Salar de Uyuni trip – day 3

Getting up at 5am was no problem I was awake.  Three pairs of socks and all the clothes I had, together with the two blankets was not enough for a good night´s sleep.  The driver/guide said during winter outside temperatures can get a low as -30 c.  I can beleive it, not sure how cold it was when we were there but it was cold.

One of the Brazilian guys and his sister, and the two guys from Sao Paulo were going to San Predro de Atacama.  So after the days main attractions we were going to the Chilian border to drop them off.  We exchanged emails in the hostel so there would be no delays at the border.

The first attaction for the day was the the geysers and hot mud pooles.  After that a hot water spring.  I really wasn´t in the mood for getting my kit off in those temperatures, so I stayed out of the water, so did one of the guys from Sao Paulo.

The next stop was the border with Chile.  The guys got their kit together and we said our good byes and they made their way for exit from Bolivia.

We had done all the attactions and we just had the trip back to Uyuni, which would take us to about 6:30pm.  It was just me, the Brazilian couple and the driver and guide.  It was nice to have more space in the 4×4, but at times it was a little too much of an enclosed space with the driver/guide being as he was.

We had a stop by the Lago Colorado and the driver/guide put his machanic hat on and was doing some work on the left-side from wheel.  Natalie, the Brazilian girl, asked what he was doing to the car and he didn´t understand.  I asked and he understood and got stroppy.  Latin passion got the better of Daniel (the Brazilian guy) and said something in Portuguese.  I now know a few words of Portuguese but not sufficient to understand what he said.  But with the context of the trip, I did understand what he said.

We got back to the agency office and when asked if everything went ok.  Daniel explained the situation, excellent food etc no complaints regarding that but the mood of the driver.  I added that it is a dream job for someone to do that sort of a trip all the time and meet different people from all over the world.  I know that sometimes it would just be a job and I am being a bit romantic about that but I will stand by that statement.

My trip from Vallegrande to Pucara was eventful.  The driver did a great job in getting us up that almost impassable road, his mud chains were the talk of all the other drivers and he seemed so pleased to have got the car up the road, we were cheering and shaking his hand.  He was loving it.  Not just that, but his knowledge of the last months of Che´s life left us with no questions.

When you do a trip like the Salar de Uyuni there are some big factors regarding whether you have a good time or not.  It is no surprise that the Landcruiser is the vehicle of choice the only 4x4s that were not Landcruisers were the Lexus versions.  We didn´t have any emergency braking situations but if we did I not sure what would happen with those back tyres!

The other big factor is who you are travelling with.  I loved travelling with the Brazilians, fun loving, open, friendly people, no complaints on that front.  I was toying with learning another Latin based language and I now have made my mind up that it is going to be Portuguese.

Even if you do go with an recommended expensive company, you could still have the same problem as we had.  Quechua connection could well be a good company, but you spend 1 hour max in the agency office and 8 days with their driver.

The driver is the, driver, guide, cook, machanic, it is asking a lot, but polietness I don´t think that that is asking a lot.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Salar de Uyuni trip – day 2

We had an early rise for the second day of the trip 7am for leaving at 8am.  We were all up and ready for the off at 8am but Abel the driver/guide was not around.  We were finally off at around 8:30am, on our way to the valley of the rocks.

The valley of rocks is, well a valley full of rocks.  The rocks have been erroded over the years in to strange shapes.  We set off and one of the Brazilian guys asked Abel where was next on the agenda.  Abel snapped, about why all the questions and why was he not listening.  Well the guys was Brazilian and did not speak much Spanish but was trying to, maybe because of that!  The would prove to be a common theam.

The quad bike I was on the day before, looked like new, rode like new and was in great condition.  The 4×4 was a different story!  20 year old Toyota Landcruiser that looked like it had a hard life on the altiplano.  Both rear tyres were bald, no worries we had two spares.  They were both bald as well!

We stopped at lakes of different colours and more strange rock formations, and finally for the day Lago colorado.  The lake is a red colour due to the algea that grows there.  There is a view point to view the flamengos and we set off on the walk to see them.  The sun was falling and the wind was picking up it was clear it would be a cold night.  The hostel we had was basic and there was not many blankets.  Looked like it would be a cold night.

The food was great and the conversation was very Portuguese. I had my note book and was writing down words in Portuguese and chatting to the Brazilians who spoke Spanish.

The fire had died down and it was time to go to bed.  By this time I was wearing everything I had and was intending to sleep in them.  We had a 5am rise for a 6am start.  Abel asked for a alarm clock he didn´t have one.

With the cold biting I knew I would be up at 5am no problem.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Salar de Uyuni trip – day 1

Choosing an agency for this trip was really a one horse race for me as Quechua Connection 4wd was the only one offering something different.  They have a quad bike for rent or as part of the Salar 3 day tour you can do the salt flat section on a quad.  I did the deal and paid my money.

I turned up the day after only to find out that there was a 4 day tour going and I had a choice of doing the salt flat by myself.  Having been in this part of the world before and seen the size of the salt flat I wasn´t too keen on this plan.  The Brazilian guy in the agency gave me the choice of doing by myself for day 1 and doing a full 3 day trip, waiting a day and doing the 3 day trip with day 1 supported with a 4×4 or money back.  I decided to wait the day.

The day after I turned up again at the agency to find all the others on the trip were Brazilian.   A few did speak Spanish and a little English so we were going to be ok and I could always pick up a few words of Portuguese.

The quad bike was waiting outside of the office and the guy said I could have a quick spin on it before we set off.  I´d never been on a quad bike before and really didn´t know what to expect.  Certainly on the road it seemed easy enought to ride.  We set off for the train graveyard and we were soon on dirt roads.  The quad did seem strange to ride being used to a bike.

After the train graveyard we were on our way to the Salar.  We had a slow ride through the town again and then we were on the road to the salar.  The road was bad and had not been graded for some time and so had big corregations.  For me on the quad I had the tracks at the side.  The tracks were curving with the land and the conditions were constantly changing: stones, dirt and sand.  I had a few moments on the quad where I thing I was countersteering.  Obviously on 4 wheels countersteering is not going to work.  One other things was if you stand up on a mountain bike or motorbike on rough ground they seem to find the path of least resistance through the rough stuff, not the case on a quad.

That bit of fun over with we had a rest in the community at the edge of the Salar.  Next was the Salar, the last time I was here it was bone dry.  Not now, the late rainy season ment that there was plenty of water and we were riding over waves of salt with the dips filled with water, which was coming up to the footrests.  The next section was a full on blast for the Salt Hotel.  There were times where the quad was getting a bit sideways and there were some dips in the salt throwing the quad of line and throwing salty water over me.

We were at the Salt Hotel for a about 2 hours to have lunch and to take pictures.  The driver did a great job with the meal and there was plenty for everyone.  This is where I started to get to know the Brazilian guys.

Food and fotos finished and we were ready for the blast back.  The dirver said to me it would be best to take the nomal road rather than the tracks at the side as it would be quicker.  The first few minutes on the main road were painful the quad was vibrating violently and my hands were feeling like they were loosing skin.  After that everything was hurting!  Easing off the throttle seemed only to make the quad vibrate more violently and throw me off line even more.  The best technique seemed to be full on and then brake to stop before ending up in a ditch.

Enough was enough I could take no more and the first line for the side track I found I took it.  Slower more difficult riding but less a lot less bumps.  I arrived at the outskirts of Uyuni to find the 4×4 waiting the door opened and Daniel one of the Brazilians said what happened.  I was laying on the quad knackered.

We got back to the Quechua Connections office and I got into the 4×4.  As soon as we left the town and hit similar roads to the one to the Salar did I realise just how much smoother things were in the 4×4.   It was a few hours of dirt roads until we got to the hostel for the night.

So what about my first experience of a quad bike?  A mate got into riding motorbikes and I have been loving it.  There is a beauty about motorbikes and a passion riders seem to have you don´t get with other forms of transport.  Some riders love the low and mid-range torque of V-twins, others the turbine like power of inline 4s, then there are the two stroke nutters that believe that the light weight simplicity and super high revving off and on power of the two stroke is the future of motorbiking.   They style of the bike also says something about the rider, ratbike, sports bike, tourer, cruisers, you can look at the bike and know something about the rider.

Where ever you stand on this topic I think it will be difficult for you to get passionate about a quad.  Yes I do admit that if you want to ride into a field with a few hay bails and stop the machine and unload the bails they are ideal.  No kick stand to sink in to the mud plenty of room at the back etc.  There is my point they are a utility vehicle and there they should stay.

Two wheels good, four wheels bad.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Salar de Uyuni – Plan C

The dream was to ride across the Salar de Uyuni on a motorbike but now it has become clear to me this is not going to happen.  It is possible to rent a bike in La Paz but without a rack to carry kit this would also mean  travelling down to Uyuni on the bike at least a 12 hour trip with about 7 of those hours on dirt roads, with little kit.  Sure easier if you take your time but with the bike costing 100 pounds a day it could start getting costly.

Since being here I have found an agency with a guy who loves bikes and they are getting bikes for rent and tours in June (When I fly back to the UK), fantastic!

So plan B, well probably plan C !  The same agency has quads (4 tracks), only one working at the moment – a 250cc automatic, the 500cc has a problem and they are waiting for a new part.  The plan he suggested is one day on a quad to do the salar and the other two days in the 4×4 (Landcruiser).  He did say he knows that it is not the same as two wheels but it is still fun.    There are two roads to the Salar on is a dusty track the other had bumps dips and is a lot more challenging.

Well it is good to have a open mind and to try new things and this seems like the next best thing to riding on two wheels.

Salar Uyuni

Salar Uyuni

This place has been described as more sureal than Dalí. It´s a lake that dried up thousands of years ago with islands covered in cacti hovering in the distance over the white salt crystals. I guess something to do with the heat of the sun, producing a relextive quality in the salt. Even with factor 45+ with the altitude and reflexsion of the sun I got sunburn.

We had booked this trip