UYUNI

From June 3rd to June 5th, 2024

Day 1

Flights in South America are not always as convenient in other countries - so in order to shave off 2 travel days we chartered a flight from Arequipa, Peru to Uyuni, Bolivia.

The airport in Arequipa was on the small side, so we were surprised when we couldn’t figure out how/where to board. Eventually somebody came from behind security to find us and usher us through security. Arequipa is an international airport, but the only flights that leave from there go to Lima - which is domestic. So a group of international people had to come (seemingly, come to work), and check our passports before we could proceed through security. The gentleman checking our passports took the opportunity to train the two other ladies next to him, one was filming/recording the entire process.

There was a team of 15 people waiting at the plane to check our bags and also used drug sniffing dogs to make sure we weren’t transporting anything we shouldn’t. We realized quickly that private plane travel in South America is a different ballgame. Whereas in the US it might be a privilege and luxury, in South America those that fly private are considered suspicious, and you’re treated like such.

Either way, we boarded the plane eventually, only 15 minutes late, and enjoyed a nice steak meal aboard the plane. Just an hour later we landed in Uyuni, Bolivia - the only plane and passengers to be at the airport at that time (remember, flights in South America have their own schedule). We each paid $170 US dollars for a visa upon arrival to enter the country (the visa ticket said it was only $160). The customs officer instructed me to bring photocopies of our passports and also passport sized photos of ourselves (upon leaving) for him to attach to our visa paperwork. After about 20 minutes of arriving in Bolivia, they searched our bags again (the security lady asked her colleague to take her picture while searching our bags) - and we were granted access to the country! Just a 40 minute car ride later and we showed up to our hotel Luna Salada.

We took an hour walk from our hotel straight into the salt flats and were joined by a local, but nomadic looking shaggy dog that we named Andy (like Raggedy Ann, but Andy). Andy hung with us for the whole walk and for some reason got bursts of energy the closest we got to the salt flats. He would dart all around us, jump around us, nick at our ankles, etc. It felt like he was leading the way for us heading into a great world wonder.

We made it back to the hotel, hopped in the pool/spa area, and then called it an early night and went to bed.

Day 2

Our tour started at 9:30, precisely when breakfast ended. We suited up and made our first stop at the train graveyard. Seeing several train tracks and rust encrusted steel trains lying dormant on the tracks made time freeze. We walked around the “wasteland” of sorts, imagined that life would be like to work or travel on a train like that and hopped back in the car for the next stop. The next stop was a little street in town that sold local crafts and we were shown how to refine salt by hand. Our driver let us know that there was a lithium mine nearby that the Chinese were operating.

We went back to the hotel for lunch, where there was a bunch of commotion about Mrs. Bolivia or something of the sort. We hopped back in the car after lunch and made way for our afternoon tour on and around the salt flats. We first stopped at a salt building that used to be a hotel. After that, we carried on to take perspective pictures with Godzilla, a beer bottles, and a Pringles can. Our driver had a new photography style he wanted to try out, so he drove the car around us 4 times, filming in Timelapse mode and we struck 4 different poses during his drive-around.

We then made it to an “island” in the middle of the salt flats called Incahuasi - an island full of rock and cactus. Incahuasi is Quechua for Incan House. It was such a sight to see, you truly felt like you were on an another planet. We spent 30 minutes there before we drove in our 4 wheeler to the next spot.

The last stop of the day was out to where the last remaining water was from the rainy season. At the very edge of the water, our driver parked the car and we went out to take the iconic salt flat water/mirror pictures. We had a quick sunset toast of beer and wine and piled back in the car - it was freezing outside and the rubber boots they gave us did little to keep our feet warm.

Dinner was a buffet and we ate quickly. The stars this night were at its brightest as the moon phase was at its lowest. We could see the Milky Way with our blind eye and took some great pictures.

Day 3

We left the hotel around 12:30pm for our 1:30pm flight. Again, the departure from Bolivia on a private plane was not a luxurious one, but a skeptical one. We were told that drug sniffing dogs from Potosi (a city 4 hours away) were still in transit and we weren’t able to leave until they arrived. Luckily I had brought the photocopies of our passport and also print out pictures of our faces for them to use.

The dogs made it, both our bags got searched by hand, we were escorted outside, the dog sniffed our bags, boarded our plane, sniffed our plane, and the military personnel were recording everything. We finally were able to board the plane and off to Paraguay we left!