Preparades? Yes, I was ready I said. My guide waved a quick goodbye and got back in his car, slammed it into gear and headed back down the mountain. I moved my bike to the road’s shoulder and while I pulled on my gloves, I admired the tranquil morning canyon below me. I had come to the top of the Yungas Road, also known as Death Road this morning. I had been making the trek northward from Patagonia with no idea of what I wanted to do or where I was going. Along the way I got drunk in a bodega in Mendoza, got the flu in Salta, and ate real locro in Jujuy. Fun, but not real adventure. Then over a cup of coffee ...
Fancy a trip to Mars but can’t wait for NASA to start colonizing? Don’t despair, because a journey to Salar de Uyuni, the Bolivian salt desert is the next best thing. The remnants of a giant prehistoric lake, the world’s largest salt flats cover an area the size of Belgium and sit as high the Andes. Best experienced with a guided tour from the town of Uyuni, the first stop en route to the flats is the great train graveyard, a stark testament to the Spartan land beyond. Just a few miles out of Uyuni the landscape changes at an alarming rate: yellows, greens and browns are swept aside by a sea of vast, blisteringly white salt. The sensation is somewhat akin to being swallowed. ...





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