I managed to scrounge enough money together (despite the power cuts and non-functioning ATMs) to get myself on a tour leaving the next day to see the Salar, the Lagunas and the deserts toward the Chilean border.
The first big stop was Isla del Pescado (so named for its shape), with the blinding white of the salt flats stretching toward the mountains in the distance.
Seeing people ride their bikes across the flats was reasonably common; but the tiny spots cycling along slightly darker paths on the immense white plains were an impressive sight to behold.
When the contrast on the pictures is turned way up, all the tire tracks criss-crossing the salt are visible. We were told that in high season, as many as 40 vehicles with up to 7 tourists on board would arrive at the island to have lunch and then scramble to the top. Luckily for us, there were only 8 vehicles there with us.
...and if you waited long enough and mucked around with your camera for ages whilst at the top, all the eagerly scrambling tourists would go down again in a bit of a hurry and leave you all alone for an hour or so before your jeep left.
The scenery was quite surreal, with the pure white of the salt, the deep blue of the skies, the green cacti and the scorching sun.
The mountains bordering the salt flats were hardly more than slight shadows in the distance.
Looking down toward the "carpark" side of the island from the top.
Characteristic patterns of the salt flats, a little farther out from the island
Need I say more?
Our vehicle had basically no tread left on the tires and a cracked windscreen but a safe and fun driver who was quite young. The tires weren't much of a problem on the salt flats (even though we had to help out another vehicle with our in-built compressor on the way) but when we finally got to the mountainous part, where the ride was very rough at times, I was very surprised the tires held up.
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