Salt
We're still at the water springs. The couple here were on my tour. Victor, a Bolivian horticulturist, had studied in Hawaii where
he learned English. Then he went to Japan to study more and met his girlfriend. She had just flown in from Tokyo to visit him. That's a long distance relationship!
Back in the micro we rode across the trackless salt for about an hour; our next stop was Tunupa, a dormant volcano. This gave us a lot of time to look at the salt, and I thought Juan, our driver, dozed off a few times.
An internet picture of the entrance to Tunupa.
he learned English. Then he went to Japan to study more and met his girlfriend. She had just flown in from Tokyo to visit him. That's a long distance relationship!
Back in the micro we rode across the trackless salt for about an hour; our next stop was Tunupa, a dormant volcano. This gave us a lot of time to look at the salt, and I thought Juan, our driver, dozed off a few times.
An internet picture of the entrance to Tunupa.
The salt flats have a few islands that were left when the water evaporated. The dormant volcano Tunupa rises 1601 metres above the salt (5,321 metres or 17,457 feet above sea level!) The sides are spider-webbed with lines I thought were geological features, but closer up I could see they were stone walls and roads. Later when I read up on it I learned that somewhere up there is a cave containing mummies. Water from the mountain makes grazing possible, and aside from feeding tourists (chicken again), the only activity seems to be raising llamas.
Llamas grazing. At the edge of the island, water collected between the land and the salt. Flamingos were wading there, so there must be something edible in the water.
This is the only house I noticed in South America made of North American style brick. I liked the junxtaposition with the adobe building with the thatched roof. |
A quick run across the salt brought us to Incahuasi. Tunupa is volcanic, Incahuasi is made of coral and covered with cactus.
The entrance, washrooms and bars. This shot is from the beginning of the trail that goes around the island.
We turned back toward the entrance of the park and stopped here. This hotel was built of salt blocks. However, according to Wikipedia, it closed due to environmental problems and mismanagement. Those are salt statues of llamas out front. Below, a shot of the interior.
There is a new salt hotel at the edge of the park where some of my fellow travellers were staying.
Guests are forbidden to lick the walls, but I bet they do.
Guests are forbidden to lick the walls, but I bet they do.
This is a monument to the South American road race for cars, trucks and mortorcycles--the Dakar. It was a very big deal when it came through here.
It reminded me of 2001: a Space Odyssey. |
As you can see from the shadows, it was late afternoon by then, and Juan was getting a little impatient to call it a day. The tour lasted most of the day and, including lunch, cost about 35$US.
Another salt sculpture--
a Toyota truck.
Next: out of Bolivia and into Argentina.
a Toyota truck.
Next: out of Bolivia and into Argentina.