Stay salty

This town, Uyuni, is small, but in progress.  Just about everyone on the street are tourists,  from all over the world.  Our car has  us Americanas, two young lovers from Germany, and a married couple in their late 50's from Argentina,  and a Bolivian driver. But we are getting along great so far.

Our first stop is called the train graveyard. It's a neat place and they let us play and climb and do anything we want.  Cool!

Dead train selfie

Then we drive,  there is one road.  Everything is flat,  and dusty.  The father we go the more concentration of salt, no more dust. It is white and blue everywhere.  And we drive anywhere we want,  our driver likes to swerve,  and fall asleep...

We stop every so often for pictures, llama steak lunch, and pictures.

We totally got yelled at for this

Rawr

The view is the same for hours, just a big plain of salt. This seems like the last place to find any plant life, but we arrive at this little "oasis" full of cactus, called Fish Island.

The salt looks dry and solid, and it is, but just underneath it is wet. It is the most satisfying crunch when we step on the ridges that have formed. It's hard for me comprehend: not a desert, not a beach,  not a field, not like anything I've ever seen before.  We are covered in salt water from laying on the ground, and it dries stiff.

80 km across, we finally reach a mountain on the other side,  and take the dusty road to seemingly nowhere. We pass quinoa fields,  they are so colorful: green with bright golden yellow, fire red, and deep burgundy. All the colors together turn a boring field into a stunning sight. The mountains are so tall,  and the rainclouds make them seem angry. But I love all the cacti!

There are many cars doing the same tours,  we see the same people at each stop.  By the evening we were "racing" each other to the hostel. We pulled in, three cars in a row and the divers jumped out,  leaving the car running. Not to worry, we had our rooms reserved. This hostel is made of salt bricks,  and stones.  There is one bathroom,  and one shower stall.  Oh,  and it will cost extra for a shower!  Sheesh. We had our tea and cookies, and booked to the shower. The woman saw us lining up,  and,  with attitude,  asked "You want to take a shower? "  Yea.  "Which room is yours?"  6.  (We pay her $1.50 each, she writes it down) "Ok, you first, then her, then him. Only 5 minutes each!"  yep. I thought she might come back with a stop watch.

This place is ambient,  yet dumpy.  We feel like we're in a castle, with sloppy block work, exposed conduit, rock floors, grass ceiling,  and string wrapped around nails to hang the window treatments. I love the neon curtains and bedding, so stylish.

 But hey,  it does seem like the best place in this tiny town,  better than the homes even. How is Casie handling the salar?

Casie- good so far, a little crusty

Wait,  you're a little crusty,  or it's crusty?
Casie -both. It's interesting to see how other people live,  with just the basics.

Didn't you feel like we were on The Amazing Race again today?
Casie - oh yea,  especially when the other cars were passing us. We would totally win.