First some photos to help set the stage:
You know that saying that I myself only half remember: A picture just doesn’t do it justice. Yeah, that is Salar de Uyuni. This 3 day tour through the salt flats alone was worth the $160 Visa admission into Bolivia. I can’t even begin to describe in words what it’s like to look around 360 degrees and see unison. Most of us have trouble finding time for mental calmness but let me tell you, your brain will naturally be void of distractions viewing these salt flats. There’s a calmness that just resides in the mind during this time, which says you know those emails I was stressing over, or that tough discussion I need to have at work, or my plans for the weekend blah blah blah – just fade away completely.
As I am obviously struggling to coherently describe the majesty and magnitude of Salar de Uyuni, check out my video on Youtube:
While it was a great deal of fun to take a bunch of pictures knowing were all getting A+ footage here, the best part of the day was just gazing at the grandeur of the horizon. With a clean visual palette I also had a clear mind. Nothing obvious for the brain to focus in on. I expect this is similar to the allure of star gazing, something I would like to have done more of in the salt flat desert.
Being in a large tour group (~12 people) it was tough to find solace and moments to be alone. Something I had become quite fond of my past 2 months of solo traveling as in the years prior I couldn’t remember the last time I completely disconnected and focused solely on myself. So one way to capture the essence of this was taking a lot of videos simply panning the landscape, no talking, no Brad comments or jokes, simply recording. All this b-roll would make for a boring video but I may end up uploading it anyway so I can always have access to a mentally calming moment in my life. Haha, look soon on YouTube for “10 minutes of Salt Flats b-roll”
We ended the day in a natural hot spring & started the next eating pancakes for breakfast. I think that adequately sums up the perfectness of these 3 days in Salar de Uyuni.