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Nine of us, Mick (Australia), Graham (Scotland), Lucinda and James (England), Loes and Krikke (Belgium), Anne and I, and our guide, had been crammed into a Toyota (some kind of SUV) for the journey to the salar. Normally, these little jaunts head south from the Isla de los Pescadores to a place called San Juan. However, there was too much water on the salar. We returned to Uyuni at five and immediately transferred to a much larger Chevy for the remainder of a trip that would eventually take us to Laguna Verde and Licancabur Volcano at the extreme southwestern tip of Bolivia. There were 10 of us now, along with a new guide, Criso, we added a cook, Rita.

It was a 4 hour drive to our 1st stop, Alota, and as most of trip was made in the dark, we knew little of what was around us. The only sense of things was the jolting and pounding of the Chevy and the lack of traffic and lights - we were on no super highway and were pretty much alone. When we reached Alota (finally) we piled out of the Chevy into our eight-person room and organized ourselves while Rita cheerfully (Rita was always cheerful) made dinner. We ate and slept - we had no idea what we would find when we arose the next morning.


Alota was a surprise! It was a small, squared-off, dusty place but behind it were two huge, snowcapped mountains, Mts. Chuhuilla and Ojitos.	Apparently the Chevy, which was one of three purchased used from the US Embassy, was an honored vehicle. The fact that Criso drove it implied that he was one of the better drivers.	We stopped at the "Valley of Rocks." At the time we had little idea just how many strange rock formations we would see. The rock here is sandstone much like the US southwest, but it is much courser. The winds do not blow it polished and smooth, but rather rough and irregular in shape. Behind Anne is Loes, to the right is Lucinda talking with Mick, and off in the distance is James.		As we continued west toward the Chilean border we saw Mt. Ollague (5860 mt.) off in the distance. Criso said that Ollague is still active but the wind was blowing off its smoke.

	We continued west until we reached Laguna Hedionda. Laguna Hedionda means stinky lake, a name which, no doubt, was given it because of its slightly sulfur smell. However, it isn't the smell but the magnificence of the scene that's overwhelming.

Large flocks of flamingoes wade Hedionda's waters; snow capped peaks surround it. Here, Mt. Cañapa (5880 mt.) is in the background.	This is (probably) Mt. Coguello (5950 mt.)


There are three species of flamingoes in the region, the Chilean, the Andean, and the James - we found it difficult to tell the difference. The flamingoes, unconcerned about our presence, spent their time squawking, wading, and beaking (nosing) around for food.

Leaving Hedionda behind we climbed up onto the Siloli Desert, a high (5,000 mts.), cold, windswept strip of land just to the east of the western cordillera.

It appears that NOTHING grows here. However, when we stopped by a rock formation, a colony of Viscacha appeared. Viscacha look to be a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo. The viscacha are very tame - this one is taking bread from Rita. This moss also also grows at this altitude. It is collected, dried, and used for fuel. We also saw herds of vicuña (small, wild llama-like cameloids) from the Chevy while cruising across the Siloli; what they ate was hard to guess.

The Arbol de Piedra (tree of stone) is also in the Siloli Desert. It is a striking and much photographed example of the many mind-boggling rock formations found in the Bolivian Southwest.

This is a field of rocks found near the Arbol. Later we would cross a small desert called the "Salvador Dali Desert." Salvador Dali came to mind long before we reached there.


In mid-afternoon we reached Laguna Colorada (red lake), our desination for the day. Dang if it wasn't red. It was very cold and windy as well. However, the white in the pictures is not snow, it's borax, the lake's red color comes from algae. Flamingoes seemed to enjoy the red Laguna Colorada as well as they do the stinky Laguna Hedionda.

Bolivia, 2001