Day 3

The excursion begins and we set off across the immense dry salt lakes (salars), the drive is visually captivating, the deep blue of the South American sky contrasts vividly against the pristine white salt sands

After about an hours drive in the middle of this waterless oasis, we see this stranded island called Isla de Pescadores (Fisherman’s Island),densely populated with giant cacti, up to 10 meters tall (more than one hundred of years are required to reach that size). The cacti grew among tufa deposits formed when the lake was full of water. The gaint cacti, otherworldy as they are jolt you out of your illusion to remind you that you are actually in the middle of a desert on a bolivian tour. But this island is in reality a desert sanctuary, besides the cactus, the vizcachas live here as well, a long tailed species of rodant and distant cousin of the chinchilla The Salar de Uyuni is the world's most extended salt flat and is located at an altitude of approximately 3800 meters.
A 360 degrees wide view over the salt flat. In any direction, this is exactly what I saw. Its was ones of the most breath taking sights I have ever seen.

Salar De Uyuni This 12,000 sq km (4680 sq mi) saltpan at an altitude of 3650m (11,970ft) was once part of a prehistoric salt lake which covered most of southwestern Bolivia. It's estimated to contain 10 billion tons of fine salt reserves and produces 19,700 tons per year, largely using traditional methods.. Isla de Pescadores, in the middle of the saltpan, has spectacular stands of cactus and is home to a stranded colony of vizcachas (long-tailed rodents related to the chinchilla). The village of Uyini, southeast of the saltpan, is the best base for excursions. Northwest of Salar de Uyini is the Salar de Coipasa, on whose northern shore is a unique Chipaya Indian village. Residents of this village may be descendants of the lost Tiahuanaco civilization. If you travel this far off the beaten track, be sensitive to local culture; photography of people in this region is discouraged.

We take the highway again to our todays destination of Uyuni. Occasionally we see some jeep going in the opposite direction. After about 70 kilometres, we arrive at the salt hotel, a building made entirely of salt. Here the salt is collected and processed in the nearby village of Uyuni.The afternoon continues with a visit to the train cemetery of Uyuni where a lot of old machines are resting here.
The day finishes with a visit in the Uyuni' public market where fruits, vegetables and spices of many colours and many fragrances, are sold by the locals. This is our first sign of human life in three days. We celebrate the end of a journey with a big feast.
So I say goodbye to my 5 friends I have made the desert crossing with. They will continue on to Peru from here. I take another 4x4 back to Atcama desert. This journey is long and arid the its only me and the driver, there are lots of Bolivian men, women and children trying to catch a free ride through the desert, the driver picks them up one by one eventually the jeeps is crammed. I feel like an alien, with children touching and staring at me, they obviously have never seen and faired haired girl before. I am beginning to feel very uneasy, as I cannot understand a word that is been spoken and no one can speak english after hours of lunatic driving we reach another refugee, this place feels very eerie as we arrived there is people banging and jumping on our jeep. I was greeted by another bowl of soup on my arrival, I declined. Soup for three days solid was enough… I didn’t sleep a wink that night, I felt quiet uneasy in this refugee.