Uyuni Salt Lake

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Dear family and friends,

There are some places we really want to visit on this trip. High on Carmen's list is Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. For me it's the Uyuni Salar (Uyuni Salt Lake) in Bolivia, the largest salt lake in the world and sometimes referred to as one of the most remarkable landscapes on earth. It's around 100 km from side to side and over 10,000 km2 total area. The salt crust covers a pool of brine that contains over half the world's reserve of lithium. The Wiki page on the Uyuni Salar is worth a look.




Arriving at Isla Pescado in the late afternoon


We arrived at the edge of the salt lake late in the afternoon and then rode for 40 km across the dry salt lake to Isla Pescado (Fish Island), one of the strange cactus-covered rocky outcrops (islands) in the salt lake. The ride across the salt lake was surreal – gliding across an ultra-smooth blindingly-white landscape, with only the sound of the wind, the motor purring away and the crunch of salt under the tyres, with the long shadow of us on the bike as company. Unforgettable. This capped off a day of extremes – we'd finished one of the hardest and most exhausting rides we'd ever done (6 hours battling with a 118 km sandy track two-up on the bike at 3600 m elevation) and now we were gliding easily across this peaceful, magical landscape on one of the most amazing rides I've ever done – life is crazy sometimes!

We spent the night on Isla Pescado in basic accommodation that had a fantastic view across the salt lake. Back in Australia I'd packed the tripod with the thought of taking long-exposure night star-trace photos on the salt lake. The night sky was amazing, but I was so exhausted from the day's ride that I didn't have the energy to do any photography and instead fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning we explored the cactus covered island and then set off into the whiteness to ride the remaining 70 Km across the lake to the other side. The Uyuni Salar was everything I'd hoped for.



View from top of Isla pescado to volano Tunupa




Another view from Isla Pescado

How do I collect this for the Herbarium back in Canberra?

Perhaps this one for the home garden?

Vizcacha (sometimes spelt Viscacha) - a rodent somewhat like a rabbit with a long curly tail. There is a colony of them on the island - did they make their own way across 40 km of salt lake to get to the island or were they assisted? No-one we asked seemed to know.

Vizcacha feeding on cactus.

We couldn't stop taking photos of cactus! Echinopsis atacamensis for the botanically interested.

Llamas - relatives of camels



Isla Pescado taken from out at sea....




"Me and you and a bike that's blue" (or however that song goes), and not much else...



Thankfully we brought the sunnies - impossible to see out here without them.





Having fun with perspective.













You have to look a bit more closely for this one.

















Our room for the night on Isla Pescado, with salt floor and view across the lake, and a pervasive Llama smell......




The bike always draws a curious crowd.




Packing up the bike at the 'shore' of Isla Pescado for the 70 km ride to the edge of the lake.

Setting off - this is the direction to go (I think).




At the village on other side of the lake - we'd crossed the famous Uyuni Salar! And now we're still in the middle of nowhere and looking for fuel.....