SALAR DE UYUNI...almost there...
   So Aesha and I prematurely believed for a millisecond that we may have possibly struck gold because we were finally leaving La Paz...No such luck. We purchased our bus tickets out of that hell hole and were set to leave at 9:00 pm. We checked out of our hotel and were elated to finally be on our way to the Salt Flats in Uyuni.
Dun dun dun... At 6:00 pm our hotel received a call for me... Samantha...it's for you...
 "Samantha, it seems as though we have overbooked your bus ride to Uyuni. Also, I'm so sorry but the tourist bus (with heat and a meal) that you payed for is overbooked for several days as well. We can get you on a local bus tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm. It's a 12 hour bus ride but it is a comparable bus." What on Earth.... seriously??? 

Butterflies :)

OK...It's time for these chicas to have some fun. We have been stuck in our room after dark every night since we arrived in La Paz. We were over it!!!  So we researched the best party hostel, actually decided to put on make-up and attempted to dress up (our meager clothes and lack of shoes other than hikers and flip-flops severely hindered our attempts at looking good), and headed out for the evening. The best part....It was a costume party!!!!! And if you know Aesha and I....well, you know we love a good costume party!!! Finally, we thought, we caught a break.
      Don't worry, it didn't last long. The costumes were great, I became an insane pool shark (they have no clue how to play pool in this country), and the drinks were cheap. However, we still needed to leave on that local bus en la manana.
Mi en mi Amiga....arrived at the terminal. We were both worried that the bus would not have heat... This would pose a serious problem when you are cruising at 15,000 ft above sea level. Yup...you guessed it.. NO HEAT...and the toilet looked like something out of a M. Night Shyamalan movie...Not good my friends....not good.
    We made the best of it. It was an extremely disheveled day or five....but who's counting???
We made it to Uyuni. Booked a trip and headed out the next morning. We had no idea what was in store for us and at this point I didn't care. The closer I got to Chile the better, but.......What a treat!!!!
Day 1...Train Cemetery and Salt Flats

Train Cemetery,  Bolivia

Mind you, at this point I still did not possess a camera. I attempted to purchase one in La Paz but every last one of them was a knock-off and everyone there is an a-hole anyway (no, I'm not bitter..not at all). Aesha was brilliant in her photography and we had such a dynamite experience that I was secretly stoked I didn't have to deal with a camera of my own....Thanks Aesha I love you!!

Kick butt Train Cemetery!!

The Salt Flats were absolutely sensational. I was hesitant to go because at that point I certainly had enough Bolivia for a lifetime. However, I am completely stoked that I decided to join the team.

For some reason The American Flag was missing...weird.

 As we coasted along the flats I experienced a peculiar sense of emptiness. The eerie vastness of this space just creeps up on you. With over 4,000 sq miles, these are the largest Salt Flats in the world and they contain over 10 billion tons of salt. Over 40,000 years ago it was a gigantic prehistoric lake that eventually dried up and created these incredible salt flats. It's a super fascinating place and we both genuinely enjoyed the majestic beauty here.

Tigresa and Pantera rule Del Mundo!!!

Our Team, "Team Salty Dog" was a perfect combination of folks. Two Americans, two Bolivians, and two Hollanders. We were all jam packed in a Land Cruiser for three days. We really got to know each other.

Hector No!!!! Don't eat me!!!!

The first day was my favorite. The Salt Flats were sublime and I even brought a friend. Shhhhh. His name is Hector. He tried to attack me but after he realized that I was his only source of companionship he let me go. We are now besties...Sorry Aesha...

Sexy Tigresa Rosa!!

Perfecto!!!!

   I don't feel that it is necessary to mention my gorgeous companion Aesha and her passion for the Hoop, however, although she was beautiful as always that day there was something special here in the flats. Maybe it was the lack of depth...I'm not sure, but she rocked the hell out of that Hoop!!!

Flat tires suck!!!!

   We were on our way to a hotel made completely out of salt when we got a flat tire...In the middle of nowhere!!! Thank goodness these guys are trained for this kind of thing. Several other tourist trucks stopped to help. They had that tire fixed in record time! It was incredible!!
The Salt Hotel was pretty much just a tourist trap but I fell right into that trap and bought a ton of stuff...per usual!  

Next stop...Incahuasi or Pescado (Fish) Island, located on the Salar.

No Fumar Hector!!!

This island  completely blew our minds. Here we are in the middle of miles upon miles of nothing but salt, then this mysterious island pops up. Loaded with what seemed to be an infinite number of cactuses...literally thousands and thousands of them!! Many over 15 feet high. We hiked to the top of the island and had an astounding 360° view of the Salar. It was freaking amazing! The only problem was that Hector kept trying to smoke. Bad boy Hector!!!!!!! 

Pescado Island

Oowwwweeeeee!!!

   The weather at the Salar de Uyuni is completely unpredictable. It was exceedingly hot in the morning, it then later started raining and the wind was whipping and roaring at around 30 miles an hour...and at night we pretty much froze to death!!! We literally slept in every layer we own but it was sooooo worth it!! 

We stayed in the Hostel de Salar.  Everything was made of salt! It was an incredibly unique experience. Is was basic but the bright decor and intimacy well made up for the lack of anything we may have craved, like hot water perhaps (a luxury to us backpackers). Team Salty Dog had dinner together and we all got a bit more acquainted with one another. What an experience!!! Even our beds were made of salt!!!

Chilean Flamingos

DAY 2... Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarkota Lagoons the Volcano, The Stone Tree, and the famous Red Lagoon...

One of several inactive volcanoes in the area

There are three types of flamingos indigenous to the Salar: Chilean, James's and Andean. The Chilean are the most attractive (hahahaha...). This was one of the highlights of the trip.These birds are remarkably beautiful and the lagoons themselves are completely different than anything I have ever seen before. Too bad the lagoons stunk so bad we almost puked. Apparently flamingo poop is ridiculously stinky. Ewwwwww!! 

Poopy birdies

Most of the second day was spent driving along the flats. Other than some great photo opportunities it was quite uneventful.... 
Oh except when our car exploded. That was great!!! Once again...many other tourist vehicles were around to help. This time it seemed like something very serious. Now, I'm no mechanic, but when parts are taken off, saws come out, tubes are being cut and glued and tied together, water is being poured in a million different places and the car is smoking, Houston....we may have a problem.

Holy shitballs!!!

 

I really tried to get some writing done!!

The scoop: The car was completely fixed in under ten minutes. Are you kidding me???? Haha!! It was riconkulous!!! Yeah buddies!! Muchas Gracias!!! We were now on our way to The Stone Tree to stop for some lunch and relaxation time. I attempted to write but my paparazzi (thanks Aesha) kept taking photos of me, thus distracting my train of thought. It's hard being so damn famous.

Stone Rock

It was a day of sensory overload in every sense of the meaning. We were mentally exhausted and the altitude was starting to get to us but when we arrived at Stone Rock the contrast of the different shades of red and bronze tones rejuvenated our spirits. So many beautiful things to take in here at the Salar!!!!!

     It started hailing golf balls on us on the way to the Red Lagoon...and what??????? It started to snow. Awesome.

Red Lagoon

The second night was mellow and we were in bed quite early...We had a 5am start the next day. We woke up to a full blown blizzard. It was completely ludicrous!!! 

I ran away from Chicago to get away from the snow!!!!!

DAY 3...GEYSERS AND FINALLY...CHILE!!!!!!

Team Salty Dog

 

Up up up!!! Get up Team Salty Dog!! We are heading to the geysers!! WooHoo! In a blizzard...Fun.

Stinky Sulfur!!

The Solar de Manaña geyser basin is a collection of bubbling, boiling, and muddy sulfur pools and a geyser or two... It boasts a fantastic collection of colors and this creates a very dramatic effect against the mountains in the background. And yummmmy, there is just something about that sulfur smell...Hahahahaa

There are no railings, no safety restraints, nada. It's severely slippery, the water is boiling over and we felt that at any moment the ground was about to cave in. No Gracias!!!

We didn't stick around long...We need to get to Chile!!
Please....all I want is Chile!!

Bubbling brew!!! Hahahahaha

 

We had an insanely long and bumpy ride to the border during a white washed blizzard, but we made it!!! Chile...I love you already! 

 It was freezing in the Salar that day and we couldn't wait to get to San Pedro in the Atacama Desert. Well, we got exactly what we asked for!!! We woke up to a blizzard and were in 100° dry desert heart in 10 hours. Holy hell I almost did a freaking back-flip!! We have been so busy enjoying Chile that I have been severely slacking on the blog...sorry for that!! I promise there will be a new one in a day or two...Chile is perfect...

Love from Vina Del Mar, Chile- The Savvy Nomad