Like Sailing Without Currents

The Salar de Uyuni is 5,000 square miles of evaporated salt in the Altiplano in southern Bolivia. It is perfectly flat to within one meter over its entire extent though we did have to have a discussion on geodesics and gravity after I got the question “If it is entirely flat how come you can see the curvature of the Earth?”.

The solid surface is rock hard and forms distinctive hexagonal tiles with raised edges that are a function of the crystalline structure of the salt. The surface is remarkably hard and sharp; if you fell off your bike at speed, it would be like landing on the world’d biggest and sharpest belt sander; you would be shredded. Goodness knows how much we all shortened the lives of our tyres.

We had the opportunity to spend the night camping on Isla Pescada surrounded by salt and a beautiful sunset. To get there we rode across the untracked salt from the north side of the ancient lake at Jirira and then rode east to get to “dry land” again at Colchani; crossing the solar from north west to south east was a 200 kilometer voyage. On both legs the best way to navigate is by compass and holding a constant heading; just like sailing except you do not have to allow for currents or tides.

The serious dare is to peg the throttle in top gear and keep your eyes closed for five minutes. I decided this would stay on my bucket list for a little while longer. The easier challenge is to write your name on the salt and record it on your GPS track. Next time.

At the end of the day, all the bikes were caked in a substantial layer of salt that had to be thoroughly washed off – the car washes in Uyuni were doing good business.

Photos: Bike and rider and salt – sunset from Isla Pesada – Tiles of salt – Navigation on the Salar Uyuni