Defying Gravity on the Salar!
We awoke very early to head out to the climax of out trip: sunrise on the great Salar de Uyuni. It is the world’s largest salt flat, covering more than 12,000 square kilometers. The idea was to drive out by starlight to get there before the dozens of other jeep loads arrived. It worked – we had the island to ourselves for a while.
The sunrise was dramatic and kept us busy snapping photos. Here’s a few:
The streak across the salt is the “road”
When the sun was up we walked down to the salt flat while our guides prepared coca tea and breakfast.
We stopped in the middle of the salar to check out the hexagonal patterns and take the requisite funny pictures (including the one that starts this post) that have become a local art form.
But its not all fun and games. Salt has been harvested for eons here and is still done by laborious hand tools. The Salar de Uyuni is also home to a large portion of the world’s lithium supply, which is now in demand because it is used in advanced batteries for electric cars and electronics. Resource battles will be taking place here to see who gains control of this vital material.
Next it was back on the bus for a 6-hour bathroomless ride. Of course the stark high landscapes was scenic, with many canyons and small villages. Bolivia recently had a hotly contested election to approve a new constitution. Campaign advertising here consists of painting messages on all sorts of surfaces. This entire house was made into a billboard.
We had a quick layover in Potosi, a city that was once as large as Paris due to its rich silver mine. Here’s a couple of passengers waiting for the bus.
Sucre is a beautiful city, a World Heritage city that has maintained its colonial architecture.
Sucre is a bit lower than the altiplano, so we spent a few days unwinding in its relatively balmy climate. On the 1st of May everything shut down to celebrate Labor Day. This year is Bolivia’s bicentennial, so there were plenty of fiestas going on.
Giant prop rolled in for the fiesta on Sucre's plaza
There are some good museums here. These girl’s practiced their few words of English on us and showed us around one of them. They are wearing Obama buttons that we’ve been passing out as souvenirs. Everyone we’ve met and talked politics with has a positive view of Obama. It’s sure a lot nicer to be a traveling American now than it was during the Bush years.
Hot water is a luxury that many Bolivians can’t afford. Even some hotels don’t have hot water systems. But many offer what we’ve affectionately dubbed “Mr. Coffee showers”. This scary apparatus is an electrical shower head – turning on the cold water activates it and heats the water. Quite often the lights in the bathroom will dim when Mr. Coffee turns on. It’s a little scary but so far they seem to work fine, sending hot (or at least tepid) water down without any sparks.
For our next diversion we visited an active concrete plant where limestone is mined. Why? Because the most unusual dinosaur tracks were uncovered by the mine. Here’s a shot of a vertical cliff. Note the truck that is hauling material (the cliff with the tracks is protected and there is a visitor center now, so they are making good money on tourism). Also note the crack in the middle of the cliff and some dots to the left of them. This old mud flat was uplifted by tectonic action, then sat for millions of years waiting for the concrete company to find it.
Close up of the tracks
The makers of the tracks!
The highlight of Sucre actually wasn’t Sucre itself, it was a trip to the village of Tarabuco. Every Sunday there is a market that brings together indigenous people from the surrounding area.
This region has experienced an artisan revival and is gaining renown for its fine textiles. So at the market, tourists mingle with locals, some of whom ignore and carry on with their trading but others who peddle to us. Fortunately there are some certified, fair-trade stores where the quality is assured. These are associated with projects that have helped train new artisans.
The coca leaf vendor was busy!
As the day went on people gathered at the plaza and we saw some traditional music. There were “charango” players and women who sang with incredibly high voices. We called this group the lollipop girls:
We did not leave Tarabuco empty-handed; ponchos and weavings had to somehow fit into our stuffed bags.
Hal and Allison
It has been a joy sharing your travels in South America.
The variety of sights and scenery are truly astounding.
Wishing you both a save and peaceful trip home
Love
Aunt Ruth