Travel to Uyuni

South America Day 23

Travel to Uyuni

Our trip has now changed over to a new tour called the Andes to the Atlantic Experience. The first section would take us to the Uyuni Salt Flats. Our day was going to be a lengthy travel day starting on the bus from La Paz to Oruro where we would take a train.

Like Peru a few days previous, Bolivia was in the midst of an unstable period. There was a very good chance that we were going to be delayed on route to Oruro. We were on the go at 6.15am to get away hopefully before the protest march blocked our way for an extended period.

A couple of kilometres out of La Paz, we crossed paths with the march. The bus pulled over (with all the other vehicles) and we watched them go past. Some of them had marched from to outlying parts of the country. They were pretty worked up but they were still happy enough to smile & give us a wave.We didn't get delayed too long before we were on our way again.

We arrived in Oruro well ahead of when the train was due to leave. We were herded into a restaurant & fed lunch. There isn't much in Oruro but we wandered around for a little bit to kill some time. We then headed for the train station where the soccer fans could watch a game. I tried getting some sleep.

Finally we boarded the train (above) & were on our way to Uyuni. It was the start of a long dusty trip into the middle of nowhere.

Lago Uru Uru

Not too long after we got under way & clear of Oruro, we were suddenly in the middle of this shallow lake (Lago Uru Uru). I had no idea the flamingos would be so prevalent. It was a scene I thought was only possible in Africa. The flamingos were in greater numbers on the other side of the train.
After we cleared the lake, the sun started to disappear & the dust started getting into the train. None of the windows sealed properly & the dust was getting through any little crack it could. By the time we reached Uyuni at 10.30pm our heads we full of dust.