around the world with shaanie & jem: The Best (and last) of Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni – The Salt Flats of Bolivia

I was quite worried the moment we left on a 3-day trip on a 1989 Toyota 4x4 jeep that didn’t look like it could make it to the next town, let alone across miles of salt flats, dirt roads and through 10km of foot-deep salt water. Not to mention climbing to an altitude of 4800m and making it all the way to the Chilean border. I would’ve taken my chances with the horse that just happened to stroll by, but decided to go with the flow and have a little faith for once in my life. The good news that we did make it through the trip, and it was amazing. The bad news is that we broke down a total of 7 times. Lucky for us, our guide/cook/driver was also quite a mechanic.

All decorated (for good luck) with our jeep. Not till after did i realize the importance of the blessing ritual. All that beer they sprayed on the vehicle was not wasted afterall...

The experience we had was unparalleled…we slept in a hotel made entirely of salt, saw lakes which were green, red and blue, and watched the sun rise over geysers and soaked in a natural hot thermal spring before breakfast. We drove through deserts at 4800m, sat in a desert named after Salvador Dali, and watched hundreds of wild llamas galloping through the desert lands. Not a car in sight (except our group of 5 jeeps) and nature unspoiled. Truly (as our friend David would put it) MAGICAL.