Uyuni III - Geysers, Hot Pools, Volcanos

The last day of our Uyuni tour started at 4.15am. However, as soon as the sun was rising behind the horizon, our animal spirits started to wake up and after an hour of driving, we arrived at our first stop - 'geysers'. The landscape looked straight out of a movie, as there were quite a few geysers out of which hot steam blew out. We wandered around and explored a few pathways that led us right in between some of these holes. With the warm sunlight shining upon us, it made for some mystic photos.

Then it was time to properly relax in some hot springs. En route, we were keeping taps of whether we would crack the 5000m in altitude, but unfortunately, the highest point of this tour 'only' got us to 4950m. Still, quite a cool thought thinking that we were casually driving higher than the highest point in Europe or Central America.

Once we arrived at the hot springs, we quickly went into the hot water. It felt as if the warm hands of angels were touching our skin and everyone let out a big sigh of relief. And the views were amazing as well, with flamingos parading in a lake in the distance and mountains surrounding the pool.

After a very relaxing 45 minutes in the hot pools, we were heading to the Salvador Dali desert. It was named after the famous painter because apparently the colours and motives of the desert and the mountains resemble some of his paintings. In all honesty, I didn't see any striking similarities. Plus, Dali never came here. It was still a gorgeous view, so no complaints here.

Then it was time for our last stop on the tour. Getting out of the car, a rough but beautiful landscape unfolded in front of us. Picture a perfectly-shaped volcano in the background, a large lake in front of it and blue skies. And then adding Maria in the photo was, of course, the last missing piece for a picture-perfect scene.

It was a fitting end to a tour that I will remember for the rest of my life. The landscape - from the Uyuni Salt Flats to the petrified corals, colourful lakes, geysers - truly made us feel as if we were on a different planet. It is hard to fathom that places like this exist on earth. Yes, it was long driving at times (esp the second day), but it was all very much worth it. And with Maria, Ruud and Kim, I had the best company as well, making this tour unforgettable.

So, after the last stop, we said goodbye and headed to the Chilean border, which was truly in the middle of nowhere. We got our passports stamped and were all heading to the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, where new adventures would await us.Read more