That night,
fter the soothing hot shower, I sat on a bench made of blocks of salt that was in the front of the shelter, had a lot of silence, single cut by the howling wind. While sipping a beer, from above could see my feet in the hamlet of La Candelaria. The moon shone in the distance the Salar de Uyuni. I exchanged some words with a traveler from Germany, but we prefer adh
erirnos the prevailing peace and observe the beautiful scenery at our feet, an overwhelming intensity.
was eleven o'clock at night when I went to bed, most hikers rest. I went on tiptoe into the room and me went to bed, the bag beside me, his clothes ready. We wake up at 4 am I thought it would be like the experience that awaited me when I fell asleep. Specifically
Raul knocked
room announcing that it was time to get up, I took my flashlight grope, I dressed and went to clean myself in the dark. I ran with other commuters in the light of their flashlights back and forth preparing the luggage for departure.
loaded everything in the Jeep and set off excited and sleepy. After five minutes we were in the middle of the salar. The darkness was almost complete, just like little fireflies were the headlights of other vehicles who had left about the same time. Nibbling a chocolate to appease the cold, trying to see a little
beyond, peering into the darkness.
From the right side saw a dim light and the sky began to paint small pink clouds, the dawn was being announced. I asked when would stop to see the sunrise. Raul said
missing fifteen 
minutes for me to stay calm, but I turned my restless in his seat and wanted to brake the vehicle to get out, the anxiety was felt. Very
contrary, my traveling companions slept, so I started to mentally place me along the way we did.
If the light was coming from my right side, it meant that we were heading in a north, but did not see any road or river. Just plain that by this time had a dark gray. How did they know where to go?
was mired in this meditation when the Jeep stopped in the middle of nowhere, greater clarity was slightly clouded and cold glass. Time off! "Said Raul Within minutes the sun will begin to appear.
I stopped the car and started my series of photographs. Every 3 or 4 minutes the camera clicked. The floor was almost black, but clearly progressed. At one point a thin line of light across the horizon in our direction, turning the landscape a burning orange, then grew to become
in a ball of fire in front of us. I saw the sun on my chest, with a limitless horizon, while all salt took a slight blue shade until the sun off of its horizontal and sky turned a dazzling white light and blinding.
At this point, I turned from my peers, I feared that I did target of jokes and laughter, because I felt the tears flowed silently. It was an unusual landscape, amazing, different. Standing in the middle of the desert salt 12,000 km2 (I was told that was the most extensive
the world), was feeling the same emotion when I saw the sea for the first time.
I was born and raised in a different land, with hills and brambles, with forested areas and beaches, could now see a different world, one of those beauties that nature keeps us who we admire. Stood there and slowly began to turn to look to all directions. It was a white carpet, with crackle beads and far away, as if the edges of a tray undulations loomed the distance painted a bluish color, intertwined with the sky.
After the photos were our fun, very long shadows, the clownish poses, making more crazy, taking the game to have a limitless horizon and invisible. We continue our journey, the cold had subsided, we were hungry as we were without breakfast. Margarita biscuits distributed sweets and juice, and promised to have breakfast to get to the Isla del Pescado.
I took the conversation flowed naturally
commenting different things about this beautiful place and I asked Raul what were guided there, where there was a route marked out, thinking it was even more difficult to find at the time of the rains, when all salt is transformed into a huge mirror in the sky, making it difficult to field location. Could it be guided by the stars, as ex-marine? "They used a compass or GPS? Positioning System (geo-referencing) No, nothing like that, "said Raul looks beyond the front, the mountain that stands above the rest, is our guide is the Volcano Tunupa. We know that in
salar anywhere we are, we go in that direction, here nature is in charge of orienting.
between conversations and laughter So we arrive at the "Fish Island" which takes its name due to the way it is. Stands in the middle of the Salar, as an oasis of rock and cactus, formerly (like all the Salar de Uyuni) was part of the seabed, near what is now Lake Titicaca. Millions of years ago due to tectonic plate movements rose, for this is that the Fish Island you can see remnants of shells, corals
and petrified seaweed.
The place is beautiful, I climbed to the top, stone paths, discovering gates, caves and natural arches that had formed. We went exploring and looking around for a while, go down to the tables and salt flats, where we expect a delicious breakfast prepared by Margarita and her magic hands makers of delicacies that soothed our appetite and comforted us.
share some moments with others of different excursions and continue journey to "Ojitos de Agua." A simple
view, you can not differentiate from the rest of the plain, but in this area are underground rivers of salt water and very cold (as they say have healing properties) break open the crust and can extract pieces of crystallized salt (rather petrified ) of various colors (according to what has enabled him to absorb porosity) inside. I managed to get a piece of purple, green, one brown, one white hard contact was iridescent in the sun and put them in a bag with my personal stuff. Outside photographs and vivid evocation of the moment, this would be
more palpable remember my time in the Salar de Uyuni.
Coquesa From there we went to, the northern edge, a small village where they are deposited in a small museum, the mummies were discovered a few years ago in a place near Tunupa Volcano (5435 m)
The tour continued with our visit to old hotel Playa Blanca, now a museum only, with large statues, furniture and figures made entirely of salt, there is nestled
the monolith of the flags, which is typical make picture Reminder, taking the flag of the country they belong. This site, operated as a hotel stopped by issues concerning the ecology, because the wastes from its operation harmed
n the Salar.
Later we passed the place where salt mining has done for commercial purposes "Again I saw that workers hide their face or turn away to avoid being photographed while carrying out their task. Somewhat later
noon we reached the village of Puerto Chuvica, which would share the last lunch together. Acquired beautifully carved handicrafts and miniatures for a few coins at the show site, we walk a while, we observe the International Hotel distance fantastically designed building, which in future will have up its own airfield. (This question bothered me enough, because one of the main relics of this place is the silence that allows you to hear the sound of nature)
The expedition came to an end.
dusk when we arrived in Uyuni. A backpackers coming and going all over the world, the pedestrian breweries, pubs, internet cafes, travel agencies and loud music ending the wonderful tour, incorporating a push at the moment.
The village had a long history of past Railway during the proliferation of booming mining industry in the next stage.
now fully dedicated to tourism, Uyuni was entering a different instance. Yet the slow pace and quiet of the Bolivians, their voices stay and
look deeply, we were told that despite all, the native people of the place, still watching from a distance, caught by the magic of silence and the colors the sun placed in each block forging a rainbow of dreams for them and for whom we had the opportunity to visit. Magui
spellings 
