So Close, So Far: The Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.

 
This recent Air France TV commercial may have attracted your attention: Two dancers perform a pas de deux, a duet on a salt mirror in the middle of a desert landscape. To add hip to the beauty of the scenery, Air France chose the well-named dancer Benjamin Millepied (mille pieds means thousand feet in French), retired New York City Ballet principal dancer, choreographer of the film Black Swan and husband of the actress Natalie Portman. The shoot took place in a remote part of the Bolivian altiplano, the mythical Salar de Uyuni.

                       
                         Extract of the video clip “l’Envol” by Air France.

The Salar (salt flat in Spanish) is one of these places so close distance-wise but so far logistically speaking. This blogger had several times tried to travel there but saw her plans dashed at the last minute. This article is written out of the frustration of organizing a trip to Uyuni. Fortunately there might be is a window of opportunity next October. Stay tuned.
The Salar de Uyuni is located in the south-west corner of Bolivia in the Andean Cordillera. It the world’s largest salt plain covering some 10,000 square kilometers. It contains more than 10 billion tons of salt and 50 to 70% of the world’s lithium reserves (lithium is used in batteries).

                                
                                 Satellite picture of the Salar de Uyuni.

This region is a world of nature superlatives. Nothing compares to it: its geological setting, geothermal springs, brine lakes, flora, fauna and history make the place unique and fascinating. It is a photographer’s dream. Colors of the scenery change by the minute. The clash of colors is awesome as the surrounding reddish-yellow sierras and volcanoes reflect in the white salt flat as in a vast extraterrestrial mirror.

                                   
                                  Picture freely downloaded from the Web

As the advertisement implies, Air France may fly you hassle-free from Paris to Bolivia, a landlocked country. In case you live in Rio de Janeiro, you have no such luck, as not a single airline will deliver you non-stop to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. La Paz is only 2700 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro, not that far by South American standards. Brazilians don’t go to Bolivia in general and to Uyuni in particular. Brazilians who never felt very latinos in the first place, predominantly enjoy traveling to the United States and Europe. Well-healed Brazilians occasionally explore their own vast country whose landmarks are usually more expensive to reach and enjoy than Miami or Lisbon. Brazilians eventually visit their hermanos of Argentina and Chile (both countries are renowned for their good wine); but rarely venture beyond these urban locations; places like Bolivia are still very much terras incognitas.
Uyuni appeals to the more adventurous travelers. From Rio, it is a 24 hour long slog to fly to La Paz; it takes two different airlines, three separate tickets, and an overnight lay-over before landing at La Paz El Alto airport, 4061 meters above sea level, with possible altitude sickness as a bonus upon arrival.
The next step is to fly to the lovely colonial town of Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia. This is the easy part of the adventure. It takes another 9 hours on a dusty trek on the Altiplano to reach Uyuni. As there is not much money to be made on this labor-intensive itinerary, travel agents don’t cater to this breed of exotic travelers.
This is not to say that the Salar de Uyuni is a no man’s land, quite to the contrary. Many people visit the region during the dry season between July and November in the southern hemisphere winter; they are mostly backpackers from Europe. They come by bus and join local tour companies for a three to four day, 4wheel drive tour. They commonly squeeze six to seven in each vehicle. This thrifty option is by far the most popular. Travelers looking for a more comfortable visit have unfortunately little option. This blogger knows firsthand. It is either feast of famine!
A luxury alternative is offered by a posh resort in San Pedro de Atacama in Chile south of the border. The week-long package costs a whooping US$ 10,000, airfare not included.
After an extensive Internet search, this blogger discovered a tour operator in London who offers a comfortable ten day package for less than half the above price. The solo traveler will enjoy her own 4X4, driver and guide. Oddly, the tour was even cheaper than a similar itinerary quoted by a travel agency in Rio! The great adventure is finally planned for mid-October.
Up to now, if dancing takes place on the salt mirror it will be a solo number unless one or two travel companions join this surreal escapade.