due to the lack of paved roads, random floods, and terrible roads.





We left the trains behind for ugly Uyuni, where we had the nicest hostel of the three days. It was a trip back into the second world, with broadband Internet Explorer 7.2, smelly bathrooms (missing baño natural), and electricity. I was able to pick up the softest alpaca sweater and socks (12.30 USD). We fell asleep to the sounds of people partying, despite the 4:30 am wake-up call.

Highlights
-Getting up close and personal with llamas
-Seeing the Salar from a distance
-Seeing a guy dance/walk, shirtless, around the cemetery, truly emulating the phrase, "I don't have a care in the world"
-Having heat in our hostel

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