Travel
Salar de Uyuni fter two minutes of driving there was nothing around. Our driver was hitting 80 kilometers per hour; it could have been double or we could have been stationary; it made no difference. It was the beginning of time, where nothing existed. The white of the salt was like a blank sheet of paper or an empty canvas. It was breathtaking, out-of-this-world; like God had come down from the heavens and hadn’t started his work yet. We awoke early in our warm tents in San Pedro de Atacama, a pint-sized dwelling in the midst of an expansive desert and the only stop between the Pacific Ocean and the picturesque. Salar de Uyuni.
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After an hour in the back of an old van, we quickly ascended up the 4,600 meters to the border crossing, nothing but a knackered hut with a torn Bolivian flag dangling from the pole above. The air was as thin as paper, everyone was gasping for whatever oxygen they could find. Our group was quickly separated into smaller groups and was assigned a driver that was going to chaperone us for the next few days. The paved roads of Chile suddenly changed into horrifying tracks in Bolivia with more razor-sharp rocks
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Gwangju News June 2011
than you would find on the moon. This did not unhinge our driver. He hit his pace and had no intention of slowing down. It was a 4x4 with one soul in the passenger seat, three in the middle and two more squeezed tightly into the back with all the food and equipment. For the first hour the jeep bounced around violently like a broken washing machine. Our first stop at the height of 4,300 meters was the sumptuous Laguna Verde. This jade lagoon with mountains the colour of caramel and a sky of sapphire made the bumpy ride worthwhile. On the edge of the waters were a number of flamingos idly poking at its edge. Then on to the Laguna Colorada – a red lagoon, inundated with a thousand more brightly coloured flamingos. Their rosé feathers, their long slim necks and slow, delicate sauntering across shallows make them arguably one of the most elegant creatures in the world. Time stood still whilst gazing at these stupendous creatures. A quick stop for lunch, then onto to Sol de Manana. These large volcanic geysers boiled at exceedingly high temperatures, shooting huge plumes of mud and water into the air. Watching them gurgle was like staring at a roaring fire – it was hypnotic.