Altiplano 2.
February 2011.
We take the trail heading north.
We pass by the famous stone tree.
The police officer in charge of the site, keeps going around our car as we prepare lunch.
We finally understand that he would be happy to share our meal.
It must be said that the first mercado is 200 kilometers away!
A 4x4 full of tourists arrives, and we meet with Clement and Austin: Very friendly.
We see bizarre rock formations along the trail.
Fortunately we had prepared seriously our GPS points, because the track
going down to the valley is not clear and not that easy to find.
We engage in the bed of a river, wondering if it is indeed the track. But the GPS points correspond.
In an area rather uncertain, we find ourselves in front of a small river.
We have the choice: either a deep water channel, or a pool of mud.
Based on our experience, we choose without hesitation the Rio!
First gear short, we lock the differential, and off we go !
It goes without problems, but the water reacheded the doors.
On the road to Uyuni, we find ourselves in an incredible landscape
where everyone imagines what he wants in these strange rock formations.
That's how we see a sphinx, a chicken, a heart and a huge fish ...
And in the evening mist, we even guess a huge castle.
After 200 miles of desert, we reach our first village.
In the morning, we have the visit of an old woman, who asks us 100 questions about France !
With the leftovers, the girls prepare us a feast for lunch.
We make a detour through the village of San Juan, lost between the Altiplano and the Salar of Uyuni.
Here too, Evo Morales, the first Indian president in the history of Bolivia, is very popular.
We fall in love with the little church of the cemetery, surrounded by blue and white graves.
Villagers make a living by raising llamas and growing quinoa, an ancient grain that they eat mostly in the soup.
It is on a hill overlooking San Juan that we discover our first Rascar Capac.
Children, lulled by Tintin, are very interested.
The mummies are placed in small mud huts and surrounded by various objects.
Children are not impressed at all, apart from Agathe who says again: "I am cimetery sick" !
After a very interesting visit, we head towards Uyuni.
