The lunar landscapes of South-western Bolivia, lagoons and salt flats were probably among the most anticipated of the landscapes around the world, one stage of our journey strong and there, a home waiting ... So to explore this fantastic area, we considered our experience of Ha Long Bay and we opted for the safety ... First, we chose to listen to the valuable advice of a German couple who met in the Pantanal as we had explained the tower from Tupiza , although more expensive, avoid being in caravans of tourists from Uyuni. Then because we took the 3 days spent in Tupiza to tour agencies and choose not only the formula of 5 days rather than the traditional 4 (for more time on the Salar), but the agency that one "felt" the best one among which was best received, one in which we stayed a long discussion with his two young and friendly tenants, I named: LLIP Tour. It mentions only rarely names, preferring to look "travel guide" the side "sensations travel", and putting the coup emphasis on companies or hotels that are our true heart strokes. LLIP Tour and our 5-day jeep now part.
So we start with three passengers, lack of people interested in this format out format, and we leave a day which is "Paro dia" (day off) for the inhabitants of Tupiza. These claiming tarring a gateway to the city, will be closed on the day of our departure, shops, but also roads, making it impossible to set starting at 9am. So we start at 5am to avoid the barrier preventing the movement of entry or exit from the city. In full darkness, wrapped in our thick anti-cold, we'll meet William, our driver, Stalia, our cook, and Sylvaine, French adventurer who will accompany us during these five days. Despite the fatigue in these early hours, we take our ease in the huge jeep (for up to 6 people where you are laa 3) getting to know. Sylvia spent the first 6 months of his sabbatical year in India and spends the second half in South America. The tone is set: the conversation rolling (by raising the foam of our sympathy!) Very fast on politics! And yes, it's 6 o'clock in the morning that they redid the better world! Sylvan starts and go to the bombardment of questions to William on the changes underway in Bolivia. It is true, and laa I feel that I am part of a paragraph to make that big stages just been completed here and others yet to come. The first indigenous president, Evo Morales, fought long against the inaction of a few wealthy "white" country (in high places it is) to get its new constitution. While strolling through the country one can not but see how much "constitution vote if" and other "free Bolivia" that line the walls of houses ... In fact, after many refusals opponents attached to their small privileges (they are everywhere, those ...), Evo Morales was finally able to get that constitution which gives everyone the right to self-identification, which punishes discrimination and is thus finally enter the natives the right to vote ... Right, right civil protection, right of non-aggression, as many apparent when evidence of the proportion of indigenous population, but as far as many legal loopholes. So you ask: and nationalization advocated by the president? And coca leaf chewed by the United Nations? And representativeness of the people? Sylvan is full of questions and William shows the least prolific in this respect it seems to master (like many natives here). And France in all this? And our constitution? When will the review? Account for white votes so that our beloved President can not say that 56% of French people have elected or actually switch to a parliamentary system so that "minor parties" finally win representation? The discussion is lively, Sylvia is extremely cultured and interesting ... and her mother is ... We are discussing a trade unionist and learn ... How exciting exchange! I'll spare you of course our judgments of value ("Nicolas Sarkozy is a bad", "you'll see that by making small (even smaller??) Over the last year, he will get re-elected") but well, let's say we get well on our dissatisfaction and our astonishment to see the absence of the left in French politics (or should I say sarkos). While thinking? That the growls will eventually get well and that Nicolas Sarkozy will go down in history as the man who raised the second French revolution? Or, as the frog (placing in a vat of water that is gradually heated, it does not feel the numbing heat and when the water is hot enough to cook it, the little frog no longer has the energy to jump out of the tank), the tolerance level of people rises gradually accepting what was now intolerable 6 months ago, accepting our unacceptable in today's 6 mois? En résumé : quand va-t-on enfin réagir en France??
Et pendant tout ce temps, les paysages défilent… Du Sillar, magnifique canyon où nous nous sommes arrêtés pour voir le lever du jour, nous avons gagné de grandes étendues de steppe montagneuses
So we start with three passengers, lack of people interested in this format out format, and we leave a day which is "Paro dia" (day off) for the inhabitants of Tupiza. These claiming tarring a gateway to the city, will be closed on the day of our departure, shops, but also roads, making it impossible to set starting at 9am. So we start at 5am to avoid the barrier preventing the movement of entry or exit from the city. In full darkness, wrapped in our thick anti-cold, we'll meet William, our driver, Stalia, our cook, and Sylvaine, French adventurer who will accompany us during these five days. Despite the fatigue in these early hours, we take our ease in the huge jeep (for up to 6 people where you are laa 3) getting to know. Sylvia spent the first 6 months of his sabbatical year in India and spends the second half in South America. The tone is set: the conversation rolling (by raising the foam of our sympathy!) Very fast on politics! And yes, it's 6 o'clock in the morning that they redid the better world! Sylvan starts and go to the bombardment of questions to William on the changes underway in Bolivia. It is true, and laa I feel that I am part of a paragraph to make that big stages just been completed here and others yet to come. The first indigenous president, Evo Morales, fought long against the inaction of a few wealthy "white" country (in high places it is) to get its new constitution. While strolling through the country one can not but see how much "constitution vote if" and other "free Bolivia" that line the walls of houses ... In fact, after many refusals opponents attached to their small privileges (they are everywhere, those ...), Evo Morales was finally able to get that constitution which gives everyone the right to self-identification, which punishes discrimination and is thus finally enter the natives the right to vote ... Right, right civil protection, right of non-aggression, as many apparent when evidence of the proportion of indigenous population, but as far as many legal loopholes. So you ask: and nationalization advocated by the president? And coca leaf chewed by the United Nations? And representativeness of the people? Sylvan is full of questions and William shows the least prolific in this respect it seems to master (like many natives here). And France in all this? And our constitution? When will the review? Account for white votes so that our beloved President can not say that 56% of French people have elected or actually switch to a parliamentary system so that "minor parties" finally win representation? The discussion is lively, Sylvia is extremely cultured and interesting ... and her mother is ... We are discussing a trade unionist and learn ... How exciting exchange! I'll spare you of course our judgments of value ("Nicolas Sarkozy is a bad", "you'll see that by making small (even smaller??) Over the last year, he will get re-elected") but well, let's say we get well on our dissatisfaction and our astonishment to see the absence of the left in French politics (or should I say sarkos). While thinking? That the growls will eventually get well and that Nicolas Sarkozy will go down in history as the man who raised the second French revolution? Or, as the frog (placing in a vat of water that is gradually heated, it does not feel the numbing heat and when the water is hot enough to cook it, the little frog no longer has the energy to jump out of the tank), the tolerance level of people rises gradually accepting what was now intolerable 6 months ago, accepting our unacceptable in today's 6 mois? En résumé : quand va-t-on enfin réagir en France??
Et pendant tout ce temps, les paysages défilent… Du Sillar, magnifique canyon où nous nous sommes arrêtés pour voir le lever du jour, nous avons gagné de grandes étendues de steppe montagneuses
et, de virages en virages, nous apprenons à différencier les vigognes des lamas. Un tapis couleur crème d’herbes battues par le vent froid, un ciel bleu vif, des sommets qui se dessinent au loin, et la route qui s’étend à perte de vue. Ces paysages incroyables pour nous sont le quotidien désertique de certains bergers. En rajoutant la notion that the elevation of breath and refreshed, we can understand all the harshness of the lives of these men who at some point in their migration, chose to take up residence here! Fortunately for them, explains William, the price of the llama has risen sharply over the past 15 year, not only with the marketing of the wool of the beast, but also the meat, thereby resulting in a rise in living standards of local people. We finally arrive at San Pablo de Lipez that we cross before we stop to eat in San Antonio de Lipez. The food is abundant, carefully prepared by Stalia in the night ... What a job! A small turn in the "museum" of the wedge (three stones in two windows) and we resume the road to Laguna Morejon where we observe the first flamingos.
Here the banks are full of a white deposit (OPC?), Which served as a shampoo but the Incas, to have detergent properties, is dangerous for our hair with shampoo known Industrial: that we nuke all the hair! In the distance, the volcano Uturuncu and some 6000 feet high dominates, flanked by snow. Go is not everything but it was still 1200 km to do on our 5 days, including most of the top 3 then we queue management Quetena Chica, a small village with houses made of mud, our host for tonight. A spacious room with beds "matrimonial" opens its doors ... A coca tea, the biscuits and nice warm presence of us William. There is at least 3500 m and it curdles! A hearty meal, a repetition of salsa to the amusement of William and lie on file. This first day has the promise of the wonders of day that we wait to see!
After waking up the morning before we had well earned the right to sleep until 7:00! Stalia takes care to regale us with breakfast and we take the road towards Quetena Grande, largest town in his land that his neighbor Chica, but has yet far fewer homes. Today thousand wonders await us, starting with Kollpa Laguna, crossing the small salar Chalviri and "Rocas de Dali". This unlikely place mixing bursts of black rocks fell from who knows where in a stretch of sand hills, was home to the inspiration of the painter Dali and was subsequently named as the Lonely Planet! " Hence, we begin to measure how lucky we had hitherto been alone with so much beauty in our coming meeting since Chile is the parade of jeeps tourists ... We are delighted to have chosen from Tupiza and veins on the Laguna Verde. Famous for its vivid green color, it is in these early hours the cold that has entered the lagoon and shows less green mirror the fact that the film of ice that paralyzed its waters! Never mind, we find equally splendid contemplation of Licancabur reflected in it.
It culminates in no less than 5916 meters above sea level and housed at the time of the Incas, the sacrifices of children Dedicated to providing a good harvest to the people. Between perception of the honor of giving the child a popularly elected to the Inca gods and feel maternal grief at the thought of being deprived of the child that was growing in her womb, my empathy oscillates and I look at this volcano with admiration mingled with disgust ... But soon the sun from 11am warms the waters of the lagoon and the reflection of the volcano gives way to the appearance of a green color more pronounced. 
William is disappointed, he said that the lagoon is usually a much more vivid green. For us, the contemplation of this landscape was already changing colors gorgeous ... But it's time to leave. We stop looking, curious, the natural scenes on the back of Dali 
and stop doing the baths for extended periods. 
And there, what is our surprise to see how the place, virgin 1h ago when one is filed Stalia to go, is now literally flooded with tourists! They are no less than fifteen jeeps that it be adopted lunch and we watch with amusement, the many tourists who wade in a pool of hot water now too small 
while we prefer breakfast waiting quietly as the train moves away! This was done 45 minutes later ... The pool with thermal water is for us! 
Scarf, first pole, second pole, t-shirt, ski pants, shoes, socks, diapers fall sadly but soon the little toe chilly water tastes and smiled: she is hot! What a delight to slip slowly into the enveloping warmth of the pool (about 35 degrees) while outside the cold raging ... We
enjoy the calm and the frame, leaving from in front of the caravans of tourists Mumm ... ... As we are happy to be there! Even Stalia it just soak your feet! 
At the exit, the body has stored enough heat is gentle as we leave the skin dry in the sun before returning to the cozy successive layers of clothing. On the way towards the geysers, boiling mud finally
and fumes of sulfur should be said! 
The day progresses, with a lot of caramels, lollipops, parade of desert landscapes et de soleil sur fond de ciel immensément bleu. Soucieux d’arriver parmi les premiers, le duo William et sa mère Stalia qui vielle au grain (copilote de Paris-Dakar aux regards furtifs vers derrière pour s’assurer que nous ne sommes pas suivis!) nous débarque illico presto à Huallajara, village qui nous hébergera pour la nuit. On place nos sacs dans une chambre, Stalia réserve la table près du poêle et on remonte dans la jeep pour filer, désormais sereins quant à notre sort de cette nuit, vers la laguna colorada. Celle-ci est entrée en lice pour figurer parmi les 7 nouvelles merveilles de la nature et nous comprenons pourquoi au sortir de la jeep. Une étendue d’eau rouge sur fond de montagnes, surrounded by the whiteness of borax (I'm not sure of the name ...), a product used (and exported) for the manufacture of explosives, and living place of many colonies of pink flamingos ... 
We 
're in love. William gave us the opportunity to enjoy the site for a while and we walk on the shores of this beautiful lagoon to immerse ourselves more of the site.
and its sights should we say! We Then join our shelter for them to appreciate the taste of Stalia (when it does not even let yourself go!) and his gargantuan meals. It must be said that the mama is trying to get into the story of the war machines of the food.
Because not content to regale us with every meal, that is, hidden behind her braids and traditional clothing, she spends her day eating! Lunch is not finished? That's okay, it will make its 4:00 in the jeep! It remains coca (yes it is because we, the multinational ...)? C’est pas un problème, elle va s’envoyer le litron dans la journée! Quant aux caramels, on n’est pas dupes et on voit bien que le niveau du paquet baisse bien plus vite que notre consommation! Et voila Sylvaine illuminée par la grâce qui lui trouve son surnom, de circonstance : “Cocaramel“! On passe une chouette soirée arrosée à l’un des alcools locaux, la liqueur de café au cognac et on ferme bientôt les yeux sur les images magnifiques emmagasinées aujourd’hui.
Tout le monde part quasiment en même temps en ce troisième jour et c’est en toute indépendance que Cocaramel se lance dans son autre tache du trip : la vente de bijoux et barrettes all kinds of girls around! And he should see how all the glitz and glitter snapped!
Tout le monde part quasiment en même temps en ce troisième jour et c’est en toute indépendance que Cocaramel se lance dans son autre tache du trip : la vente de bijoux et barrettes all kinds of girls around! And he should see how all the glitz and glitter snapped!
After this interlude commercial, we arrive at the foot of the famous stone tree, greeted by a fairly impressive amount of tourists. We decided to take a little altitude until the site is empty, preferring the solitude of the surrounding desert and mountains reminiscent of the colors quebradas the wonderful world of Lonely Planet. Down now stands ocher stone blocks taking improbable shapes dictated by the laws of the erosion of desert. It is here that the tree Stone defies the laws of gravity: as said Matthew, who mocks me in writing long laborious because of the article "tree of stone, where the rock is crumbly and fragile, whose top is heavier than the basis by everybody wonders how it is! Voila!
We leave the site of the veins and brittle rock in the desert.
Before us stands a hotel absolutely exorbitant price of 100 euros per night per person! And it seems he is booked several months in advance! Then under the gaze of Cocaramel anxious, worried whether we is followed, that we are moving willy-nilly on rough tracks to reach a portion of the runway so improbable that we are all forced to get off the jeep and it is under the careful guidance of Cocaramel his son ventured on down!
Frankly, we really believed that the infernal duo explored a new way! But no, the "shortcut" was known and we have even saves over 10 minutes on the other competitors ...?! The trail eventually leads to the feet of a succession of lagoons with names impossible.
At each stop William, former engineer, is the hands-on and saves the jeep in a poor state of competitors ...! We really fell with this duo, worthy of the greatest westerns! We finally elect the lagoon and flamingos Canapa for lunch 
soon joined by many from jeeps Uyuni. After lunch, we make a new stop at the viewpoint of the volcano Ollague, semi-active volcano that projects its fumaroles in the sky.
Again, packets of "Yareta" protected species as endangered of being one of the only timber resources of the region: its deep roots indeed offer a good amount of wood, but if you touch any part of the plant, c is all it dies. 
the volcano, we are committed in the small salar Chiguana cross the railway line that connects Uyuni to Chile, the Salar de Laguani skirt and crossing fields of quinoa now, finally arrived at nightfall at Hotel Puerto Chubica salt, near the huge Salar de Uyuni.
Hotel that hosts us for this night is aptly named: walls, floors, tables, chairs and bed mattresses are made entirely of salt. 
A good night's sleep on it and it's very early as we head towards the salar to admire the sunrise. The show is as you might imagine: spectacular.
We are now alone in the middle of the salar, all other jeeps had chosen the same island to stop. The salt is hard, do not even mark the tire tracks of our jeep and only the heavy breathing of the crack come salar disrupt the white expanse.
Indeed, consisting of several layers (salt, dirt, water and also gas), the employee creates the cracks like so many lines to remove air and gases trapped within it. 
So a succession of white pallets out of sight which are now gradually illuminated by the sunlight that pierces the skyline. Magic show that this festival of colors on both the employee and the surrounding mountains, whose outlines are drawn in charcoal the shadow play dictated by the day. 
The emotion of this landscape still leaves room for imagination and shadows of our bodies running at leisure on the flat ground disproportionate are the result of our fun ... William, meanwhile , was taken to Rocky and gets her little morning jog. Hat! Once illuminated the Salar, we go back in the jeep to spin on one of 22 islands in the salar y for breakfast. Here is the feast of viscachas, sort of bunnies at the tail long and vaguely corkscrew,
and cacti. 
We took the opportunity to walk around, take time to admire the incredible scenery that stretches before our eyes. We do will repeat it enough: the luxury of time! A huge breakfast later, we went to the Isle of Pescador, who wears misreported the name assigned to another island but that is the salar for tourists. Why? Because there are no toilets meet complex and pragmatically Cocaramel! And yes, here it ticket, public toilets and roads that are marked law. Only Never mind, we made our case and leave in the middle of giant cacti go around this small island. Above, an altar was erected in honor of Pachamama, altar that receives offerings of tourists: bracelet, coins, coca leaves, but also fake $ 100 bill and business cards! Cocaramel, which was found there, explains that here a year ago, held an incredible accident. A collision of two vehicles that have full tanks caught fire so ... All 16 passengers were charred dead ... A lack of understanding for the premises as the employee is immense room for cross unlimited. So Cocaramel interpreter "This is the Pachamama. Here are some local steal money given as an offering. Pachamama has reminded her thieves. " The dark side of the Pachamama, finally, a belief which features a quality of love and its opposite, and finally a religion that teaches its followers that, like any man, is not good or bad in itself, everyone has the right and wrong, it's everyone to play these two opposites and fight every day against the dark part in it, obviously. Finally a religion that does not rank immediately as good or bad a being who belongs therefore the good or evil, but who judges the ability that each individual has to develop personally in the fight against effusion easy to evil. Finally a humane religion that teaches compassion (to a bad action) and gives a judge be a whole and not an isolated action, good or bad. We appreciate this dichotomy that contrasts so much with our Manichean Judeo-Christian culture of the struggle of good against evil as if they were two separate entities ... Coming down to the edge of the Salar, Stalia is now showing more relaxed with us and enjoy our cameras (they were told that they would make a CD pictures), invites us to take a picture jumping into the window frame!
Who knew! Some cacti and later the Salar de Uyuni we tickle the brain and now, under the direction of Master William, we're off for the photo shoot! Is that it offers a vast white universe of possible attractive, here are some examples! 
And voila William and his mother piètent the pellets, for our pleasure!
We finally leave the island to reach the opposite end of the Salar, the city of Coquesa at the foot of the volcano Tunupa the 5400 meters that we had made up his mind to mount the next day!
For the moment, the majesty of the volcano dominates the stone walls of the village and llamas that graze there. A tour on the Salar to soak up the tranquility of the setting sun and keep the get warm. Cocaramel prepared us Piri, traditional Bolivian dish, a sort of big meal you eat while drinking mate de coca which, once in the mouth, forms a kind of bread. After that, we move on to the evening meal. It's good, it is rigged! Direction the bed for a few hours sleep before the famous ascent ... is at 6 o'clock in the morning we set sail. It goes in part to the first watchtower jeep, accompanied by a group that enjoys pleasure of hand made by the jeep on the first meters.
And then we go, armed with our bottles of water, 
for early from the climb. Fan of "shortcuts," William did we cut directly across the fields to go straight. We are already at 4000 meters above sea level and climb away ... slowly! The breath should take time to find oxygen and legs seem to tire more quickly. The summit appears suddenly, with its red rock, gray, orange and black and needles to 5400 meters. Finding the path we're heading towards the crater. The trail is sometimes only made of loose stones which could be the main feature of the malice you get a yard when your not trying to make you go two ... Argh! 42 43 44 ... I would not stop before the fateful bar 50 steps! Matthew, it follows a steady and relatively fast. 
It has put us all into it: William, who suffers from his knee and watching over us a little above me, and Sylvia and two Australians who took the train. Hhhhhhhhou ... a breather, and reinvigorate his legs is gone. 45 46 47, go! Here we go! The crater is now coming to close and I find myself all alone support me "Go girl!" (Pronounced "fi" so that it does well Breton! I feel like I have my grandparents in the head!)! And here we are, the crater opens its perfect form on his right flow, while taunting with their hands ... 5400 meters is already in front of Matthew and William was surprised, "You want to ride?". And how I'm going up! I am still not come there to let me be discouraged by the last mile! Go and say "Yeah, I had the opportunity to do a 5400 but no! I stopped before! "You're kidding! 48 49 50, go to My Daughter! Before us, we see that Matthew, not content with having reached "the top" (about 5200 meters only but the rest would be to scale), continues towards the snow. 
"It goes fast," say the men we have assembled here this morning and that they have not inherited the pseudo-shortcut William! Matthew has overtaken. Yeah it's fast! Normal, that's my nigga If ya want! A few more efforts and I am! Yyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiihhhhhhhhhouuuuuuuuu! 
The cry of joy was not too much! The sight, though deserved, is magnificent, while discovering the Salar de Uyuni under our feet, and seconded by the mountainous periphery, right, the Salar de Coipasa, showing the good side "overflow" of the Salar de Uyuni which at the time when the sea, distant by only a hundred kilometers (ah, that's why the seagulls !!!), has withdrawn, recovered salt water nearby. Sylvia joins us and we throw ourselves on food. Too great, the war machine of the food was well back in action and spreads before us a gargantuan buffet! It looks a little Matthew (if we wanted to go see) but he soon must come down. I let William and Sylvia take the ridge path while I'm off to meet my love. No obvious descent, but I'm glad to find the trick and now surfs easily on the trail of pebbles, in a "hunt-the-snow" looks like Gad! Taking advantage of this world to ourselves, Matthew and I elect the crater rim to enjoy the scenery and soon to dance the salsa world's tallest! Then we go down, much to our damn shoes that take full soles. Somewhat at random, we are moving in the area without way to go in the direction of Sylvia and William that we saw a little lower. It is quickly running when possible, because we have fallen behind. Matthew getting hungry ... It's noon and he did, him eat anything. But soon, one blank back of the monster, you come to join William and his guard-to-eat, stopped there on the advice of Sylvia, who had understood that it would be more reassuring to pursue every 4 rather than 2 groups ... Thanks! The second viewpoint and cairns tell us the way ... much more to get tired but not bad, here I am letting myself go to the slope arms dangling to gain speed! And that's it, we finally arrived at the car. Phew!
Before descending, we proceeded to "mummies" that are just steps away. In the shelter in a cave, perhaps a whole family of gas from the volcano victim was killed in their home of rock and are now there, intact, preserved by the incredibly cold and scarcity of bacteria at this altitude. It's amazing! Small bodies of dead human there are thousands of years (circa 4000-3500 BC) there are, incredibly real. There are even hair or nails on some of them.
Elsewhere around there are other mummies like these, part of which was exported to neighboring museums. But we are happy to enjoy this site intact, observation of these mummies in their natural environment. Maybe they will deteriorate faster? And then? He will always be those museums to testify and is pending in our opinion a good thing that leaves its mummies where they have always been, and that the visitor can discover them in their habitat. He was very hungry when we come to the table compiled by Stalia-Cocaramel. Once swallowed the meal, we left for the museum salt of the Salar. We take this opportunity to offer a drink (and of course eating chocolate for Cocaramel, let's be reassured!) Magicians of these 5 days. Depuis les moments photos du salar, nous avons vraiment apprécié la complicité du duo infernal, qui a du coup porté beaucoup la réussite de ces 5 jours. Gentillesse, douceur, bienveillance, culture, humour et connivence auront vraiment été les maîtres-mots de ce trip de Tupiza à Uyuni et c’est à regret, alors que l’on traverse la culture de sel,
que l’on quitte le salar, et bientôt la mère et son fils. Déposés à la tombée de la nuit devant un hôtel, on se donne rendez-vous pour leur donner le CD de photos quelques temps plus tard. Des embrassades, des remerciements. Le tour est terminé, il est temps de dire au Goodbye. Sylvan will remain with us one evening and leave the next day to Uyuni. As for us, we stay there another day to enjoy the rest of the writing and the internet. Uyuni is a tourist town and soon the flow of Israeli and Anglo-Saxons because of us. Seeking to fail in a small area of the Altiplano, is designated on the map ... Challapata nb: Thanks to Sylvia, with whom we shared our photos and is the author of some of the photos displayed in this Article ...
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