26th December, Boxing day and onwards to Cafayate

A monument to the Bolivian army in the centre of Uyuni to commemorate the Pacific War when Bolivia was robbed of its access to the sea and the territory was ceded by Chile.

It was a long drive to take the road back to Potosi and onwards to the Bolivian - Argentinian border. There were some interesting geological formations as we drove along the road.

The plan was to camp near the border and them get up early to be first in the queue. It was a slow border and can take up to four hours. 

However we were making good time and in the late afternoon we decided to take a look at the queues for the crossing. Surprisingly there were no queues, but after all it was Boxing Day so we decided to cross anyway. We were through both Bolivian and Argentina checks and document checks and filling in forms in under an hour. So were drove through the arts mountains and found a bush camp.

Next day it was a drive to Salta and out campsite which was in the grounds of Ximena, which claimed to be the largest open air swimming pool in the world.

Our truck parked up under a tree with the awning out... as it was raining.

My tent pitched on the edge of the pool with long views up the pool.

My view of the pool.

The 1930's style main building.

The next day it was a drive up a scenic valley to Cafayate.

There were a lot of red rocks as a result of the amount of iron oxide in the sandstone.

On place en route had a wonderful canyon carved by a tributary into the valley sides, like a slot canyon.

At the head of the canyon was a high waterfall which plunged over the different strata of rock.

The almost unnoticeable entrance to the canyon and the waterfall beyond.

Another stop en route was at Los Tres Cruces, a mirador or lookout up the valley and the colours are true, it really is that red and green.

O close up of one of the trees in the valley with tiny leaves and green bark.

At the top of the river is the flat former lake bed where Cafayate sits which boasts 330 days of sun a year and is an important although small wine producing area.

And of course it hosts a large number of vineries or bodegas, this was the first one and I visited four before returning to the hostel as I had had enough of wine tasting. although some people went on to try several more.

At one winery we saw several humming birds but this was the only decent shot that I got with my pocket camera.

Christmas Day 25th December

So for a difference, I had a very different Christmas Day compared to those that I am used to doing. We went in two Jeeps to the salt flats, and `i was in the second Jeep and had a view of the Jeep in front.

The horizon in the distance was a long way away and emphasised how big the flats are and how far the hills were away.

And I just had to pose for the camera on top of a pile of salt.

\Next was a moment made in salt after the Dakar rally came through the area in 2014.

A view of the two Jeeps.

The Salt Hotel, a building on the flats made entirely of salt blocks. And there were several statues and other items carved out of salt blocks.

We stopped on the whitish place that we could find to take photos.

A picture of the salt showing the hexagonal pattern of the slat flats.

A long shot of the island in the salt flats the we were going to visit, with a slight mirage effect.

The island was covered with cactuses.

A close up of one of the cactus pants in bloom.

And a picture of the same plant from the beach.

And then it was Chrismas lunch cum supper. We had the rest of the day to got the BBQ going, roast the chicken, peel potatoes, fry onions, cook squash etc but much of the preparation work had already bee done by Kim and Gareth.

Some of the hors d'ourvres were great such as these before the gannets pinched all the
food.

Pinayeda...and such a good party game. the striker is blindfolded and spun around. each person has one strike at hitting the box with a baseball and eventually the dos breaks and cascades sweets and small toys to the floor which is the signal for everyone to scramble forward and grab whatever they can.

Followed by me doing an impression of The Titanic iconic scene on one of the many rusting locos and rolling stock in the train cemetery.
                                               

And a scenic railway locomotive / sunset picture. There were so many locos and rolling stock photos but after the few locos yesterday, I restricted myself to just two...but I have another thirty if anyone is interested!

And tomorrow we will have another day.

The Mint in Potosi and trip to Uyuni 23rd - 24th December

A beautiful church building in Potosi

But there is never a good photo of a vouch nearby.

Or another white one with an orange strip and black tyres.

From Potosi, we took the desert road to Uyuni, passing over a railway which was going to the same place.

and there was desert,

and sand,

and occasional shrub in the desert.

On the way the road passed a mining site, not an important place but it had a lot of history. It was the second largest silver mine when it was in operation and it is easy to see some of the mineralisation.

More of the same mineralisation with distinctive  colours in the rock.

There were plenty of great engineering opportunities such as this turntable.

A  great 0-2-0 engine.

And there were plenty of other opportunities to see some great engineering which has regrettably has just been left to rot.

But there is a lot of history such as this railway carriage which was ambushed by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

It was a bit of a derelict site which the locals would walk through every day. This was the major control centre.

And here is the building where the manager and originator of the mine lived with direct access to the mine workings.

This is El Chiripa, the first locomotive one the country.

The landscape was scenic and rose to a ridge around which the road and the railway wound their way around until....

we were at the edge of the ridge overlooking Uynui and the slat flats just a little way beyond. And tomorrow was to be Christmas Day.