Sal de Mar

After our long overnight bus journey we didn't get much of a rest before our tour started. We did get a couple hours for coffee and breakfast at a cafe, but then we were transported to the tour office and began to listen to the debrief. We met a British couple and a American lady who would be in our 4 wheel drive, and therefore who we would spend most of the three day tour with. This started at the train cemetery where a lot of trains remain in pieces rusted in the dry and salty Bolivian air. Most of these had been used to transport salt and gold from the dry desert to the coast. But as we were at heights that exceeded 4000m, the engines were prone to exploding beyond repair, and so they were left to rot. Though, now it can at least be used as a tourist attraction. The next drive was quite considerable, through the desolate and dry landscape that was beautiful in its own right. The mountains and sand carving through the landscape painted an endless orange facade. Before long though, it changed abruptly into am even more endless void, this time erupting in relative colour. White and blue suddenly filled your vision with nothing else in site. The whiteness of the clouds was challenged by the salt that lay on the ground to show an even more perfect white. The distinction between the two became difficult to differentiate. The blue that show in the sky was matched by the shimmer that lay in the horizon, created by the heat and dry air. Distinguishing the horizon was nearly impossible. This was an incredible site and quite literally one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen. We travelled straight and fast for hours and appeared to make no impact on the mountains that lay on the horizon. The salt, once a part of a giant inland ocean, now creates an endless void of white. Had it not been for the mountains that lined the horizon, this seems like it would be dangerous for the effect it may have on your mind. To fuck with your mind even more, as we travelled endlessly into the void, we arrived at a speck in the otherwise lifeless expanse of white. As we grew nearer, an island formed in our vision. Of course, once a literal island, now it is a green oasis in a white desert. This began to blow my mind even more. It stood out like nothing else. White and blue everywhere, but this little island of green and black volcanic rock, covered in little shrubs and cactus. It could even support a population of birds despite taking less than 20 minutes to walk the entire perimeter. We explored the island and got some great photos of the surrounding landscape before eventually retiring to the salt flats to explore the perimeter. After we authenticated the vision as more than a fever dream caused by the endless salt, we boarded the car back to explore the salt flats. Heading, once again, endlessly in a single direction. Eventually, we arrived at part of the salt flats that had become flooded during the recent rains of the wet season that just started. The still water, and white, reflective surfaces made for some incredible photos. It was incredible to see and, with a glass of red and some chips, ended one of my most incomprehensible days of my travels so far. Never have I seen anything even closely resembling this site. It's uniqueness is unparalleled. We then arrived at our hotel and had dinner and an early night.Read more