click here for the pictures of the trip to ChileWe were excited to leave Potosi and get to Uyuni: we would be one step closer to the Salar de Uyuni which we had been dreaming about for a few months, but the 4 day journey to get there over a horrible dirt road tempered that excitement a bit. We were again with Chloe and Nicolas, while Manu and Christelle, our new Swiss cyclist friends would be meeting us in a few days as they were recovering from some (surprise!) stomach problems in Potosi. The first day and a half were fine, but then we got hit hard by a strong headwind, this in combination with the uphill bad dirt road made for a miserable few hours. There were no cars or trucks on the road so we couldn't even hitchhike part of the way. Halfway through the 3rd day the two of us decided we didn't want to suffer anymore on this road and flagged down the only truck that had passed all day. The others decided to tough it out – fine for them, but we were very happy to get out of there. We rode the last 65km to Uyuni in the truck and checked into a hotel, had hot showers and good food.
The next day we spent organizing the trip into the Salar for the 6 of us. After a few hours we found a decent tour operator who was able to work around our special needs (traveling with 6 bikes!) and booked things, got our Bolivia exit stamps for the passport and did some shopping. The others arrived exhausted a few hours later, telling horror stories of the wind, bad road and steep climbs. Phew! We were all the much happier to have avoided another 1 ½ days of wind, dust, rocks and dirt. So we had a nice dinner together after they cleaned up, all excited for the journey to come.
We organized the trip so that we were able
to cycle out to the Salar, sleep in it for 2 nights and the third morning would be picked up by a Land Cruiser at the “island” (a sort of oasis 80km into the salt flats) and continue for the next 2 days up to the Chilean border. We didn't want to ride the whole way: some cyclists have done it but it requires you to carry food and water for about a week, and even then you wouldn't be cycling much – you would be pushing the bike through deep sand or over washboard, struggling to go about 40 km a day. Not our idea of fun, especially as we wanted to be able to put our attentions on the scenery and not on the ground! From before the border we would get out with Manu and Christelle and cross to Chile, to San Pedro de Atacama, then make the 7 day ride, crossing over the Andes (thankfully!) for the last time and arriving in Salta, Argentina. Chloe and Nicolas would go back to Uyuni with the tour and continue their journey on a different route.
So we happily set out in the morning on a descent semi-paved road to the edge of the Salar de Uyuni. To the left of us the edge of the salt flat emerged already from time to time on the way there, and the vast openness of it enveloped us when we finally drove out onto the Salar. Large parts of Bolivia and northern Argentina and Chile used to be covered by a huge pre-historic ocean, which dried up and left behind the Salars, huge salt flats hundreds of square kilometers large and up to tens of meters deep. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat (nearly half the size of Switzerland!), and it is huge and flat and white and bright and barren. On the edge of it some salt mining was going on, but a few kilometers into it no more signs of life – animal, plant or human – remained. And you can see the curve of the earth on its horizon very clearly, things just disappear after a few kilometers...
We rode some 10km into the Salar, then stopped at a ex-hotel built out of salt, now mainly functioning as a museum due to environmental constraints. Camping in the middle of this nothingness was an interesting experience, and especially sunset and sunrise were spectacular! The next morning we had 65km more to go to get to the “island” in the Salar, and it turned out that cycling on the Salar for an extended period makes time pass really slowly, it seems we didn't advance at all as nothing changes and there is nothing to look at – it was like we were riding the wrong way on a moving sidewalk, getting nowhere. The island was visible for hours, but didn't seem to get any closer no matter how hard we were pedaling against the strong head winds.
Finally we made it, and due to the winds decided to take shelter in a sort of school room in a house on the island. We made a very nice group dinner and slept well. The next morning after breakfast we packed up and took lots of (surreal) pictures before getting picked up to start our tour.
We loaded the car with our things and drove south, exiting the Salar and entering the “Ruta de las Lagunas” (lake route) which took us past salty lakes filled with pink flamingos, through the “Salvador Dali Desert,” the “Arbol de Piedra” (stone tree), the Laguna Colorada – the water bright pink due to organisms in the water. We went to some sulfurous hot springs – only Swen, Manu and Christelle got in (the algae grossed the rest of us out) and some bubbling, muddy geysers. We saw rock formations carved by the wind, and at the end of the second day we arrived at Laguna Verde – bright turquoise green due to mineral deposits in the water. Apparently without the strong winds the lake wouldn't have the same color – for the green to appear the winds need to stir up the water a bit. In all it was a surreal desert landscape full of volcanoes, lakes and rocks in weird colors and shapes at 4000-5000m altitude (12,000-15,000ft). We were thankful we were able to stay in a hostel the last night – it was sooo cold and windy camping; even inside the house it was 5ºC / XºF!
In the morning we said our goodbyes
to Chloe and Nicolas and our driver and the 4 of us headed towards Chile. The road was still unpaved but rideable here. We quickly made it to the border where we checked out of Bolivia and unfortunately (as we would have to climb back up next morning!) had to roll down 2000m to the town of San Pedro de Atacama for our Chilean entry stamps.
We arrived by noon in the super touristy little town at the north end of the Atacama Desert – the worlds driest desert, it was really very cute and nice, and it was warm here, so good after all the cold of the last weeks! We found a nice hostel where we took hot showers and again set upon the work of preparing for the next few days – it never ends!
This time we had to shop for the night's dinner ingredients, and also for food for the next 4 days. The stretch from here to Salta would take about a week, but for the first 2 days there would be no water and no food for the first 4 days. We found a nice shop, bought all our supplies and divided them up between the 4 of us, leaving just enough room for the 8 liters of water each was carrying. A fine bottle of Chilean wine drunk on the plaza of the cute town finished our evening.
The next day we spent organizing the trip into the Salar for the 6 of us. After a few hours we found a decent tour operator who was able to work around our special needs (traveling with 6 bikes!) and booked things, got our Bolivia exit stamps for the passport and did some shopping. The others arrived exhausted a few hours later, telling horror stories of the wind, bad road and steep climbs. Phew! We were all the much happier to have avoided another 1 ½ days of wind, dust, rocks and dirt. So we had a nice dinner together after they cleaned up, all excited for the journey to come.
We organized the trip so that we were able
to cycle out to the Salar, sleep in it for 2 nights and the third morning would be picked up by a Land Cruiser at the “island” (a sort of oasis 80km into the salt flats) and continue for the next 2 days up to the Chilean border. We didn't want to ride the whole way: some cyclists have done it but it requires you to carry food and water for about a week, and even then you wouldn't be cycling much – you would be pushing the bike through deep sand or over washboard, struggling to go about 40 km a day. Not our idea of fun, especially as we wanted to be able to put our attentions on the scenery and not on the ground! From before the border we would get out with Manu and Christelle and cross to Chile, to San Pedro de Atacama, then make the 7 day ride, crossing over the Andes (thankfully!) for the last time and arriving in Salta, Argentina. Chloe and Nicolas would go back to Uyuni with the tour and continue their journey on a different route.So we happily set out in the morning on a descent semi-paved road to the edge of the Salar de Uyuni. To the left of us the edge of the salt flat emerged already from time to time on the way there, and the vast openness of it enveloped us when we finally drove out onto the Salar. Large parts of Bolivia and northern Argentina and Chile used to be covered by a huge pre-historic ocean, which dried up and left behind the Salars, huge salt flats hundreds of square kilometers large and up to tens of meters deep. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat (nearly half the size of Switzerland!), and it is huge and flat and white and bright and barren. On the edge of it some salt mining was going on, but a few kilometers into it no more signs of life – animal, plant or human – remained. And you can see the curve of the earth on its horizon very clearly, things just disappear after a few kilometers...
We rode some 10km into the Salar, then stopped at a ex-hotel built out of salt, now mainly functioning as a museum due to environmental constraints. Camping in the middle of this nothingness was an interesting experience, and especially sunset and sunrise were spectacular! The next morning we had 65km more to go to get to the “island” in the Salar, and it turned out that cycling on the Salar for an extended period makes time pass really slowly, it seems we didn't advance at all as nothing changes and there is nothing to look at – it was like we were riding the wrong way on a moving sidewalk, getting nowhere. The island was visible for hours, but didn't seem to get any closer no matter how hard we were pedaling against the strong head winds.
Finally we made it, and due to the winds decided to take shelter in a sort of school room in a house on the island. We made a very nice group dinner and slept well. The next morning after breakfast we packed up and took lots of (surreal) pictures before getting picked up to start our tour.
We loaded the car with our things and drove south, exiting the Salar and entering the “Ruta de las Lagunas” (lake route) which took us past salty lakes filled with pink flamingos, through the “Salvador Dali Desert,” the “Arbol de Piedra” (stone tree), the Laguna Colorada – the water bright pink due to organisms in the water. We went to some sulfurous hot springs – only Swen, Manu and Christelle got in (the algae grossed the rest of us out) and some bubbling, muddy geysers. We saw rock formations carved by the wind, and at the end of the second day we arrived at Laguna Verde – bright turquoise green due to mineral deposits in the water. Apparently without the strong winds the lake wouldn't have the same color – for the green to appear the winds need to stir up the water a bit. In all it was a surreal desert landscape full of volcanoes, lakes and rocks in weird colors and shapes at 4000-5000m altitude (12,000-15,000ft). We were thankful we were able to stay in a hostel the last night – it was sooo cold and windy camping; even inside the house it was 5ºC / XºF!
In the morning we said our goodbyes
to Chloe and Nicolas and our driver and the 4 of us headed towards Chile. The road was still unpaved but rideable here. We quickly made it to the border where we checked out of Bolivia and unfortunately (as we would have to climb back up next morning!) had to roll down 2000m to the town of San Pedro de Atacama for our Chilean entry stamps.We arrived by noon in the super touristy little town at the north end of the Atacama Desert – the worlds driest desert, it was really very cute and nice, and it was warm here, so good after all the cold of the last weeks! We found a nice hostel where we took hot showers and again set upon the work of preparing for the next few days – it never ends!
This time we had to shop for the night's dinner ingredients, and also for food for the next 4 days. The stretch from here to Salta would take about a week, but for the first 2 days there would be no water and no food for the first 4 days. We found a nice shop, bought all our supplies and divided them up between the 4 of us, leaving just enough room for the 8 liters of water each was carrying. A fine bottle of Chilean wine drunk on the plaza of the cute town finished our evening.
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