Imagery from Bolivia and Chile - Part 2

…Continued from Part 1

From San Juan, we continued our journey to the Salar de Uyuni, stopping on the way to photograph vibrant red quinoa fields.  Since there was a sense of urgency to cross the salt flats before dusk, we did not stop much for photography that day.

Red Quinoa Fields

Looking down a row of Quinoa

When we arrived at the beginning of the salt flats, the first thing we encountered was a set of two memorials.  We were in a rush and photographed them from the (moving) cars, and we learned the disquieting news later in the trip that there had been an accident the previous day, which had killed 5 people.  I was unable to ascertain what happened (I heard rumors of drinking and/or falling asleep at the wheel), though I did learn that fatal automobile accidents like this one are not uncommon on the Salar.  Very sobering.

Graves on the Salar de Uyuni

The primary reason I wanted to take this trip to Bolivia was to photograph the reflections in the water on the Salar de Uyuni, and unfortunately the water was almost completely dried up when we got there.  The only water we encountered was at that very entrance to the salt flat (see below), and we didn’t see another drop until we reached the other side, near the hotel.  So there is a good chance that I will take another trip in 2015 or 2016 to photograph those reflections.  Any takers?

Entrance to the Salar de Uyuni, as seen through the windshield

To give one a sense of distance and scale, the Salar de Uyuni is about 10,500 square km; it is the world's largest salt flat.  This equates to about 4100 square miles; it is almost as large as the State of Connecticut (which is 5500  mi^2).  Huge.  And over the course of the entire land mass, there is less than 1 meter change in altitude, making it one of the flattest places on Earth.  In addition to sodium, it contains a huge amount of Lithium (about 40% of the world's reserves). Here are some photos taken on our way across the salt flats.

Tracks across the Salar de Uyuni

Traveling across the Salar de Uyuni

We stopped for a quick lunch at the Isla Incahuasi, a bizarre little mountain "island" in the middle of the Salar.  I can only imagine how breathtaking the photography would have been if there were water and clouds on the salt flat.  We were not scheduled to spend the night at this location, but I believe it would be worth it to stay there to capture the sunrise and sunset, if water conditions permit.

After the floods, salt is harvested from the Salar, and it is raked into cones to dry out before it is trucked away.

Salt Cones on the Salar de Uyuni at sunrise

Pick and shovel used to create the salt cones

Salt cones under the stars

Here are some photos taken on the Salar de Uyuni at sunset:

For two of the days we were scheduled to be on the Salar, water and clouds were non-existent, so we took an unplanned side trip to visit Coquesa, a small town at the foot of the Tunupa Volcano where Inca mummies were discovered 100 years ago.

Volcán Tunupa

Bolivian man, whose father discovered the mummies 100 years ago

One of the five Inca mummies in the cave

We also visited the train cemetery on the outskirts of Uyuni, the town. It was fun to photograph all of the old locomotive skeletons. Then a whole bunch of other tourists arrived and took over the place, and my photography denigrated into silly zoom-blurs to pass the time (because the people were climbing all over the trains and I couldn't get a clean shot).

Old steam locomotive at the train graveyard in Uyuni

Before heading back to Chile, I made sure to capture a couple photos of our hotel, which was extraordinary in that it is made almost entirely out of salt. The walls are salt blocks and the floors are salt gravel. It is one of the most charming and interesting places I've slept.

One of the many public seating areas overlooking the Salar de Uyuni

My room at the Hotel del Sal

After one of the most exhilarating travel weeks of my life, we returned to Chile. We went back to El Valle de la Muerte and photographed it at Sunrise (a week earlier we photographed it at Sunset). As a side note, it was not as spectacular at sunrise.

El Valle de la Muerte just before sunrise, lit by the moon

El Valle de la Muerte just before sunrise; sun rays shining over the mountains

We spent our last day in northern Chile driving around the Chilean Altiplano photographing interesting scenery. It turns out we were just a couple of miles from some of the places we photographed in Bolivia (Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde).

Rock formations in the Chilean Altiplano, near the Chile-Bolivia border

Ironically, a snowstorm swept through the area quite suddenly, and the light was horrible for photography, so we spent the last bit of our time in northern Chile trying to find places to photograph with better light.

Snow? Unfortunately yes. Weather can be quite unpredictable!

Fortunately, after battling with crummy weather all afternoon, our frustrations were answered with the most spectacular and otherworldly sunset I've had the pleasure to witness.

Spectacularly vibrant sunset in the Chilean Altiplano just minutes after the storm cleared