Story from BraveExpeditionist48763

From the Salt of the LandSalar de Uyuni is the world’s largest natural salt flat creating stunning mirror effects. Formed from the evaporation of prehistoric lakes. Covering 4,000 square miles, the salt flats have been getting lots of attention because of the rich mineral, lithium forming at the crust. Getting to the salt flats is no small feat. LaPaz is the world’s highest capital sitting at 3650 meters meaning visitors experience more pronounced altitude sickness with fatigue and shortness of breath as noticeable upon landing at the airport. Peaking in the first 24 hours and lasting up to three days. Altitude sickness is real and affects some more so than others. Getting from La Paz to Uyuni. There are two flights a week and several overnight bus companies daily. We opted for the overnight bus boarding at 21:00 for the flexibility in scheduling. Todo Turismo is one of the luxury bus companies offering 160 degree of recline, blanket, pillow, heated dinner consisting of carrots and green beans, chicken and potatoes similar to a frozen dinner, breakfast consisting of a juice box, ham & cheese between two slices of bread, bottle of water, intermittent bus WiFi, and on-board movies in Spanish. There is a toilet on board but only for urinating. All sounds great except if you have the runs. I strategically picked the upper deck front row seat with no one sitting in front, next or behind me. Thinking I would get some sleep, this was not the case. The road to Uyuni had speed bumps, pot holes, craters and lots of dirt roads creating shakes, rattle and shifts for an uncomfortable ride. 10 hours later hoping to feel rested for the tour to begin at 10:30a was not the case. I found a hostel to take a shower and with a hot breakfast you can almost feel ready to start the day. There are over 100 tour outfits in Uyuni. I booked four months prior yet one of the gals in our group of five booked that morning. Some popular travel sites like Viator, GetTourGuide and TripAdvisor do a great job marketing on what to expect. Traveling at such great lengths only made sense to see the salt flats over three days versus a single day trip.The tour started off with seeing a train cemetery and salt museum to learn how salt is mined then off to lunch. Many of the outfitters use the Toyota Land Cruiser from the 90’s Prado to early 2000 series. These SUV can carry up to 7 passengers plus gear and are built like tanks for off-roading. This preamble gets you excited for what’s to come. Upon approaching the flats, you begin to see a vast whiteness into the horizon. The blue skies take on a puffy cotton like cumulus cloud formation. The excitement grows as the ground turn from asphalt to harden white salt. Welcome to Salar de Uyuni. It can easily be mistaken for snow at first glance until you hear the crunching sound of crusty salt. The reflection after a rain gives a mirror-like reflection that is surreal. The vast scene continues as far as the eye can see. Land Cruisers in the distance seem like they are gliding across a body of water. Maybe I was delirious after enduring altitude sickness, a bumpy overnight bus ride and not getting any sleep but seeing the salt flats made it all worthwhile.