10/10/2013 Stage 41 Vulcano camp – Salar Uyuni camp

2013-10-10

Untitled by malcandmarjetpatterson at Garmin Connect - Details

10/10/2013 Stage 41 Vulcano camp – Salar Uyuni camp

Malcolm down in the sand again. It was impossible sometimes

It was cold when we set off in the morning with the water bottles frozen again, but finishing the climb we soon caught our first glimpse of of the Salar. Back home we had looked at blogs and youtube clips about the Salar and now it was our turn. It was very exciting but also a bit scary. We decide we would cycle on to Tahua where most people enter the Salar from the north and there would be some tracks to follow. We very soon gave up on that idea! The track from Jariri to Tahua was impossibly hard. It was just so sandy we could barely push our bikes so we decided to turn back and enter the Salar from Jariri. We managed to pick up some much needed supplies ( tin of spam, eggs, water and even a bottle of wine which we promptly left behind!) and much to my relief met a man who was able to give us very useful information. He advised us to head for the middle of the mountain range in the distance and after 48 km we would hit Isla de Incahuasy an island in the middle of the salt flats where there would be food and water. It was really weird to cycle on the salt. It is a bit like frosty snow and makes a crunchy sound. Because we entered the Salar from such an unusual place we had it all to ourselves and ther were no tracks to follow just virginal salt. It was a very special feeling to be there. This sea of white with no one else about. We had fun taking pictures and then set off. The surface wasn't the same everywhere. Sometimes it was very smooth but at other times it was quite lumpy. Apparently it depends on how windy it is at the end of the rainy season. If I'm honest I was quite worried we wouldn't get to the island and that we would just be cycling in circles and I was quite relieved Malc had his gps and map. . Nothing changed as we cycled for four hours towards the island which we spotted for the first time after about 20 kms. It just very very very slowly got nearer. On the island we were very pleased to meet back up again with Thomas and Paul who we first met in Cusco and then again twice more after that. It was like meeting old friends again. It was tempting to stay on the island and spend the night with them in the hostal but we also very much wanted to camp on the Salar. I'm glad we did because it was absolutely magical. The memory of that will stay with me for a long time. We had to anchor the tent to the bikes because it got very windy and there was no way you could get a peg into the salt and there was a distinct lack of rocks or anything else. Salt flat only. Without a free standing tent we would not have been able to camp. Magic magic magic