Sunday 8th May:
A wholesome breakfast I decide, Lorna is not so sure. A 10am start means a leisurely start to the day and then off into the salt flats. But first a quick detour to visit the Mummies of Kaka. A number of mummified skeletons from circa 3,000 years ago, so very definitely pre-Inca. They are located in a cave and are visited mainly by tourists, but pre-tourist would have been visited by friends and relatives giving offerings of money, food, drink etc, on the basis that the dead could help the living get what they wished for.
And so we set off across the salt to visit the Thunupa volcano, 90 minutes drive away. It's so small to start with that it seems it could be climbed in five to ten minutes. As we get closer Thunupa looks like a real volcano and Eusebio tells us it is over 5,000 metres, so 1,300 metres and therefore more of a climb than Scafell Pike.
The plan is to drive up from the small village at the end he of the salt lake, dismount, and hike for 20 minutes or so to another cave containing more mummified remains. Lorna takes her pole and becomes a Trekker, and by the time we start our return she is at 2.3 blood sugar, but it's not a drama and we get back safely to the car before an injection, only the third of the trip so far, pretty good.
The cave has six mummies, and three are of royal descent, which is determined by the ceramic pottery beside them. Again this cave is more for tourists, but it's incredible to believe these bodies have lain here for over 3,000 years. They are a little worse for wear, but clothing and hair still exists, testament to the very low humidity here.
Lunch today is a picnic on the surface of the salt lake, but definitely nor haute cuisine. Stale bread, plastic ham and cheese, a tin of sweet corn, a tin of dice cold vegetables and some dry crackers. As well, by the end my head is thumping and it takes a few hours before it's clear again. We do manage a few more silly pictures before making it back to the hotel.
But it is clear enough to take the camera and tripod for another spectacular sunset, and I also find use for the time lapse feature on the brilliant little Panasonic camera.
Dinner is another international affair as we join three Germans, Wolf, Daniel and Susie. Daniel and Susie have been travelling around the world for newly two years, and met Wolf in Patagonia, joined forces and have reached Uyuni. Wolf drives his own Land Rover Defender, and they wild camp as well as stay in hotels. Last night they had camped out on the salt, and taken a pretty mean picture of the stars above. Wolf has had his own internet businesses, and will return after finishing in Colombia and freighting his Defender home. Daniel and Susie a e also returning very soon, and I joke it will be time to get a job, Daniel does not look enthusiastic.
A wholesome breakfast I decide, Lorna is not so sure. A 10am start means a leisurely start to the day and then off into the salt flats. But first a quick detour to visit the Mummies of Kaka. A number of mummified skeletons from circa 3,000 years ago, so very definitely pre-Inca. They are located in a cave and are visited mainly by tourists, but pre-tourist would have been visited by friends and relatives giving offerings of money, food, drink etc, on the basis that the dead could help the living get what they wished for.
And so we set off across the salt to visit the Thunupa volcano, 90 minutes drive away. It's so small to start with that it seems it could be climbed in five to ten minutes. As we get closer Thunupa looks like a real volcano and Eusebio tells us it is over 5,000 metres, so 1,300 metres and therefore more of a climb than Scafell Pike.
The plan is to drive up from the small village at the end he of the salt lake, dismount, and hike for 20 minutes or so to another cave containing more mummified remains. Lorna takes her pole and becomes a Trekker, and by the time we start our return she is at 2.3 blood sugar, but it's not a drama and we get back safely to the car before an injection, only the third of the trip so far, pretty good.
The cave has six mummies, and three are of royal descent, which is determined by the ceramic pottery beside them. Again this cave is more for tourists, but it's incredible to believe these bodies have lain here for over 3,000 years. They are a little worse for wear, but clothing and hair still exists, testament to the very low humidity here.
Lunch today is a picnic on the surface of the salt lake, but definitely nor haute cuisine. Stale bread, plastic ham and cheese, a tin of sweet corn, a tin of dice cold vegetables and some dry crackers. As well, by the end my head is thumping and it takes a few hours before it's clear again. We do manage a few more silly pictures before making it back to the hotel.
But it is clear enough to take the camera and tripod for another spectacular sunset, and I also find use for the time lapse feature on the brilliant little Panasonic camera.
Dinner is another international affair as we join three Germans, Wolf, Daniel and Susie. Daniel and Susie have been travelling around the world for newly two years, and met Wolf in Patagonia, joined forces and have reached Uyuni. Wolf drives his own Land Rover Defender, and they wild camp as well as stay in hotels. Last night they had camped out on the salt, and taken a pretty mean picture of the stars above. Wolf has had his own internet businesses, and will return after finishing in Colombia and freighting his Defender home. Daniel and Susie a e also returning very soon, and I joke it will be time to get a job, Daniel does not look enthusiastic.
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