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"Yes, my strength is in solitude. I am neither afraid of stormy rains nor of great loose gusts, for I am also the dark of night."
Clarice Lispector
Near the crest of the Andes and is at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above sea level.
***
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni.
One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake.
Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
Havaianas (stylized as havaianas) is a Brazilian brand of flip-flop sandals created and patented in 1962.
The product's most well-known slogans are:
- 'The Legitimate Ones. Everybody Wears. Refuse Imitations.'
- 'They do not deform, they do not loose the strips and they do not smell.'
***
Standing in defiance of the desert-like landscape that surrounds it, Uyuni occupies a desolate corner of southwestern Bolivia. Mention Uyuni to a Bolivian and they will whistle and emphasize harto frío (extreme cold). Yet despite the icy conditions, the town has a cheerful buzz about it, with hundreds of travelers passing through every week to kick off their tour of Salar de Uyuni or the Southwest Circuit.
Founded in 1889 by Bolivian president Aniceto Arce, Uyuni remains an important military base. Tourism and mining are the other major sources of employment in the town. The world’s largest lithium reserve – about 100 million tons – lies beneath the neighboring salt flat, and could potentially fuel all the smart phones and electric cars the world could build over the next century. While work on building extraction and processing facilities has been proceeding slowly, expect more and more mining activity near Uyuni in the coming years.
Our guide-mechanic-driver and chef was Poli.
Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of a salt crust, which has an extraordinary leveling with variations of average altitude of less than one meter throughout the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of copper salt and a pool of brine, which is extremely rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves, a resource that is in the process of being mined. The large area, clear sky and exceptional leveling of the surface make Salar an ideal object to calibrate the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.
***
PS. After Bolivia, Elon Musk says capitalists can overthrow any government they want.
Billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk has come under fire after welcoming last year’s overthrow of Bolivian president Evo Morales in what was seen as a bid to obtain the country’s lithium reserves.
In response to a tweet on Saturday that accused the U.S. government of forcing Morales out, allowing Musk to access Bolivian resources, he wrote: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
Hundreds of Bolivia’s Indigenous population were massacred following what was branded “a fascist coup” against Morales, who is currently in exile in Argentina.
Bolivia has between 25% and 45% of the world’s known lithium reserves, an estimated 21 tons, most of which is in the Salar de Uyuni salt flat.
Lithium is a crucial component of the batteries used in Tesla vehicles and other electric cars, as well as computers, smartphones, and other equipment, and its value is set to skyrocket as sales of such vehicles increase.
peoplesworld.org/article/after-bolivia-elon-musk-says-cap...
On the island of Santa Cruz, dividing the dry forests of Palo Santo from the humid agricultural land on the windward side, are a pair of volcanic sinkholes called Los Gemelos, or the twins. They are often referred to as craters but their formation was caused by a collapse of the land beneath rather than an eruption of a volcano. These geologic structures are impressive to see; the lush green of the surrounding Scalesian forest contrast greatly with the immense gray and black volcanic rock walls.
Most visitors do not walk the entire trail at Los Gemelos but only the short distance between the two sinkholes. They lie on opposite sides of the main road that divides the island, making this a convenient stopping point for many tour groups. You could also hire a taxi in Puerto Ayora to make the visit. If you are a biologist, a naturalist, or a birdwatcher, you may want to ask about spending more time than the general 30 minutes or so. The biodiverse forest is comprised mainly of a species of tree unique to the Galapagos, the Scalesia pedunculata. Our guide called it the Broccoli Tree because the branches and leaves look like huge stalks of broccoli. Our short visit was rich with bird sounds, especially the soft twittering of finches. We also saw several varieties of flowering plants very close to the trail. In short, this place deserves a visit of a couple of hours for those that truly want to explore. For those with a checklist of places to visit, a short stop should suffice.
Part of the highlands that can be visited from the road are these twin sinkholes (not volcanic craters), surrounded by scalesia forest.
Vermilion flycatchers are often seen here, as are short-eared owls on occasion. Los Gemelos are about 2km beyond Santa Rosa on the trans-island road. Although the sinkholes lie only 25m and 125m from either side of the road, they are hidden by vegetation, so ask your driver to stop at the short trailhead.
Near the crest of the Andes and is at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above sea level.
***
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni.
One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake.
We traveled in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
***
PS. My second photo reaching 1,000 faves on October 10th., 2019 at 7:31 pm.
PS2. My second photo reaching 2,000 faves on February 6th., 2022 at 12:02 pm.
Although the machine can do everything from a spoon to a boat, the joy of being in touch with the most beautiful scenery is something that will never be possible to manufacture.
In the rainy season, the Salar resembles an enormous mirror that merges in the horizon with the sky. Thus the tours are restricted to some areas.
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of a salt crust, which has an extraordinary leveling with variations of average altitude of less than one meter throughout the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of copper salt and a pool of brine, which is extremely rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves, a resource that is in the process of being mined. The large area, clear sky and exceptional leveling of the surface make Salar an ideal object to calibrate the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.
In the rainy season, the Salar resembles an enormous mirror that merges in the horizon with the sky. Thus the tours are restricted to some areas.
Part of the highlands that can be visited from the road are these twin sinkholes (not volcanic craters), surrounded by scalesia forest.
Vermilion flycatchers are often seen here, as are short-eared owls on occasion. Los Gemelos are about 2km beyond Santa Rosa on the trans-island road. Although the sinkholes lie only 25m and 125m from either side of the road, they are hidden by vegetation, so ask your driver to stop at the short trailhead.
Scalesia pedunculata Hook.f. is a member of the Daisy family or Asteraceae, growing to a slender tree (20m tall, DBH 20 cm), and found in dense stands on the humid windward coasts of the islands of Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Santiago and Floreana in the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos archipelago lies in the southeast trade wind zone, so that climate and weather are dominated by the moisture-bearing trade winds and the topography of the islands. In general, the windward sides of the islands have a much higher precipitation than the leeward sides.
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
Standing in defiance of the desert-like landscape that surrounds it, Uyuni occupies a desolate corner of southwestern Bolivia. Mention Uyuni to a Bolivian and they will whistle and emphasize harto frío (extreme cold). Yet despite the icy conditions, the town has a cheerful buzz about it, with hundreds of travelers passing through every week to kick off their tour of Salar de Uyuni or the Southwest Circuit.
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is the largest and highest salt desert in the world, with 10,582 square kilometers and 3,656 meters above mean sea level. It is located in the departments of Potosí and Oruro, in southwest Bolivia, near the edge of the Andes. Salting is also the only bright natural spot that can be seen from space. He served as a guide for the Apollo 11 astronauts, who arrived on the moon in 1969. When the astronauts saw the white plain for the first time, they even thought it was a glacier.
This island is a large extinct volcano. It is estimated that the last eruptions occurred around a million and a half years ago. There is a gigantic lava tunnel that is over 2000 meters long on the island that many tourists visit and walk through.
As a testimony to its volcanic history there are two big holes formed by the collapse of a magma chamber: Los Gemelos, or "The Twins".
One major tourist attraction is an antique train cemetery. It is 3 km outside Uyuni and is connected to it by the old train tracks. The town served in the past as a distribution hub for the trains carrying minerals en route to Pacific Ocean ports. The rail lines were built by British engineers arriving near the end of the 19th century and formed a sizeable community in Uyuni. The engineers were invited by the British-sponsored Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Companies, now Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia. The rail construction started in 1888 and ended in 1892. It was encouraged by Bolivian President Aniceto Arce, who believed Bolivia would flourish with a good transport system, but it was also constantly sabotaged by the local Aymara indigenous Indians who saw it as an intrusion into their lives. The trains were mostly used by the mining companies. In the 1940s, the mining industry collapsed, partly because of mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned, producing the train cemetery. There are proposals to build a museum from the cemetery.
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
Scalesia pedunculata Hook.f. is a member of the Daisy family or Asteraceae, growing to a slender tree (20m tall, DBH 20 cm), and found in dense stands on the humid windward coasts of the islands of Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Santiago and Floreana in the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos archipelago lies in the southeast trade wind zone, so that climate and weather are dominated by the moisture-bearing trade winds and the topography of the islands. In general, the windward sides of the islands have a much higher precipitation than the leeward sides.
Scalesia pedunculata Hook.f. is a member of the Daisy family or Asteraceae, growing to a slender tree (20m tall, DBH 20 cm), and found in dense stands on the humid windward coasts of the islands of Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Santiago and Floreana in the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos archipelago lies in the southeast trade wind zone, so that climate and weather are dominated by the moisture-bearing trade winds and the topography of the islands. In general, the windward sides of the islands have a much higher precipitation than the leeward sides.
For a truly out-of-this-world travel destination, it’s hard to match the Salar de Uyuni. One of the flattest places in the world, the 4,000-square-mile salt flats were formed by a prehistoric lake. Visitors travel in 4×4 vehicles across the expanse of the salt flats to visit locally fashioned structures made entirely from bricks of salt. The salt flats are at their most spectacular after a rain, when water sitting atop the cemented salt acts like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sky above.
"The failures of men are eternalized in bronze,
Your virtues are written in the water."
William Shakespeare
The Flag Square, which is opposite the former hotel and contains several flags, from country flags to soccer club flags.
The Dakar Rally Monument, built of salt to represent the passage of the Dakar Rally through the Salar de Uyuni.
Dinosaurs appear at all times.
Moment of much tension and fear.
Don't worry about us, we managed to scape from this terrible dino!
Sint-Ursula-Institute, Sint-Katelijne-Waver
Delighted to have been selected for for July's Explore Takeover: Structures and Architecture ... Thanks for commenting, favoring and visiting me on this N°155 position in July 30, 2025 Explore Takeover ... proud and happy to have been selected amongst all these other great architecture photos.
Fist fight in the sky!
It solves everything or not!
***
Who won the boxing match?
Look at the print on the t-shirt of one of the opponents, which in this case is me.
WELCOME TO UYUNI
Enjoyed a unique and unforgettable experience, out of the ordinary, enjoy a unique tranquility in the open countryside in a desert and enjoyed spectacular night views of the stars and the Milky Way in a private and specialized service with specialized guides.
The tour started with pick up from your hotel in Uyuni at 2:30 pm. We wore warm clothes to protect ourselves from the cold. We prepared to enjoy the sunrise in this place that at this time of day is completely empty, we visited all this deserted area in a completely dark place. We enjoyed seeing the stars in the immense sky creating surreal images, you will feel to be on another planet. We appreciated the Via Lactea, while our professional guide did not explain us about the constellations, from a natural point of view and from an Andean cosmovision. Finally, after enjoying an immense sky full of stars we waited for the sunrise at 6;15 am. We return to Uyuni in our shared mobility to leave us in the place of our preference.
On the island of Santa Cruz, dividing the dry forests of Palo Santo from the humid agricultural land on the windward side, are a pair of volcanic sinkholes called Los Gemelos, or the twins. They are often referred to as craters but their formation was caused by a collapse of the land beneath rather than an eruption of a volcano. These geologic structures are impressive to see; the lush green of the surrounding Scalesian forest contrast greatly with the immense gray and black volcanic rock walls.
Most visitors do not walk the entire trail at Los Gemelos but only the short distance between the two sinkholes. They lie on opposite sides of the main road that divides the island, making this a convenient stopping point for many tour groups. You could also hire a taxi in Puerto Ayora to make the visit. If you are a biologist, a naturalist, or a birdwatcher, you may want to ask about spending more time than the general 30 minutes or so. The biodiverse forest is comprised mainly of a species of tree unique to the Galapagos, the Scalesia pedunculata. Our guide called it the Broccoli Tree because the branches and leaves look like huge stalks of broccoli. Our short visit was rich with bird sounds, especially the soft twittering of finches. We also saw several varieties of flowering plants very close to the trail. In short, this place deserves a visit of a couple of hours for those that truly want to explore. For those with a checklist of places to visit, a short stop should suffice.
Salar de Uyuni attracts tourists from around the world. As it is far from the cities, a number of hotels have been built in the area. Due to lack of conventional construction materials, many of them are almost entirely (walls, roof, furniture) built with salt blocks cut from the Salar. The first such hotel, named Palacio de Sal, was erected in 1993–1995 in the middle of the salt flat, and soon became a popular tourist destination. However, its location in the center of a desert caused sanitation problems, as most waste had to be collected manually. Mismanagement caused serious environmental pollution and the hotel had to be dismantled in 2002.
WELCOME TO UYUNI
Enjoyed a unique and unforgettable experience, out of the ordinary, enjoy a unique tranquility in the open countryside in a desert and enjoyed spectacular night views of the stars and the Milky Way in a private and specialized service with specialized guides.
The tour started with pick up from your hotel in Uyuni at 2:30 pm. We wore warm clothes to protect ourselves from the cold. We prepared to enjoy the sunrise in this place that at this time of day is completely empty, we visited all this deserted area in a completely dark place. We enjoyed seeing the stars in the immense sky creating surreal images, you will feel to be on another planet. We appreciated the Via Lactea, while our professional guide did not explain us about the constellations, from a natural point of view and from an Andean cosmovision. Finally, after enjoying an immense sky full of stars we waited for the sunrise at 6;15 am. We return to Uyuni in our shared mobility to leave us in the place of our preference.
An evocative and eerie sight, the world’s largest salt flat (12,106 sq km) sits at 3653m (11,984ft). When the surface is dry, the salar is a pure white expanse of the greatest nothing imaginable – just blue sky, white ground and you. When there’s a little water, the surface perfectly reflects the clouds and the blue altiplano sky, and the horizon disappears. If you’re driving across the surface at such times, the effect is surreal; it’s hard to believe that you’re not flying through the clouds.
Salar de Uyuni is now a center of salt extraction and processing, particularly around the settlement of Colchani. The estimated annual output of the Colchani operation is nearly 20,000 tons, 18,000 tons of which is for human consumption while the rest is for livestock. And beneath the surface, massive lithium deposits should fuel Bolivia’s economy for the next 100 years.
The three tours:
With its seemingly endless sea of salt and perception-altering landscape, the Salar de Uyuni is truly a once-in-a-lifetime place to experience. On this Salar de Uyuni sunrise tour, we met your guide and made the drive out toward the expansive salt flat, to watch as the Milk Way at 2:30 am. and sun illuminates a setting that borders on the surreal at 6:15.
Photograph yourself in optical illusions as the sun rises higher in the sky and hotel pick-up are all included with the tour.
Covering 4,085 square miles (10,582 square kilometers), the magnificent, mind-bending Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat.
Our sunrise session began at 02:30 a.m. and lasted until 08:30 a.m. when our local guide picked us up from your Uyuni accommodations. The air can be cool there , but the brisk temperatures were worth it for the chance to watch as the sun illuminates the salt field and ignites the sky with color. After the pre-dawn drive and magical sunrise, grabbed my cameras to shoot optical illusions created by the distant horizon. Throughout the tour our guide provided commentary and informative info on the salt flats, and the tour finished back in the town of Uyuni when you were dropped at the front of your hotel.