Travel Story: Spencer james conway - south america
SALTFLAT BLOWOUT AT EIGHTY KILOMETRES PER HOUR
The Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats are the world's largest and at a staggering 10,582 square kilometres are 100 times larger than the almost as famous Bonneville Salt Flats. They are located in the Potosi region of south-west Bolivia at an altitude of 3656 metres. They were formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. The flats are covered by a few metres of salt crust which are extraordinarily smooth and flat with an altitude variation of only one metre over its entire area. It contains 70% of the world's lithium reserves which are vital for batteries and computer components. Its remarkable flatness is also used to calibrate the altimeters of all the earth's observational satellites. The flats contain 10 billion tonnes of salt of which less than 25 000 tonnes are extracted annually.
The area is also the breeding ground for three different types of flamingo who have the uncanny ability to filter out the link algae from the salt which also gives the flamingos their iconic colour. The town of Uyuni, 15 kilometres from the flats, literally survives on the tourism and the streets are full of young beards and braids lugging backpacks larger than themselves. On top of that, the Dakar rally passes through the town and the flats are also on the Rally course. Although I am sad that the classic Dakar is no longer in Africa due to security issues, the original ran from Paris France to Dakar in Senegal, l have to admit South America has really embraced the event and Uyuni is covered in Dakar posters and there is even a Dakar statue in the centre of town made entirely of salt. There is also a larger Dakar statue on the salt flats and three Hotels whose bricks are made entirely of salt. Now these facts may lead one to believe the flats are swarming with tourists but the fact is they are so vast it is remarkably empty.
This was an extremely pleasant surprise to me but also caused me a few serious problems. The flats are bisected by just a small number of roads running mainly east to west with a small island called Incuahasi in the middle serving as a meeting point for the four wheel drive vehicles that ferry tourists around. The roads are really just tracks made by the vehicle tyres and there is nothing stopping one going off track. This is exactly what I decided to do and with a near catastrophic result. It is almost impossible to explain the otherworldliness of the
flats. It is so stunningly different to anything on earth and completely lacks perspective or
landmarks, so much so that if you close your eyes and spin around you are immediately lost. The beauty of the flats is magnified in the rainy season where just a small amount of rain turns the flats into the world's largest mirror reflecting the stunning cloud formations in perfect detail. It really is one of the most special places I have ever seen in all the 114 countries I have been lucky enough to explore.
Although the urge is to ride flat out on this immense space, I had thankfully slowed to about 80 kph when I experienced a total blowout. For some reason, the tyre literally exploded. The inner tube ripped to shreds and I went into an out of control swerve, battling to keep the bike upright as we snaked across the rock hard surface. The tyre had come completely off the rim. I have no idea at what speed I finally fell off but it was not fast. Unfortunately, the plastic bottle of water on my pannier burst on impact and I was in the middle of nowhere. If I had broken a limb I could have easily died out there. The salt flats have the highest U.V. reading on earth and are capable of cooking you in hours.
I knew I had to act fast so unloaded my panniers and set about repairing the puncture. Everything went smoothly changing the inner tube until my compressor failed. I spun around 360 degrees and it dawned on me this was serious. I realised that no one was coming and no one would ever come. I made the decision to dump all my gear and try and ride out on the flat, so proceded at 5kph towards an island I could see in the far distance. After ten hours of riding, I finally started to see some detail of rocks and cacti and realised I was finally making progress. After two more hours I arrived and by pure luck, it was the one island that was inhabited. I was out of danger but it took three days and three attempts to find my gear. Bear in mind that this was with guides who had spent their lives on the Salt Flats. I was outrageously lucky. When we eventually spotted my gear even the guides jumped out of the truck and hugged me. They were superb people. My journey could continue. It is almost impossible to explain the otherworldliness of the flats. It is so stunningly different to anything on earth, lacking landmarks and therefore perspective. If you close your eyes and spin around you are immediately lost.