Uyuni Salt Plains and Leaving Bolivia in Style

The Uyuni salt plains were one of the main targets of this trip. So it was back on the road again. The trip from La Paz to Uyuni started with a bus to Oruro. Oruro is a town without any mentionable charm except possibly the 30meter tall statue of the Virgin perched on a hill top beside the city. They are also well known for their Carnival - which, alas, I missed by a day. But preparation were well on the way.

The bus ride didn't start very promisingly since our bus broke in the suburbs of La Paz. We were duly transferred to the next bus to arrive - or rather those of us who mobbed the ladies in charge of the transition forcefully enough and refused to leave without a new ticket were transferred, since there wasn't room for all the people on our bus as well as the people already on it. I used my greated hight and body mass successfully and secured a ticket for myself and Irene, the lovely 70-year old lady who had sat next to me on the first bus. So we had time for a nice natter and when we got to Oruro, her home town, we went for a good lunch together and she invited me to see her home on top of a tiny store she owns. The two bedrooms were more or less ready, but the living room and kitchen were just raw concrete. Apparently the project had started years ago, but still continues one bit at a time whenever there is some cash to spare. Judging by the state of villages and suburbs here, this is a very common state of affairs, since over half the buildings seem to have their upper floors unfinished.

The train trip from Oruro was pleasantly uneventful and the views flat as a pancake. But I do love trains and this one was punctual and uncrowded and didn't even break on the way.

So then, finally, the Uyuni salt flats. Weather swung from sunshine and heat to rain and windy, all within a few hours. But the salt plains managed to look good in every weather. This is truly a case of a picture saying more than a thousand words, so lassies and laddies, without further ado I give you the Uyuni salt plains!

Quite a rush as you may imagine.
After the salt plains our trip continued for two days in a 4-wheel drive past some other nice scenery, mountain and lagoons,

Pink lagoons with flamingos (the pink colour coursety of some algae, which grows in the lagoon)

The Atacama desert at nearly 5km of altitude

Only one engine failure,

To the Bolivian border

And finally either right or left. More next time!