Friday, November 11, 2005
November 11, 2005: Salar d'Uyuni
[Editor's Note: Due to a shakey satellite uplink connection, the batch of pictures from November 11 wasn't fully uploaded. The missing photos will be added as soon as they can be uploaded from the field. Update: Most of the missing pictures have been added, though there are still a few missing.]
This morning we headed out to the Salar d'Uyuni. On our way out to the flat we stopped to take a look at a local salt processing facility.
Salt processing facility.
[missing image]
At the facility, many parts of the processing procedure are completed by hand. This woman is packing hundreds of bags of table salt that will be distributed in the local region. The total per day is equivalent to 4 tons of packed salt.
We drove deeper into the Salar d'Uyuni. This flat was once a lake. The water evaporated, leaving the vast region of salt. About 6 million years ago, the Salar d'Uyuni was linked to Lake Popoo and Lake Titicaca as a small inner sea.
This truck appears to be part of the local salt processing industry.
After driving for a while, we stopped to take a closer look at polygons and water holes in the flat.
Nathalie inspects salt deposits and springs.
Detail of what Nathalie was inspecting. In this area, springs are beneath the surface. Gurgling, spurting, water was all around us at this location.
Dana stops to record some more UV readings.
Sampling water on the salt flat.
Detail of sampling process.
Andy and Nathalie discuss observations.
Edmond observes the area.
Andy records measurements.
The team.
Edmond.
Cristian looks around [left] while Dana takes measurements [right].
Nathalie and Michele.
We left our site and continued driving. In the middle of the Salar were small islands. We stopped to visit one of them, the Quetchua (inca) name of which is Incaguasi (the House of the Inca).
Incaguasi on the Salar d'Uyuni.
Cactus on the island.
We left Incaguasi and drove some more.
We stopped and worked with our guide to retrieve salt crystals from beneath the salt surface.
This site was a treasure trove of samples. The science team became extremely exited as they searched for samples.
Nathalie finds some good samples of large halite crystals.
Lynn finds samples with a green color. Could this be life? Only some experiments back at the lab will let us know.
Close-up of Lynn's sample.
Nathalie and Cristian look for more samples.
The team fans out to explore some more.
Tools that we used to break through the surface.
[click image for a larger view]
Samples.
We are human specks on this fast plain of salt.
We took a quick group photo before we left the site.
We returned to Uyuni after our exploration of the salt flats. Earlier a team member had spotted a restaurant that was frequented by the locals. We decided to fill our bellies while soaking up some of the local life style.
[missing image]
We could eat a large quantity of food for very little money.
[missing image]
Melissa digs into her food.
[missing image]
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of our team. Some newcomers had arrived, including Carlos, who would guide us through the next part of our journey.
Later we returned to our hotel. Here are some of us before we headed off to bed.
This morning we headed out to the Salar d'Uyuni. On our way out to the flat we stopped to take a look at a local salt processing facility.
Salt processing facility.
[missing image]
At the facility, many parts of the processing procedure are completed by hand. This woman is packing hundreds of bags of table salt that will be distributed in the local region. The total per day is equivalent to 4 tons of packed salt.
We drove deeper into the Salar d'Uyuni. This flat was once a lake. The water evaporated, leaving the vast region of salt. About 6 million years ago, the Salar d'Uyuni was linked to Lake Popoo and Lake Titicaca as a small inner sea.
This truck appears to be part of the local salt processing industry.
After driving for a while, we stopped to take a closer look at polygons and water holes in the flat.
Nathalie inspects salt deposits and springs.
Detail of what Nathalie was inspecting. In this area, springs are beneath the surface. Gurgling, spurting, water was all around us at this location.
Dana stops to record some more UV readings.
Sampling water on the salt flat.
Detail of sampling process.
Andy and Nathalie discuss observations.
Edmond observes the area.
Andy records measurements.
The team.
Edmond.
Cristian looks around [left] while Dana takes measurements [right].
Nathalie and Michele.
We left our site and continued driving. In the middle of the Salar were small islands. We stopped to visit one of them, the Quetchua (inca) name of which is Incaguasi (the House of the Inca).
Incaguasi on the Salar d'Uyuni.
Cactus on the island.
We left Incaguasi and drove some more.
We stopped and worked with our guide to retrieve salt crystals from beneath the salt surface.
This site was a treasure trove of samples. The science team became extremely exited as they searched for samples.
Nathalie finds some good samples of large halite crystals.
Lynn finds samples with a green color. Could this be life? Only some experiments back at the lab will let us know.
Close-up of Lynn's sample.
Nathalie and Cristian look for more samples.
The team fans out to explore some more.
Tools that we used to break through the surface.
[click image for a larger view]
Samples.
We are human specks on this fast plain of salt.
We took a quick group photo before we left the site.
We returned to Uyuni after our exploration of the salt flats. Earlier a team member had spotted a restaurant that was frequented by the locals. We decided to fill our bellies while soaking up some of the local life style.
[missing image]
We could eat a large quantity of food for very little money.
[missing image]
Melissa digs into her food.
[missing image]
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of our team. Some newcomers had arrived, including Carlos, who would guide us through the next part of our journey.
Later we returned to our hotel. Here are some of us before we headed off to bed.
