My
alarm was set for 4:30am so we could get up for breakfast before making our way
to solar de Uyuni for sunrise but the power came back on at 4:25 and woke
everyone instead. We got away a little later than planned but still managed to
get onto the solar in time for sunrise. Here we all took lots of photos with
the sunrise which lit up the clouds in pinks, reds and oranges which all
reflected off the water which was on the solar.
After
the sunrise we continued to drive further into the salt flats which involves
driving through portions that were flooded (these cars must take a beating with
all this salt!). We stopped in the middle of the salt flat somewhere and we
began taking some of the typical Uyuni pictures. From here all we could see was
white in all directions with a few mountains on the horizon.
We
got going again and headed to a salt museum (not that interesting but
everything made of salt) and a point where the Dakar rally had passed through.
They had built a statue from salt in honour of the rally.
From
here we drove further into the solar and found an area that was covered in
water which allowed for the most amazing reflections of the clouds and
everything else for that matter. After messing around and playing with our
reflections we made our way to a small town on the edge of the solar and
stopped at a craft market where they were selling traditional wares (at an
excessive price). After playing with a bit of foam and tasting coca leaves
(chewed them and tasted like a bitter green tea which made my tongue numb. I
didn't really like it but would like to try it as a tea).
From
here we went to a train cemetery where we had lunch. These trains were left
here after the mining industry collapsed in 1940. For lunch we had a fried
chicken breast with potatoes, pasta and veg. All was good except that the
chicken was not cooked so we had to eat lots of pasta to fill up.
This
was the last stop on our tour so made our way to Uyuni where we were dropped
off. I started walking around looking for a hostel with little success but
bumped into Gavin, Louise, Anna and Marcus who were also looking for somewhere to
stay and after a while we found one.
From
walking in the water on solar my shoes and pants had now dried but were covered
in salt and were hard to the touch. At the hostel I finally got some WiFi and
took my salty shoes off then sat on bed and chilled and caught up with the
digital world
After
a while I got up to shower and then had siesta. I have been fighting with flu
the last few days and its starting to hit me so I drugged myself to try and get
it out early.
After
my siesta I sat trying to get internet without much success but in the process
met a few people in the hostel. Gavin and Louise (Irish couple) introduced me
to Anna and Marcus (German couple) and we all went to dinner together where I
tried a lama steak but it was thin and tough so don't think I have tried the
real thing yet. After dinner Gavin and I went for a drink at extreme fun pub
where we enjoyed the novelty of drinking beer out of boob cups.
After
another round and chats we made our way back to the hostel. Unfortunately, I
didn't sleep very well because I kept waking up coughing.