Sometimes you start to hear about a place, and there's something telling you that you should go. Bolivia, particularly the southwestern region and the Salar de Uyuni, was calling to me for a while, with amazing photos appearing online and several well-traveled friends telling me that this was one of their favorite places. Considering that Chile is the only South American country that I have visited, this was the perfect occasion to cross the border and see the majestic landscapes on the other side.
 |
| Welcome to the Bolivian border! |
The visit to Uyuni involved a 4 day, 3 night tour from San Pedro, in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser and the majority of the time spent on dirt roads, or non-roads. Accommodations and food were simple but adequate, and in many ways the simplicity in fact enhanced the experience.
What also enhanced the experience were my jeep-mates and tour guide. It turned out that the five of us on the tour were within a few years of age, and although we came from 4 different countries, we came with similar traveling-mindsets, and we shared some great conversations during the trip. Our driver and guide, Renan, provided anecdotes and music along the way, and played the role of professional photographer when we arrived at the salt flats.
 |
| Our group, one of the many salt flat photos |
To get an idea of the trip, check out my photos. You'll see lagunas of different colors, depending on the chemicals and minerals in the soil and water. Some of the photos of volcanos, guisers, and other natural phenomena seem to belong in a geology text book. You'll see a variety of animals -- llamas, vicuña, vizcacha, flamingos, ostrich -- somehow finding a way to survive in an extreme, high and dry environment. Also, a lot of sand, dirt and salt, and the obligatory salt flat photos playing with perspective amid the backdrop of the empty horizon.
 |
| Llamas, lagunas, landscapes were the themes of the trip |
What you won't see are many signs of civilization, not many paved roads or rest stops along the way. Even though there were plenty of other tour groups, the other tourists don't crowd the photos or the experience. There were enough wide open spaces for each group to follow our own path, to experience the landscapes as if they were ours. To run towards an empty horizon, to crest a hill at nearly 5000 m elevation in anticipation of what we would find on the other side. The words that come to mind are pristine and unregulated. However, I wonder if unregulated leads to the end of pristine, and if so, I urge you to visit as soon as you can.
 |
| Approaching the horizon |
In contrast, on the final day of my travels, back in the Chilean city of Calama, I visited Chuquicamata, the largest open-pit copper mine in the world. Copper mining is one of the most important industries in Chile, and I wanted to see the process with my own eyes. It was the same scale of "huge" that I experienced in the Bolivia desert, but in this case, totally industrialized and mechanized, equally impressive.
 |
| Chuquicamata copper mine in Northern Chile |
No comments:
Post a Comment