El Salar de Uyuni

I have always wanted to walk on clouds.

They are fluffy, beautiful, and possess something instinctively poetic.

At the Salar de Uyuni, where the sky and the ground meet, not only did I feel like I was floating on a cloud, but it looked like I was.

We woke up early and scuttled out of Uyuni, heading straight for the promised land. I had a splitting migraine, so I curled up in my seat and ignored the world until our driver said "Chicos, estamos aqui You guys, we are here."

My eyes fluttered open to see the low light over the land. On one side the sun was rising; the other, the moon was setting.

 

From dark to light

We ventured out and because the Salar was mostly covered with water due to the rainy season, my feet instantly froze in the cold morning. I withstood the pain to take in the absolute wonder of it all. The rising sun was breathtaking with the Salar's blue hues.

Puddles on the Salar

We kept going until we reached a dry place and a Salt Hotel for breakfast. We wandered around a bit more, mesmerized by the early morning beauty and freezing.

Trying to catch the sun

It's salty...so can I have some?

Salt mounds. This is how they harvest the salt, which constantly reproduces.

Breakfast was a complete joy; pancakes, dulce de leche, yogurt, coffee, and tea- everything to cure my continuing migraine. The "Salt hotel" was completely made out of Salt, and therefore quite interesting to look at.

Breakfast photo with our cook,

Reloj de Sal Salt Clock

We went back out warm and refreshed for illusion photos. Because of the continuous white ground, it's very easy to snap illusion photos. We worked, laughed, and managed to get a few good ones.

Our last stop before starting the drive back to Tupiza was somewhere to get good reflection shots. With the mountains, blue sky, and clouds, it looks like I am walking on clouds.

El Salar was truly a playa blanca white beach; it was now warm, perfectly sunny, and invigorating. I fell in love with it- saying goodbye was painful. The entire trip, money, and bodily stress was worth every moment we spent out there. As we drove away, I was completely satisfied with my Bolivian adventure. Would I return to Bolivia? I am not sure; it's a sad country. But I highly recommend the adventure to anyone, seeing the Salar de Uyuni was one of the best moments of my entire life.

Felicidad pura Pure bliss

End of the trip photo in Tupiza after five days of not showering and being covered in salt!

Highlights
-Making it to the Salar de Uyuni ALIVE
-Eating pancakes for the first time since leaving the U.S.
-Buying alpaca socks and hats
-Going back to Tupiza, the Villazon, and crossing over the border safe and sound (we almost died on the way to Villazon due to an insane taxi driver)
-Wanting to kiss the Argentina ground in La Quiaca (refrained due to dust)
-Having that "home" feeling once back in Argentina