A-C-B: Salar Uyuni, Dakar, and Isla Incahuasi

The next morning, October 30th, I took more photos of the Hotel Luna Salada, the "Salt Hotel," before we departed.

The hallway is covered in salt, but the staff can cope with getting your luggage to your room. Moving wheeled luggage by yourself is problematic.

The main hall sports a series of alcoves.

Each one has a different design.

 The dining room was more conventional,

A wooden floor is much more practical here.

 and sported a wonderful view in the early light.

Then Samuel drove Carlos, Joan, and me deeper into the largest salt flat in the world, the Salar de Uyuni.

Here a crust of salt lies over brine-saturated sediments. Sometimes water bubbles up.

These are easy to avoid.

The salt is collected.

When the salt is for local use, the work is done by hand.

If it's to be shipped elsewhere, the harvest may be more mechanized.

It was a short drive to the Dakar Rally memorial. This off-road race has passed through the salar every year since 2014, after moving to South America in 2009 due to security problems in Mauritania.

Nearby is the modest Hotel Playa Blanca, the first salt hotel. It failed to thrive due to its isolated location, which created problems with water supply and waste disposal.

We bought a couple of postcards, which gained us permission to wander through the interior.

Yes, another salt hotel. What did you expect?

 A wide shot of the common area.
 
Flags representing the nations of the rally participants were clustered outside.

After another drive, Samuel introduced us to a bit of tourist fun -- optical illusions on the salar.

Joan shrinks her husband.

Then he shrinks the car!

Samuel poses Carlos.

The salt flat fills a large valley, as you've seen, but the old hills and volcanoes have become islands,

Salar de Uyuni is sometimes called Thunupa/Tunupa

and the most prominent is the Isla Incahuasi. At first it looked inconspicuous. As we drew closer I thought I saw tourists climbing all over it, but those figures turned out to be cacti!

The parking area and buildings were hidden on the far side of the island from our approach.

We decided to take the time to explore. Steps are involved.

One of the dazzling views along the top.

The thin air gives the sun an extra punch.

On August 1st each year a ceremony giving thanks to the Mother Earth is repeated. We encountered respect for the indigenous tradition of honoring the Mother Earth, Pachamama, several times on our journey.

Here we met a fellow from Seattle and his guide, with whom we chatted.

A black-hooded sierra finch both rested and foraged on cacti.

A blossom closeup.

There are tunnels in this mountain peak; its torturous history includes volcanic activity, submergence in a lake, and emergence as the salt flat formed. Here Carlos leads the way.

Among the nooks and crannies of Isla Incahuasi there also lurk the furry viscacha.

Looks like a rabbit, but it's a case of convergent evolution.

After visiting the island it was time to drive off the salt flat and head for lunch. There was much more to be seen today, but that'll be in the next blog post.