July 2nd: Salar - Day 1

Rocky Error Picture Show
As soon as I wake up I check the computer: the repair program still hasn't finished and I hear a click-click-click sound every 10 seconds or so. Major disappointment. I turn this miserable piece of machinery off and on again, now it cannot find the boot device (our hard disk). Our netbook = R.I.P. We'll need some serious praying to get this puppy fixed, but that's something we cannot worry about until we're finished with the salar tour that starts in an hour. That'll be 3 days from now, in Chile. I crawl back into the warm bed for another 15 minutes of sleep, the Uyuni sun has not gained enough force yet to warm up our room.

Happy trails
We've opted for the little less touristy Salar de Uyuni 3-day circuit with Oasis tours: we'll sleep in a different place the first night, then rejoin the classic tour in the afternoon of the second day again. This option costs a bit more, but will at least prevent us from driving in a jeep collonade for most of the tour. The agency comes highly reputed and at the time we booked it we were passengers "2' and "3" in the jeep. The saleswoman explained with a smile yesterday that usually couples book this tour, so we're likely going to be just 5 instead of a max of 6 tourists per vehicle. The prospect of having a chance at a bit more leg room sealed the deal for me. We're unfortunately not the only ones who make up their minds at the last minute. Meet our new insta-friends who share the jeep with us during our 3-day Salar tour:

1: Felipe, a happy coca-leaf-chewing student  from around Sao Paolo, Brasil, on summer break.

2: Hannah: a young girl from Switzerland, who has worked 1 year as an assistant in a boarding school in Santa Cruz and is now spending her last days touring western Bolivia.

3: Dale, a chatty, 50-something Canadian arts teacher who likes to travel the world.

4: Blanca, a well-traveled Mexican woman, who speaks a bit of French.

5: Christian, our friendly local driver.

6: Wilma, his wife, and our cook throughout the tour.


Reflect on this, baby!
The Salar is a must-do tour, I could give somewhat of an impression about the variety of landscapes imprinted on my retina during this adventure, but pictures are about the only way to do this experience some kind of justice. We start off with a visit to a freight train graveyard. A series of first-generation trains have accepted their last assignment: fight against rusting away in the desert while dealing with hundreds of graffiti-hungry tourists who are seemingly oblivious to their fate. I take a few pictures and make it back to the jeep within 15 minutes, we've got loads more cool stuff to see.

Within an hour we stop for a quick visit to a few corny gift-and-trinket shops that border the salt plain, together with 15 other tourist jeeps. In true Bolivian style, all 20 stands sell exactly the same (knitted gloves, hats, necklaces, salt carvings, you get the picture). Christian pulls us into the back of one of the shops, where to my great surprise, I'm looked down upon by what must be the biggest lama ever built in salt. We hop back in the 4x4 to make it onto the salt plain before the 14 other jeeps. The car radio accepts Blandine's IPOD and on general request we play Manu Chao hits as the jeep bumps and grinds onto the salar. Wow, wow, WOOW! Within minutes our sunglasses reflect white salt as far as the eye can see, fringed only by a series of volcanic mountains. I take my shades off for a minute in a feeble attempt to orient myself a bit in this immense white sea of nothingness. Squint, squint...it's no use, the unforgiving sun forces my shades back onto my face.

Isla Inkahuasi, a large piece of rock, is the only earth warrior that resists the blinding white tyranny of the salt. Lunch is served here, on a table made of – you guessed it – salt, in front of - you can't guess this one - enormous cacti! We digest our delicious beef and vegetables during a self-imposed photo shoot with Godzilla (you HAVE to see our pictures), then crawl back into the salt shaker. The rear bench leaves little space to be confortable, I wonder how I'm going to squeeze into the back of this vehicle and live through hours of bumpy road. We'll find out about that tomorrow.

Just before sunset we arrive at San Juan a little village where we'll stay overnight. It will be the first of 2 freezing nights, though we're told that the house is built in adobe style, to preserve a maximum of heat. Before dinner we explore the town and have a few beers with the locals who are celebrating “San Pedro”, a major party. We dance in our thickest clothing, lama-woollen gloves and hats included. Felipe decides to join the locals again after dinner, until the wee-hours of the night, in what will turn out to be a huge free-for-all coca-leaf and drinks fest, but the rest of us fear the freezing night. Blandine and I build our layered nest and read a bit before we fall asleep.