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the Degree Confluence Project
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Bolivia : Potosí

24.5 km (15.2 miles) E of Sapaya, Potosí, Bolivia
Approx. altitude: 3660 m (12007 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 20°N 112°E

Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: North #3: South #4: East #5: GPS #6: Extracting salt #7: Uyuni city #8: The group: Jose Valda, Setsuko, Eduardo, Paula and Paulo #9: At Salt Hotel #10: Pescado Island

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  20°S 68°W (visit #4)  

#1: General view

(visited by Eduardo Hanazaki, Setsuko Hanazaki, Paula Marques Meyer, Paulo Henrique Mazza Rodrigues Rodrigues and Jose David Valda Belém)

English

08-Jan-2009 --

Saímos às 8h de Uyuni, visitamos o Cemitério de Trens nos arredores da cidade e seguimos para o Salar de Uyuni, algo magnífico, grandioso e incomparável a outras salinas que vimos nos altiplanos andinos. O Salar de Uyuni tem aproximadamente 80 km de largura por 150 km de comprimento, ou seja 12.000 km2. Vimos o árduo trabalho dos operários que fazem a extração manual do sal. Eles juntam o sal em montes que parecem pequenas pirâmides. De longe, o reflexo desses montinhos de sal na água, dão a impressão de losangos flutuando no espaço. Aliás, ali tudo parece flutuar no espaço.

Passeamos e paramos em vários pontos como o Hotel de Sal que está desativado e funciona como um museu. Ali havia uma pequena lanchonete e lojinha para a venda de lembranças.

Paramos em vários lugares para fotografar e o guia José nos ensinou a tirar fotos interessantes que provocam ilusão de ótica. A todo o momento, cruzávamos com vans transportando turistas.

O ponto final do passeio, antes do retorno, seria a Isla Incahuasi, no meio da grande salina, a 70 km de Uyuni. Essa ilha tem trilha demarcada por entre cactos milenares e vistas muito bonitas. Havia perto de trinta veículos com turistas visitando Incahuasi. Na hora do almoço, provamos no restaurante da ilha uma gostosa sopa de legumes com quinoa e um bife de lhama com arroz e batata. A carne de lhama parece com a carne bovina.

Propomos ao nosso guia José, para nos levar mais 47 km adiante, até a confluência 20 S – 68 W. Ele se prontificou a ir desde que pagássemos as despesas com o combustível. Acertamos o preço em mais trinta dólares, com a condição de voltar para trás se chegássemos em local muito alagado e que oferecesse algum perigo para todos.

Sem dificuldade, chegamos ao CP que, felizmente ficava sobre a salina, em local seco.

English

08-Jan-2009 --

We leave at 8h from Uyuni, visit the Cemetery of Trains in the outskirts of the city and follow for the magnificent, huge and incomparable Salar de Uyuni, something different to other salt mines that we saw in Andean high plateaus. The Salar de Uyuni has approximately 80 km of width and 150 km length, about 12,000 km2. We saw the arduous work of the workers who make the manual extraction of the salt. They gather the salt in mounts that seem small pyramids. At a distance these small piles of salt in the water, gives the impression of lozenges floating in the space. By the way, everything seems there to float in the space.

We take a walk and we stop in some points as the Hotel of Salt that is functions only as a museum. There was a small snack bar and little souvenirs store.

We stop in some places to take pictures and our guide Jose gave us good ideas to take interesting photos that provoke optics illusion. All the moment, we crossed with vans carrying tourist.

The end point of this voyage, before the return, would be the Isla Incahuasi, in the way of the great salt mine, at 70 km of Uyuni. This island has track demarcated among millenarian cactus and very pretty sights. There were close to thirty vehicles with tourist visiting Incahuasi. At lunch time, we prove in the restaurant of the island a tasty vegetable soup with quinoa and a llama beef with rice and potato. The meat of llama seems the bovine meat.

We propose to our guide José, to go ahead us with more 47 km, up to the confluence 20 S - 68 W. He was ready to go since we paid the expenses of the fuel. We put the price right in thirty dollars more, with the condition of returning backwards if we were arriving to a very flooded place and that means some danger to all of us.

Without any difficulty, we arrive at the CP that, happily was on the salt mine, in local dry spot.


 All pictures
#1: General view
#2: North
#3: South
#4: East
#5: GPS
#6: Extracting salt
#7: Uyuni city
#8: The group: Jose Valda, Setsuko, Eduardo, Paula and Paulo
#9: At Salt Hotel
#10: Pescado Island
ALL: All pictures on one page
  Notes
On the salt crust of the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat.