After leaving Sucre we got a little taste of Potosi and life as a miner before getting to Uyuni for what I had been waiting for, the Salt Flats! We had a few days in several 4×4 vehicles through the desert before we reached the coolest mirror I have ever seen! Just wait until you see the pictures.
Potosi
We boarded a bus early in the morning that took us to the town of Potosi. It was a four hour drive and we stopped part way to look at this old bridge across a large river and to stretch our legs.
When we arrived it was midday when parents pick up kids from school for the noon to 3pm break. Traffic was so chaotic! All the schools were concentrated near the central square and there were groups of kids and several parents escorting their kids through the clogged streets.
Finally we made it to our hotel, checked in, and walked a few blocks to a restaurant for lunch. We relaxed that afternoon and several of us went to one of our CEO’s favorite restaurants in the city for dinner.
The Life of a Silver Miner
In the morning we signed up to visit the silver mine. First we got our uniforms of a jumper to protect our clothes, a helmet with a light, and most importantly, rubber boots.
Next we went to a small market near the bottom of Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain), and purchased coca leaves, a catalyzer, small bottles of 96% alcohol called Ceibo, dog treats, juices, and waters.
He taught us about the coca leaves and we all got to try chewing one with a pinch of the catalyzer that activates the leaves more quickly. It is made from ash, potatoes, mint, stevia, quinoa, and a few other ingredients. It helps to activate the coca quicker. Most miners will stuff about 100 leaves in his cheek and take some catalyzer and chew on it for part of the day. It has a natural caffeine and on Mr. Wander’s last trip here he had a guide that called it “Inca Red Bull”.
Our guide for the day grew up with a father that was a miner, but his mom came from a farming family and didn’t want that for her kids, so she made sure they got an education. It’s no wonder as it is estimated that 8 Million have died in that mountain in the last 500 years. Now he gives tours of the mine to help spread awareness of the conditions and to give gifts to the families still farming.
Once we got to the mines we saw some of the buildings people live in. They can live for free but there isn’t much for facilities like running water, but there is electricity thanks to some generators. Each family or cooperative owns each mine and they usually have several dogs to help guard the entrance. Clearly our guide knew these families and they and the dogs knew him well. We each had a bag of goodies and he told us when to give what to which person.
A few of the people sold little samples of the minerals you can find in the mountain. It was chiefly silver, but there was also tin, lead, and zinc. There are 450 mines in this mountain but only 200 are active right now. Each family has to extract a minimum of 18 tons of silver to the refinery to get paid that week. Most families just work Monday through Friday, but if you haven’t hit your minimum of 18 they will work Saturday as well.
We visited several people, I got to give my treats to a family of dogs, some more excited for treats than the others but they were pretty nice. Mr. Wander had juices that the guide told him to give to a group of miners nearby. We were taught how to say hello and how are you in the local language they use as Spanish is secondary for them.
After giving most our gifts away we eventually went into one of the mines that was in operation. We had to move off ot the side several times to make way for empty carts coming in, or full ones coming out. Our mining guide would give the juices and waters he had left to those pushing the carts.
He took us to a few spots, including where they had a little statue called “el tio”, meaning the uncle in Spanish. When the Spanish had arrived and wanted to encourage locals to mine they utilized the local religion that revered “pache mama”, or mother earth, and said that another god was of the mountain and that you honor him by mining in the mountain. Seems a bit like a trick, but the miners revere el tio, the god of the mountain, giving offerings of coca, and spilling some of the Ceibo in the north, south, east, and west directions and asking for more ore to help support their family.
Eventually it was time to take off our gear and then he dropped us off at our hotel. It is always interesting to learn about these kinds of situations. It’ a very hard job, and most of the money they get is controlled by forces beyond their control, such as the market price for silver, minus the cuts taken by the refineries or jewelry shops, of course. Recently it had been 160-170 Bolivianos per day, or about $23, but now that is less due to the dropping prices.
After we returned to the hotel we tried to find some place that had a lunch open but many didn’t open until noon or 3pm. After finding some cool gardens and statues along the way, finally we found one spot and had sandwiches and soups before it was time to board another bus!
Uyuni Desert Tour
Our next destination was Uyuni, where we would start our Salt Flat adventure. We had a late dinner once we found somewhere that would take our whole group on short notice, and we all went to bed early.
Day 1: Bumpy Roads
We all had a quick breakfast before our 4×4 jeeps came to pick us up. Our driver was named Willie and we shared with two other women. One of which I had taken the cooking class with and the other was thankfully, and one other woman, who thankfully was fluent in Spanish so we were able to communicate with our driver to ask questions about the areas we were driving through.
It was pretty uneventful for the first while, on a paved road at least until the town of San Cristobal, our first stop for bathrooms and snacks. Soon after we left the town we turned off road and into the desert. It was very bumpy at times. We stopped at a few ponds to see some ducks and a few alpacas. We also caught a few Andean Ostriches!
Then we stopped at a stone forest for some pictures and an opportunity for an “inca toilet’.
Between the bumps and the altitude we were all getting pretty tired and were ready for the break when we got to the lunch stop. Our drivers doubled as our cooks, although I think they just reheat things they picked up elsewhere, then we stop at some sort of restaurant or community room where they set everything out.
After lunch there were more bumps but in some spots they were able to cruise pretty fast. It was interesting that some of these roads don’t show up on Google but the drivers just know where to go. Occasionally they have road signs but sometimes they just turn off onto one random road or another.
After a few more bumpy hours of driving we made it to the hot springs. They had basic amenities, just a building with curtains for changing and a separate bathroom that was free if you bought the hot springs.I decided to join most of the group but Mr. Wander and a few others decided to skip it or wander around to find a few flamingoes. We all took several pictures and soon it was time to get back in the cars and head to some geysers.
Some were colored a fairly deep blue, and some yellow. We take a few pictures but as it’s getting pretty cold with the sun nearly set we get back in the cars pretty quickly. Our driver stopped at one spot and told us it was the highest point, we were well over 15,000 ft!
Just after dark we arrive at our lodging, but it took a bit for the drivers to find the right building. There aren’t any yard lights or signs so they just had to visit each one in this maze of different buildings. When we get there the owners had messed up the rooms and gave another group some of our rooms. These were not the best accommodations but most of us were happy to be stationary for a bit and ready to have some dinner.
While waiting for the dinner to be ready, we learned a new card game from a couple from Edmonton that we had been hanging out with, it is called “Idiot”, but the Russian word for it. Basically there are no winners, just one “idiot” who is the last one with cards. It was an interesting game and easy to learn quickly!
We had a soup, a spaghetti, and a little dessert. Some went off to bed but a few of us snuck outside to look at the stars as there was no light pollution, other than a few other people using flashlights. We got a few decent pictures and made our way inside for bed.
Day 2: All the Flamingos
The following morning we had breakfast somewhat early, they made some very delicious pancakes but there wasn’t syrup, so I dipped it in yogurt. They did have a jar of dulce de leche which Mr. Wander and especially one other used on their pancakes and were very excited about it!
That morning we had a relatively short drive to Laguna Colorada, where we got out and had a short walk along the shore.
The lagoon is cool on it’s own because it has so many colors thanks to the minerals, but predominately it is red in the morning and orange in the afternoon. It changes due to the wind pushing the algae around.
The highlight though was the huge population of Chilean flamingos! We got to spend awhile watching the birds, and Mr. Wander got some fun pictures of them, especially when they are taking off or landing!
Their long gangly legs seem to run on the surface of the water for both take off and landing. My favorite is this flamingo in the top of the next picture.
Most of the flamingos were walking around finding goodies to eat but a few were actually standing on one leg like what you’d probably think of when you think flamingo. Mr. Wander managed to catch one, and its like his other leg just disappears inside his feathers!
While watching the birds, Mr. Wander also saw in the little bushes a wild guinea pig! He’s got such a good eye!
Our next stop was a random set of rocks where these viscachas must have a few nests. They look almost like a cross between a rabbit and a guinea pig to me.
We headed over to another stone forest, one that had some fun formations, especially one that is known as a stone tree. It also doubled as our Inca toilet so that was very convenient.
We stopped at a few more lakes on the way, in a few spots we saw large white plains and our driver told us that was borax. Just after one of our stops we saw a little fox come up to the cars. It made us sad, like he was begging for food because humans had given him some before.
We made one last stop at a spot for a real toilet where you had to pay but many of us picked up some snacks and drinks for the rest of the drive. The highlight was this friendly cat that really melted in our guides arms, but was pretty happy to have any of us pet him.
That evening we made it to our next lodging which was in a little town, it felt like we were at a homestay. There were so many pretty crochet elements in the rooms and in our dining room. Just look at this massive doily! They used thin yarn so its a bigger stitch than on mine but they’re very intricate! They had a tea time for us and we chatted with the Edmonton couple right up until dinner.
Day 3: Nature’s Massive Mirror
That morning I lucked out and managed to get some warm water for a shower! It was much needed. After breakfast we headed back towards Uyuni. Normally, they’d be able to reach the salt flats from the desert, but because of the rainy season, one of the rivers was too deep for them to ford, so we headed back to the town.
Just before the town we stopped at the Railroad graveyard. They had so many cars and steam engines left to rust in two rows. It was fun because you could climbon them in some places, and they made swings in others.
A few of us opted to use another Inca toilet next to a random wall and then we took a few pictures with the sculpture garden.
Finally it was time to get to what we had really all gone to Bolivia for, the salt flats! We get through the checkpoint and stop just before they drive out into the flats to all get into our rented boots then we piled back into the cars and soon they are driving right into the water!
They drove fairly slow at first, and it took nearly 30-45 minutes just to get to a good spot. It was really cool, you could see a few other groups but we are so spread out they’re mostly shadows of vehicles on the horizon, so it was almost as if we had it to ourselves!
We spent awhile taking pictures, everyone doing fun poses and playing in the water. Mr. Wander was capturing nice pictures of everyone’s shenanigans with his zoom lens, and he caught me doing a big jump!
It was interesting seeing the salt, in many spots there were holes and it was hard to see how deep they were!
Meanwhile, our drivers had set up several tables and chairs for us and we had our lunch sitting in several inches of water!
Next the group did a time lapse of us all in a row doing fun things as our drivers go around us, check it out.
Soon we all packed up to head to this island where there used to be a hotel but now it’s more of a picnic spot and one of the only bathrooms available, as well as a gift shop. It was neat though, they had some tables and things made out of salt! There was also a large sign for a race that used to occur on the flats, during dry season of course.
Next our drivers set up a few spots where they could lay on dry ground (with some mats) and took perspective photos for us. They bring the T-rex, but our Edmonton friends had also brought a globe, a skateboard, and a lego mars rover (that I had helped put together over lunch). The globe was a huge hit and the photographer made sure the globe was turned to south america, how cleaver.
At one point they asked Mr. Wander and I over to their photo spot, not telling us exactly what it would look like, but they had Mr. Wander behind me holding up his arms, and had me bend over with my legs wide as if I’m holding something invisible. I couldn’t see what he was doing so I had no idea how fun it would be until after! This might be one of my favorite pictures of us now, though. Makes me giggle every time!
This is Mr. Wander’s favorite. The captain was running the booth with the t-rex and knew a bit of English so he could give more directions for us to run away, or try and kick the T-rrex. As we were running I learned just how Mr. Wander would survive Jurassic park: He only needs to outrun his wife!
After we finished our individual photos they asked if we had a Pringles can, but we had to help empty it out a bit so all of us would fit, ha! Hope you enjoy this next video, and make sure you watch to the end!
We stopped for one more group photo in the middle of the water with our drivers and guides and then we headed back to our hotel we had stayed at before the 4×4.
We had our drivers take a picture with the vehicles that had been our companions the past several days.
A few people paid to take showers, and the rest of us got our bags repacked with the luggage we had left at the hotel until it was time for dinner. Then we had a bit more time to kill in the lobby until our 4×4 drivers picked us up one last time to take us to the bus station!
A Return to La Paz
We took an overnight bus from Uyuni to La Paz and while comfortable, it was extremely hot! All of us were absolutely boiling since there was a heater really close to our seats but the driver area was blocked off so we couldn’t tell them. I did mange to sleep a few hours here and there but was still pretty tired by the time we arrived in La Paz at 6 am.
Another bus took us to our hotel whcih thankfully not only let us check into our rooms right away, but we could get brafkast. Mr. Wander and I went to breafkast when it started at 7am so then we could go back to our room and rest. We decided to relax most of the day, wash a few clothes, and I tried to catch up a bit on writing.
We had the farewell dinner that evening at an English pub but unfortunately they didn’t have dessert! A few of us went in search of a restaurant that would take us and might have dessert. We found one in the thick of the Witches market and I had a very tasty strawberry milk shake and Mr. Wander had tiramisu.
The following day we decided to relax again and only ventured out to get some snacks. We got dinner with the 3 others that were still around that evening before one was headed to the airport for a 1am flight. The rest of us left the next day, where we headed for Cusco, Peru to prepare for the next adventure!
Next Time
After arriving in Cusco, Peru, we have a few days to get ready for our next adventure, a 5 day trek to Machu Picchu! We take what is called the Salkantay trek, taking us to a beautiful lake, over a 15,000ft pass, and into the jungle before arriving at Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Until Next time, Ciao!
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