Written Sunday 20 April
An unimaginably vast expanse of shimmering white in whichever direction you choose to look, the Uyuni salt flats emphasise just how tiny a part of this enormous world you really are.
Turn away from the 4x4s, walk a few paces and it's just you, a piercingly blue sky and millions upon millions of salt crystals sparkling in the afternoon sun. Despite having seen countless pictures, it felt like I was setting eyes upon this beautiful and incredibly peaceful landscape for the very first time. This is what I'm talking about; this is why I joined this tour - the amazing natural landscapes that are an entire world away from little old England. It's one of those places where time seems to stop - you could spend hours marvelling at the vastness, colours and textures and not even realise. We didn't stop for long but we're spending the next 2 days travelling through the various salt flats and deserts to see lagoons, hot springs, flamingoes and more - epic. Pretty sure this will be the highlight of the whole Bolivia Discovery part of this trip :)
Took a few must-do perspective snaps too but it's a harder skill to master than it looks!
Plenty of time for more successful second attempts tomorrow. No energy to start churning out the creative juices now though, so tired. We're staying in a little hotel right on the edge of the Uyuni salt flat (awesome views). I'm in a 6 bed dorm which is made entirely of salt! Warmer than I thought too which is great - have heard horror stories about the cold & our guide told us the temp once dropped to -38C while she was supervising a tour! Timed it quite well I think; the rainy season is pretty much over which means we can travel across the flats fairly easily, and winter is far enough away for us not to be freezing our arses off. Score!
Just about to go for dinner...which is llama. Hmm! Filled up on crackers just in case and have emergency cookies if it all goes disastrously wrong. Eating far too many biscuits here - was actually served Oreos for breakfast on the night bus! Snack wise, it's hard to find anything that isn't bread, biscuits or crisps. I'm actually craving fruit which is a peculiar feeling. Would do anything for a plate of watermelon and M&S cherry tomatoes right now. Anyone? I'm just a short flight away...
