Travel Notes｜The Sky Realm of the Magical Land of South America

In the southwest of Bolivia, there is a mysterious town.

The town has the largest salt marsh in the world: Salar de uyuni, and the world-famous Skyland originated here.

Rub your little hands together and follow Zoro!

To fly from Santa Cruz to Uyuni, the air ticket needs to be booked in advance. The round trip cost for one person purchased on the Amazonas official website is about 2000 bs. Before departure, negotiate the time and itinerary with the travel agency Hodaka. They will send a driver to pick you up as soon as you get off the plane.

The walls inside the travel agency are covered with post-it notes about tourists’ comments.

Day 1: Sunset Starry Sky Group 16:00 – 22:00 pm, USD 23 per person. You can wander through paradise and magical world in one afternoon, and experience the romance of Uyuni’s rainy season in January.

At night, the sky realm will contain the entire Milky Way. The driver told us that taking pictures of the starry sky is as important as taking pictures of mirrors. The right time, place, and right people are all important. Taking pictures of the starry sky requires a tripod, and Huawei is the best camera among mobile phones. I don’t have a SLR. I cry in the storm TvT. But when you look up, you will see the bright and vast galaxy, and it is very satisfying to appreciate it with your eyes alone!

Day 2: Start the three-day and two-night trip south to the Plateau Desert Loop, priced at US$130 per person. At 10 a.m., the travel agency driver will pick you up at the hotel and set off. Be sure to wear dark sunglasses, otherwise your eyes will be burned by the white light.

Set off with the little alpaca

Train grave Cementerio de trenes

The Train Graveyard is an abandoned train parking lot on the outskirts of the town of Uyuni, where Uyuni’s once prosperous mining industry is buried. Surprisingly, the ancient organism Llareta was discovered here for the first time.

On the way, the driver will stop at an art shop and an alpaca museum for half an hour. There are many salt handicrafts in the shop, which are small and cute. The ticket to the Alpaca Museum is 10bs, and it takes five minutes to walk around because it is very empty.

Dakar rally monument

The Paris-Dakar Rally, also known as the Dakar Rally, is a professional off-road rally held every year. It is known as the game of the brave and the toughest rally in the world. The extremely long race, complex terrain and changeable weather, all the dangerous factors that can make your adrenaline rush are concentrated here. Countless professional racers regard this event as their own pilgrimage. Since 2009 The organizing committee will The race moved from Africa to South America, and the wild journey of South America began. The 2018 Dakar Rally started in three South American countries: starting from Lima, Peru, passing through Bolivia, and finally arriving in Argentina.

Eye of the Salt Lake Ojo del salar

The Eye of the Salt Lake is the outlet of the Salt Lake underground river, and the water contains minerals. The driver said that the water here is often used as medicine by local people, and people with handicapped legs often come to soak their legs, but it cannot be drank directly. I knelt down and washed my hands. The water was quite cold...

Day 3: Heading south to find flamingos: passing by Lake Kanapa along the way Laguna Canapa, the smelly lake Laguna Hedionda, and the red lake Laguna Colorada are all inhabited by different species of flamingos. Students who are interested in the flora and fauna of the Andes can refer to the previous article: Nature | "Alien Creatures" in the Andes

Changes in the sea, cactus on the roadside

Test your eyesight. Can you spot the chinchilla hiding among the rocks?

golden rooster independence in stone valley

Relaxed flamingo

Foraging freely

running llama

Aged compact young eagle celery

A drop in the ocean, a sense of déjà vu

Weathered rock tree Arbol de Piedra

The stone tree that often appears in various magazines is about seven meters tall. It is a volcanic stone that has been eroded by wind and sand over time and turned into the shape of a tree. This place is open and windy, and it is difficult to stand firm here without a certain tonnage. You actually spend a lot of time on the road when traveling south, and there is no signal most of the time. It is recommended to bring a thermos cup and snacks.

Crossing the Desierto de Dali Desert

Red Lake Laguna colorada

Red Lake is a shallow salt lake on the Bolivian Plateau . There is a large amount of borax deposited in the lake. Algae (Dunaliella salina) It also makes the lake appear red, forming a unique red and white landscape. Unfortunately when we arrived at Red Lake, it was windy and rainy, and the white dots were flamingos.

When the clouds turn sunny, please put sunscreen on your hands –!

Day 4: The hotel we stayed in on the last day had a generator that turned off the power at 10pm, and there was no hot water. Because I was tired from the journey, I went to bed early and fell asleep. However, because I didn't take the anti-reactive medicine in time, my heart clenched and I was woken up by the pain in the middle of the night TvT. The driver arranged for us to gather for breakfast at four in the morning. At 4:30, we set out on the road with heavy heads. Although the starry sky was romantic, it was cold and uncomfortable. I couldn't help but sigh that only South Americans could come up with such a difficult travel route.

Feel the altitude: please give your heart

Geothermal field geyser Géiser sol de mañana

The locals gave it a nice name: The Sun of Tomorrow. The mist emitted by the geyser contains sulfur, and you will smell a rotten egg smell if you are close to it, but it is really super warm when you are in the mist.

Hot springs Aguas terminales

The average water temperature of the spring water is 40 degrees Celsius. Anyone who can bathe in the hot spring at an altitude of 4,600 meters is a warrior, and I am just an old man who loves to soak his feet!

Green Lake Laguna verde

Green Lake and White Lake Laguna Blanca are very close to each other and are fed by White Lake. Green Lake is green because the water contains arsenic and copper. The driver said that the Green Lake will appear green when the wind stirs it, but when we came it was calm and we only saw a whitish light green color.

Lost ItalyItalia Pérdida

The driver told us that a long time ago, an Italian rode through this place and got lost and stranded here because he was infatuated with the canyon scenery, so the name was passed down. Personally, I feel that Italy may just be a distant symbol to the locals, like the country of Java mentioned by our ancients, which is far away and confused overseas.

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Friendly reminder: All photos are taken by Zoro, please do not use them for commercial purposes. Life likes brave people, live well in 2020 and be a savage who can escape at any time.