Bolivian Altiplano Road Trip 09.10.09 - 11.10.09

the Bolivian salt flats- a strange white environment

cactus on the 'coral' rock island

one of our 'scale' illusion photos

The Bolivian Aliplano (high plains) is an area of inland drainage, at an average altitude of 3,750m above sea level. Originally, in the Pleistocene epoch, the entire area was covered by a giant lake, the present remnants of which are the freshwater Lake Titicaca, the salt lake Poopo and the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats of Uyuni). The Altiplano is flanked by two Cordillera mountain ranges and, to the south lies the Atacama desert and to the east lies the Amazon rainforest. It is thought that the ranges on either side helped to trap the sediment of the lakes and form the unique, flat landscape of the Altiplano. The whole area is volcanically active with evidence from the immense variety of geological rock formations, mineral rich lake waters and hillsides containing a myriad of colours from the different stones.

We leave Uyuni in 4x4s for the 3 day salt flat/ Altiplano tour, first stop the bubbling salt water pools which replenish the white salt crystals covering the entire plain, through evaporation. The salt crunches like snow under our feet and, along with the vast sparkling whiteness, it’s reminiscent of a winter landscape, the main difference being the temperature. We stop next at a ‘coral’ rock island in the middle of the salt flats which is covered in cacti and the heat is almost unbearable. We notice the rock’s porous nature, which indeed is similar to underwater coral reef formations. It was indeed originally below the paleolake, centuries ago.

Our afternoon is taken up by creating weird and wonderful ’scale’ photos in the salt flats. The environment, because it’s so flat and pure white, is ideal for illusions of scale- ie; a plastic toy dinosaur positioned close to the camera lens can appear similar in height to a person positioned 10-15 feet away, if the angle of the lens is correct. Such fun!

Once we’ve exhausted pretty much all possibilities we head off to our accommodation in the Altiplano hillside. It’s very basic, electricity is only available for 2 hours in the evening and we have to share a dormitory which, in fact, is quite fun as we reminisce our times at school camp.