Helen's Andean Adventure

Salar de Uyuni (contd)

Thursday/Friday

Waking up at the crack of dawn and eating yet another delicious breakfast, prepared by our guide’s wife, we first went to see some interesting mummies left almost untouched from the pre-Inca times and then embarked on a strenuous hike to the mid-section of the volcano Tunupa…let me tell you, considering it was already in very high altitudes with wind and bright sun, it really took some effort to complete this hour and a half climb…upon reaching an overlook place, we were rewarded for our efforts by a gorgeous and tranquil view of the volcano and the surrounding valley ( and we also saw some llamas on the way there, which was my last chance to be close to them and try petting them that is almost impossible since they are very timid). Needless to say, the walk back took us twice less the time it took us to climb up and after lunch, we began our journey back to Uyuni. On the way we saw some more of the Salar, got to see how salt is processed, toured the Hotel del Sal (hotel made completely of salt), and visited the Ojos del Sal (“eyes of the salt,” holes in the middle of the salt field with bubbling water caused by the water pressure of the rivers underneath the surface). Near Uyuni, we also visited the “Cementerio de Trenes,” a place with tons of old locomotives.
Oh but the “best part” was yet to come…we were supposed to leave on the train back to Oruro at around 1:30 am Friday morning…we showered and rested a bit at the hotel, packed our bags, checked out of the hotel, and walked to the train station at around 1am. When we got there, there were surprisingly very few people, and an Argentinian couple sadly told us, “No hay tren,” which simply means, “there is no train.” It turned out that due to some mechanical problems, the train was delayed till 9:00am or so the next morning. Dumbfounded, we opted to return to the hotel and sleep there for a few hours before returning to the station. After a night of nightmares of missing the train, we woke up early the next morning to ensure us getting on that train if it came any earlier…We did get on it, but not until 11am. Even though I was exhausted, I realized that this was my last chance to see the beautiful altiplano, with its unique scenery and, of course, the llamas, so I stayed awake most of the train ride gazing out of the window and taking a million pictures of the surroundings.
Right off the train in Oruro, we were greeted by frantic cab drivers telling us that there was a road blockade between Oruro and La Paz and that we better hurry if we want to make it to the last bus leaving for La Paz. The prospect of spending a night in this sad and quite detestable town really scared us, so we jumped in the first taxi, and even though the driver drove like a maniac, we did make it to the only bus leaving for La Paz. To our great relief, the road blockade has disseminated by then, and about 3.5 hours later, we were picked up by Sara’s parents and in about 30 more minutes we were finally HOME! (The pictures are of the volcano from the top and me at the overlook, and the girls sitting on a plaza in Uyuni waiting for the train).

posted by HM @ 10:25 PM