Salar de Uyuni
Originally uploaded by fake fotos
Ahhh, Bolivia. It seems like so long ago that you charged me $100 USD to enter your fine establishment. All part of a trend down here to reciprocate US visa entrance fees. Do you think this fella shoveling salt for a living comes across a $100 very often? Not that I want to pay more, but it seems to me reciprocating would be to charge US citizens about $1000. But then they wouldn´t have very many of us spending are soon-to-be worthless dollars in their country. Brazil, Bolivia and Chile are the only ones at the moment, but I can´t be bothered to actually verify that as a true statement.
The tour of the Salar de Uyuni is a main event in the poorest nation in South America. Uyuni is home to some ridiculous number (200? 2000? 23? nobody really knows) of Toyota Landcruisers, all used to haul tourists around the region on three to four day tours. Of course, the new models are in high demand, but were they really designed to be a rugged four wheel drive vehicle? Hell no! They´re made for driving the kids to their ping-pong and flute lessons across town. That being the case, the new models are not lasting as long as the classics from the seventies and eighties. Imagine that. The salt flat is especially harsh on their electrical systems. The fiberglass bodies don´t seem to be holding up either.
The tour is amazing, arriving at some of the most psychedelic landscapes this side of your eyelids. Have you ever really looked at your hand? No need when there´s El Cerro de Siete Colores, a hillside that changes colors in the wind thanks to all the delicious minerals present in the soil. Maybe when I get around to uploading that photo I´ll let you see it.
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