Bolivia Salt Flats
To be honest I had never heard of the Bolivian Salt Flats until only a couple of months ago when the Bumfuzzles told us about them and said they were headed that way. Even after hearing about them I could not understand the appeal exactly…a bunch of salt in a dry lake bed – Hmmmm, interesting?
So I was a little skeptical when I began reading about them and even after I got up to speed about what all of the hype was about I still had my doubts. I WAS convinced that they would be cool to check out, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right trip for US.
This is not something that you really do independently…although I suppose you could, but the preferred method is to hire a tour company to take you out to the salt flats are continue your adventure around the southern tip of Bolivia. So, a tour was involved strike one!
Grant and Gina on a Salt Mound
In addition, I was concerned about the weather we would face. The trip would take us to altitudes of 14,000 feet, during fall in the Andes, in the middle of nowhere (literally), and us with our windbreakers, flip flops, and a couple pair of shorts. Ok, we had shoes as well but by no means did we have the clothing necessary for extremely cold weather. Strike two!
On the positive side we were going to be going right by the salt flats anyway. Our route to the Argentina and Bolivia border involved taking the train from Oruro to Villazon, which passed through Uyuni the primary city where all of the tours originated. So really it just meant jumping off the train, looking at a bunch of salt, and then jumping back on the train heading south.
The clincher came when we met a young couple from Australia on our floating island trip that had just come from that direction. They were not prepared for any cold temperatures either and said that it was fine. They rented sleeping bags and these combined with wool blankets kept them warm! So, it sounded as if this was doable for our shorts wearing family.
There was one last thing…spending 3 days locked in a jeep with 7 people bouncing around the mountains of Bolivia, but that should not be any problems for a couple of kids…right?
Gigi's Hand Stand on the Bolivian Salt Flats
We had made the decision to go through Bolivia in Cuzco, and now in Puno made the decision to take the Salt Flats tour. You can see our trip itinerary by reading our story about how why we chose to travel to Bolivia. Our trip would include 4 bus rides, a ferry boat trip, 3 days in a 4×4 truck, 2 train rides, and a whole bunch of walking.
It was going to be a long week, and we would consistently face lots of extremes during the week. There would not be much sleep, we would be hot and cold, we would not eat much, our butts were going to be sore, we would eat lots of dust and dirt, and we would meet some wonderful friends from France and Spain, see scenery that was breathtaking, and have an adventure that we would remember for years to come!
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by Sean
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