Bolivia, the salar of Iyuni

Took off Friday for a 4 day trip to Bolivia, which I recommend to anyone coming to this side of the world.
I ended up sharing a 4X4 jeep with 4 other travelers: 3 germans and 1 canadian, good group. It was just us and the Bolivian driver driving through the incredible landscapes of Southern Bolivia. Now that´s the way to visit!
I can´t put in words all the beauty I saw in the last 48hrs, my brain is still processing everything. I´ll post pictures but they can´t capture the grandiosity (is that word?) of the landscapes: from sand deserts to rocky deserts, through canyons and valleys, through llama and alcapa herds (hundreds of them) and tiny villages, back to deserts, geysers, and volcanos. My brain was on overdrive the whole time. The first day we stopped by lagoons of unimaginable colors: green, white, red. The contrast with the mountains and the desert in the background was just magnificient. You feel like a miniscule creature next to these amazing sites. The second day was mostly driving but we made numerous stops to take in the surroundings and pose with llamas and vicunas. We had lunch in this little town made of mud bricks, homemade of course, at someone´s house (probably the driver´s cousin or something). The food hasn´t been the highlight of the trip so far...mostly pasta, rice, cucumbers, tomotoes, and always soup to start with. But that´s ok, it fills us up enough. No sweets though...so I´m in major sugar withdrawal. Anyways, back to the trip. We ended up playing ´marelle´ (don´t know the name in english...hopscotch maybe?) with the two little kids in the courtyard. Very fun. Back on the road, we continued absorbing the scenery. Not sure how the driver knows where to go, as there´s no road per se, just tracks. When we´re in the desert, it´s like the Paris-Dakkar just went through: dozens of tracks going over the dunes and crossing each other. Somehow though, the driver knew which one to follow.
The first night we spent in a refuge by this red lagoon. The view was great, but the facilities very basic. No running water. Cold rooms. Thank god for the 2 alpaca blankets- they weigh a ton- but still, not a very comfortable night. The second night was in this cute little hostal close to the Iyuni salar...so grateful for a hot shower and comfy bed.
Finally on the 3rd day, we made it to the salar: just out of this world. You do feel like on the moon, or maybe on the north pole. You can actually drive through the salt flat, so when you get in the middle, all you see is white all around on all horizons. We took fun pics you´ll see, as you can use the salt flat as a blue screen. We drove to this little island in the middle, which we could climb and admire the salar from ontop. Just spectacular. It had rained not long ago, so you could see puddles here and there, making the whole site even more surreal.
After some obligatory stops at the salt hotel and some artisanal stands selling stuff made of salt, we drove into the actual town of Iyuni- pure chaos. The market was spread across the main street, quite folkloric. The Bolivian women, plump and with 2 long black braids, similar to the Chilean women up north, use these colorful blankets to carry their babies on their back, all the while balancing this funny top hat. You can feel the hardship of their lives and the wear and tear of the weather on their faces. The kids are cute, with their nose running, and their clothes in need of urgent repair.
After a llama steak for lunch, I´m heading back to the tour agency to catch my bus back to San Pedro...a lot of driving ahead, but all worth it! Not only for all the beauty, but spiritually as well. Feels like my shoulders are so much lighter and that things are coming together. Feeling geat. Wish I could share this energy with all of you in cold NY or grey Paris!!!
PS: made the long trip back to San Pedro, quite an adventure. Turns out I got my ´personal´driver...drove until night time (about 3hrs) on Monday to this little village in the mountains. Slept in this want-to-be hostal: cold room with 3 beds. Dinner= soup, as usual, mashed potato and hot dog (and mark my words that´s the last one I eat!). The driver was worried he wouldn´t get up in the am so he ended up sleeping in my room, since I had an alarm clock. Imagine in the US, if that would fly! He was innocent, not to worry. Up at 4:45am to drive another 4hrs to the border, and another hour into Chile. As if I didn´t get enough driving, I´m getting on a 16hr bus ride to La Serena tonight...mind you I haven´t taken a shower in 3 days now... poor neighbor on the bus! hehe.