Salar De Uyuni, Volcanos, Lagunas, Geisers

Sorry it has taken me awhile to get around to posting again. I think last weekend´s trip is best described in pictures, so here goes:

The Train Graveyard with trains that used to be robbed... maybe even by Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid!! (that´s me, my friend Kelly who went with me, and our new friend Nicole inside... sorry the picture is small). It was a really cool opportunity to take pictures of different textures and designs... and I got to drive the train!! (Monkey and the Engineer dad?!?!)







Perspective photos on the salt flats were a blast. We have a domino picture and lots with people sitting in our hands! This is where they are harvesting salt. We also went to a home and got to help them pack salt. Some one is going to buy my bag of salt!

This was one of the many random islands (because the whole salt flats used to be ocean), this one was shaped like a fish (from a bird´s eye view) and was covered in cacti. It was a pretty incredible contrast among the "snow-like" landscape. We stayed in a Salt Hotel the first night. Everything was salt.... tables, chairs, ground, bed frames... luckily we had matresses. It was actually one of the best night sleeps I have had! Dinner that night appeared to be a "leftovers" dish. It had french fries, hot dogs, beef, chicken, peppers, onions, and eggs. Surprisingly, it was really good!

We saw lots of llamas on the road side... even had a relative of the llamas almost stick its head in our window!! Our next stop was a lagoon with cool green, coral like rocks, a type of bird that is only found here, and rock climbing for the brave ones in the group!

Then our car broke down on Mars... or so it appeared. Red dust covered everything and rock slides off the mountains had placed giant, solitary rocks at the base. It was a very eerie experience being surrounded by a strange landscape with no one else in site.

Next we passed through the Dalí desert, which inspired his strange abstract paintings and saw a rock shaped like a tree! We also had lunch on another small salt flat and marveled at the dusty, salty tornados that were kicked up.

Next, we headed to Laguna Colorada, which is full of incredible red alge and also pink flamingos that eat the alge. With the bright blue waters and the towering mountains behind, it was a breathtaking view!

Another tiny hotel was our home that night... and boy was it cold. We wore most of our clothes and I was thanking my host mom for the sleeping bag and fleece she had lent me. We were up early the next morning to catch the geisers in action. We huddled around their bubbling mud for warmth! (can´t upload a picture)

After dropping a few travelers off at the border to Chile, we headed back to Uyuni. We had lunch in "toy town" where you could basically see over the tops of the houses and everything seemed miniature. Check out their main plaza with the tiny gazibo!

The last picture is the remaining 4 (of 7) at the highest point during our journey... 5,000 meters!! One of the guys took a jog up the hill and then had to rest for about 20 minutes. The altitude made me so lazy that I barely wanted to get out of the car to take pictures because I got so tired in the process.

What a trip. Lots of sitting, but Bolivia continues to amaze me! Every place I go is so unique and amazing. It was great to meet some new people, but also a relief to be back home Sunday afternoon and take a shower!!