Kevin and I decided to partner up and travel from Uyuni to San Pedro together. We took an extra day to rest and re-check our list of necessary items that would be required for this dangerous leg of my (our) journey. Food, water, GPS waypoints, and most of all, extra fuel were necessary items. The distance to be traveled on this route was approximately 300 miles. That was, of course, if there were no mistakes, and most importantly, if we did not get lost.
The major challenge was that there were no maps, or I should say, that the maps that we carried with us had little to no detail. Additionally, there were no road signs that indicated direction or distance. The best information we had was from other riders who crossed before us and from tour guides. It seemed that everyone had a different suggestion on how to cross this desert; however, everyone was very clear about carrying extra fuel and not getting lost.
Not getting lost was much easier said than done. Along the road there were hundreds of roads and tracks that just seemed to wonder off into the landscape. Some riders would follow these tracks to dead ends or just wonder off for miles before realizing they were on the wrong road/track, using up fuel that one cannot afford to waste.
One other very critical thing about crossing this desert was DO NOT GET INJURED. There is NO help and it could be days before anyone comes along. With elevations of 14,000 to 16,000 feet the temperature drops to -30c at night.
After scaring ourselves for most of the day we decided to take a short trip to a train graveyard. It was located just outside of Uyuni, I do not know the history of this graveyard but it was a cool place to hang out and take a few photos.
Bolivia, 2009