Out on to the Salar de Uyuni 19-6 to 21-6-2010

Day 1

For the first time this trip I a hired guide. He took us on a 3 day tour of the world’s biggest salt flat, La Salar de Uyuni, and its surrounding beauty. The first days travel took us up and over several passes of 5000 meters and more, to several toxic lakes, salt flats, and thermal baths. This part of the world is fantastic and the camera cannot capture it´s true beauty. We stopped at one thermal bath and had a nice dip in the hot water and watched the sun set. We spent the night in an unheated shelter at 4500+ meters. The night was cold and crisp. The stars were brilliant. I was up early enough to see the Wenner ¨W¨ (that would be Cassiopeia for those of you who read books written by scholars who don´t know much) in the northern sky. It was very low on the horizon, but recognizable. The two pointer stars in the Wenner W pointed toward the North Star, which still is hidden well below the horizon. The Southern Cross had already set.

Uncle Walter