Near
Uyuni
,
Bolivia
Every
now and then I visit somewhere in the course of my
travels that is so far removed from anything I’ve seen
before that I cant help but feel that I’ve only
scratched the surface in my endeavors to “see the
world”.
Bolivia's
Salar de Uyuni falls into this category of unique
places. One of the most peculiar geological anomalies
I’ve yet witnessed greeted me after a long off-road
overland trip though the high altitudes of the
Andres
Mountains
into
Bolivia
from
Chile
.
The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt
flat, with 12,000 square kilometers of white salt
covered by a layer of water only a few inches deep. It
is this thin cover of water that imparts a fantastically
unreal look to the salt flat. The water layer has the
effect of creating a giant white mirror as far as you
look. The bizarre effect of this quirky mirror is that
your sense of perspective and depth perception is
distorted. This
effect is created because as the clouds that ring the
Salar de Uyuni reflect into the giant expanse of salt
and water there is no horizon but rather
just a blur of clouds looking up and down. It’s
as if all at once you are looking up at the heavens,
down at the heavens, and simultaneously standing in the
heavens. Snow
capped peaks in the periphery seem to hover in the air.
Looking in the distance landcruisers driving on the
slushy waters of the salt flat seem as if they too were
floating in a vast expanse nothingness. Salt mining
trucks and equipment look as if they are driving on
water. To be sure the visual effects are absolutely
bizarre and gravity and simple laws of optics seem
turned upside-down. A person standing off in the
distance doesn’t look like they are off in the
distance, rather they look like a miniature person
because of the distortion in perspective. I happily
snapped away pictures marveling at the circus of optical
illusions.
Overland trip to Uyuni
I
ended up in
Bolivia
after leaving on a 4 day overland trip starting from the
equally spectacular Atacama desert of Northern
Chile
. The landcruiser trip through the
Andes
was spectacular to say the least. Once we left the small
village
of
San Pedro
in
Chile
we drove along a paved road for a short time past a snow
capped volcano until we got near the Bolivian border.
Then it was off-roading on dirt paths with a few other
backpackers and a driver for 4 days. There was a small
outpost that served as the Bolivia-Chile border
checkpoint and after completing some paperwork it was
off further
into the
Andes
. The unpaved path though the lunar like valleys and
elevated passes was unbelievable. There were more 16,500
foot passes, colorful red cliffs, jagged rock formations
and beautiful canons carved by the winds over the eons.
We drove past all manner of lakes, one called Lago
Colorado
was actually red from mineral deposits. Another lake was
an amazing shade of turquoise and another lake appeared
to be an emerald color. We spotted the occasional vicuna
in the mountains and traversed the occasional llama
pastures in the lower valleys with unbelievably green
grass owing to nearby streams.
Eventually we ended up in the city of
Uyuni
which we would use as a base for exploring the Salt
flats and later the “train graveyard” just outside
the town. The town is a small but interesting
destination tucked away in the middle of nowhere in
southern
Bolivia
. There is a small market through the center street of
the main town where dust and wind sweep through as bands
of stray dogs roam scavenging for food. Indigenous women
with bowler type hats and long jet black braided pony
tails carry babies wrapped in colorful shawls somehow
strapped across the
chest like a large purse. We were to leave Uyuni
the next day for the salt flats but we nearly got
stuck in the town. Apparently the town was unhappy with
the mayor and a strike was to start the next day with
all roads in and out of the city being blocked,
fortunately the strike was averted when the mayor
resigned, ah nothing like a
little civil unrest.
Perhaps
the most interesting part of the town of
Uyuni
was the “train graveyard”. Just outside the town,
past an outdoor dump littered with the small town’s
accumulated waste, is a train graveyard where the
rusting hulks of giant steam powered locomotives rest
for eternity. There were perhaps 50 of the trains
sitting in the silent desolation of the windy plain. The
rusting brown behemoths are remarkable and it was
interesting to ponder what trains were like a century
ago. The driver didn’t really do a good job of
explaining how they got there but he said they were more
than 100 years old. Further outside the city under a
striking blue sky sits a plain with red and orange
painted mountains and giant cactuses. I felt like I was
in a road runner cartoon. I went and climbed a few hills
and took some pictures of the cactuses and other
vegetation.
Eventually after visiting the salt flats and the
train graveyard we left back to
Chile
taking the same path that we had arrived on to return.
The return was an interesting if a bit tenuous journey.
We headed back into the array of beautifully colored
Andean peaks early in the morning. The Canadians that I
rode back to
Chile
with were hilarious and started drinking a very cheap and
uniquely unpleasant tasting Bolivian hard liquor
promptly at 7AM in the morning as we left the town of
Uyuni
. The Canadians were quite gregarious and made good
company on the long journey back to
Chile
. Every now and then lush vegetation would pop out of
nowhere but mostly it was a vast collection of
peaks, valleys, rocks and dirt. The barren unpaved road
felt like we were driving
on mars at times. Toward the afternoon of the
first day driving back to Chile the snow started and the
reds and oranges of the mountains turned into a vast
blanket of while. At first
a light drizzle of flakes floated down but this
eventually turned into a heavy snow and then covered the
landscape of the entire journey back right before our
eyes. As we drove visibility was at a minimum and the
temperature plummeted and the snow fell furiously. The
dirt path was difficult enough to see when the driver
could see the road and then it disappeared under a
blanket of snow. Were it not for a path cut in the snow
before us by other landcruisers I I don’t know how we
would have found our way back. A couple times the
landcruiser stalled and the driver opened the hood and
fixed something and we were off again. I would have
hated to get stuck in a snowstorm in the middle of the
Andres. We drove on and on and eventually came to an
eerie red lake in the middle of nowhere with a small
guest house where we stayed the night. This was the one
of the few houses or any habitable structure for that
matter between the 2 days from Uyuni to the Chilean
border we saw. Eventually the spectacular red lake
disappeared below a massive white plain of snow.
That night was cold, very cold and I donned all
the clothes I had in my backpack in layers in an effort
to stay warm. It was
chilly but me and the Canadians stayed up late
joking around chatting
with our flashlights on. The next morning when we were
to head back but we didn’t know if we would actually
be able to leave or if we would be stuck for the next
few days. Our driver was fairly concerned that because
of the snow and ice he wouldn’t be able to drive up a
treacherous pass of 16,500 feet on the way back to
Chile
. The landcruiser took off and trudged somehow through a
few feet of snow without stopping and eventually we made
it over the pass. The scenery was just as breathtaking
covered with snow as it had been without snow when we
passed by the first time.
We eventually came to a field of geysers
billowing huge columns of steam into the crisp snowy
air. Later we came to a small emerald green lake that
was now covered with snow and ice somehow blanketed
below a layer of fog. The vistas were amazing but by the
fourth day my head was pounding from mild altitude
sickness, I was ready to get back to the lower
altitudes.
Finally I
crossed the border back into
Chile
made it back to San Pedro de Atacama and bid the
Canadians and the driver farewell. We were told that all
other trips back into Uyuni had been canceled because of
the snow, I was glad I took the trip before they were
canceled. San
Pedro was scenic in its own right and before I left for
Bolivia
I had hung out in San Pedro for a few days. The town is
a tiny congregation of earthy brown adobe houses and
dirt roads with a beautiful whitewashed church and a
diminutive town square. The town serves as a starting
point for people venturing into
Bolivia
or wanting to explore the surrounding
Atacama Desert
.
The
Atacama Desert
is one of the driest deserts on earth. Some parts of the
desert haven’t recorded any rainfall in 40 years. San
Pedro is a bit of an oasis though, owing to nearby
springs. The peculiar vistas around San Pedro are
striking. The vast abyss of sand and parched desert
surrounding San Pedro seemed an endless plain just
waiting to be explored. There is no vegetation in most
parts surrounding San Pedro so the desiccated landscapes
have an alien feel, especially the “valley of the
moon” where astounding rock formations lend a
beautiful backdrop to brilliant sunsets. I climbed to
the top of a colossal sand dune perhaps 10 stories tall,
from below the silhouettes of a trail of tourists on top
of the dune looked like tiny ants summiting a massive
ant pile. Nearby were odd rock formations stacked like a
toppled pile of dominos end on end. The winds blow hard
in this part of the land as the odd bird struggles to
fly in the air above. Around the desert are more salt
flats less remarkable than the Bolivian ones but
interesting for the fact that they are inhabited by
populations of pink flamencos.
Trying to leave the Atacama Desert
I
had originally planned to take a fairly cheap bus back
to
Santiago
when I left San Pedro. As it turned out,however, the same
weather front that nearly stranded me in the Andres had
wreaked havoc around San Pedro. San Pedro is a dry place
and the locals say it may rain only for a total of an
hour during the whole year. While I was in
Bolivia
it had apparently rained for an entire day around San
Pedro with the deluge causing floods and giant mudslides
that destroyed parts of the only road back to
Santiago
. I was able to go as far as a small industrial town
called Calama about hour away by bus but the road would
go no further. The city was
basically an unremarkable
manufacturing town and nothing to look at really,
especially at 1 am in the morning. I looked at a few
hostels listed in my book but they were all booked out
for the night and after realizing that no buses would go
back to Santiago and there was no clear time frame for
fixing the road (“could be days to weeks” I was
told) I decided to head to the local airport, which
amounted to a small airstrip and a small terminal. I
took a cab at 2AM in the morning to the deserted airport
hoping to take an early flight out. The driver dropped
me off and the terminal was of course closed, but I
knocked on the glass as it was cold outside and a
security guard let me in. I emptied the contents of my
bag on the concrete floor which made for some padding
and tried to sleep. Eventually woke up and was able to
catch a convenient but plane back to
Santiago
.
Vina del Mar and Valparaiso ,
Chile
Once
back in
Santiago
I took a bus to the thriving beach town of
Vina del Mar
about two hours away by bus.
Vina del Mar
turned out to be quite the change of pace compared to
the relative desolation of the Andes and the dryness of
the
Atacama desert
. Vina is a bustling beach town with beautiful lively
beaches where cool pacific waves crash onto the yellow
sands of the crowded Chilean beach. The city bustles at
night with a large casino, endless bars, the endless
neon lights shining from clubs, and loud music.
Not
far from
Vina del Mar
is the unforgettable city of
Valparaiso
, certainly one of the most charming places I’ve
visited in
South America
. Situated on an unassuming
hill overlooking the beach the upper town beckons
the visitor with its sleepy cobble stoned neighborhoods
and houses
painted all manner of pastels.
Small restaurants with colorful potted flowers
and charismatic art galleries intermix with shady
courtyards and small cathedrals that give the
neighborhood its unconventional charm.
Valparaiso
, not to be outdone by
Vina del mar
, also has a vibrant night scene and unique bars and
other venues abound.
Chile
is
known for its wine of course and no trip to
Chile
would be complete without a trip to a few Vineyards. I
took a bus from
Vina del Mar
to a few vineyards midway between Vina de Mar and
Santiago
. The vineyards were scenic with row after row of green
and purple grapes basking in the bright valley under a
blue sky. The vineyard houses were quite friendly and it
was fun to spend an afternoon wine tasting.
Santiago
I
used
Santiago
more as a launching pad in and out of
Chile
but the city was still a pleasant enough place. Probably
the most interesting part is the main town square,
flanked by an aging cathedral and
colonial era buildings with shopping arcades
radiating off the square
.