Slow Loris seen on the Salar

I felt much better in the morning but over breakfast looked the the map. It took 200 kms of rippio to get here and although a different road it was going to take another 200kms to get to Potosi. I was really concerned that the road was shown as the same standard on my map and really did not want to put myself or my bike through that again.

 I walked down the street to look around and was accosted by a guy selling tours of the Salar. I don't like doing the tourist thing but I had decided I wasn't in the mood to ride up there so I booked it. I also asked him about the road to Potosi. Not a problem after the first 30 kms it is all tarmac. That was music to my ears. I walked away having paid my money and was much happier than before.

I couldn't help checking with a polceman further up the street - he was even more positive. I just hope they are right!

Taking the kids to school - how is that for a hair! It goes with the national dress and many have such long pony tails.

 

Today is 18th May and it is a big day in the calendar so there was a parade by the army and speeches in the main square. One thing I noticed on my early moring walk was their passion for sweeping. If road sweeping became an Olympic sport they would be a shoe-in for Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The tour started at 10:30 and i was in a 4 x 4 with 3 Japanese and 2 Chileans.

First we went to the Train Cemetary. These old things had taken the minerals from the mines but when the mines stopped so did the trains. I am sure Dad would have loved it but I am also sure he would have wept that such beasts had been left to such neglect.

I tried to see if any were English but all the plates are long gone.

Lots of grotty grafiti on the poor old things but this formula amused me (not the 4 people larking around on the train).Tom, what is the equation and is it Einsteins?

After that we headed to the worlds biggest Salar by some margin - 12,000 sq kilometers of the stuff at 3,650 meters. At first you enter where they commercially harvest the salt.

 Then to the "museum" which is made of rock salt and doesn't look like it has been open for some years.

The sign on the back was probably due to the erosion male tourists were having on their walls. The old adage of "never eat yellow snow" also applies to salt!

Our driver Roberto served a very decent chicken salad, all in the price of £12.

At this point we went to a remote part of the Salar. This is stunning. You can not see the edge of the salt, you can't event tell where you have come from. the Salt is so hard the cars don't leave tyre marks.

The salt drys in hexagons, pentagons and the occassional square, seems odd to me, I would have thought it would be uniform.

After this spot he took us to the "eyes of the salar". On the way he created a pot hole ( just a weak bit of the salt). He reversed to show us. The crystals are in layers, the thick layer on top is old and the new fresh crystals are the newly forming ones underneath.

For those that are paying attention you will remember that most of the water is ground water forced up from the rocks below. This is it in action

I felt a bit of a fraud doing the trip by 4 x4 rather than bike but i am sure I got a lot more out of it than if I had just ridden to the place.

One last thing, the moment at least 2 people have been waiting for! A Slow Loris Impression!

For those of you who haven't got a clue what I am talking about: try this link to the cutest creature in the world!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ5ACLVjYwM