On September 7, 2018, I promised myself that I would ride my bicycle on the salt flats of Bolivia. I thought it would probably be a two-week tour, not an 11-month odyssey.

Yesterday, I kept that promise, and we entered the salt flats from Coqueza and rode over 100k on the salt.

First, we headed to the island of Incahuasi to see the cacti. Then 70k to the Plaza of Flags and finally back onto the mainland.

When riding, you must convince your mind that it is not snow and ice even though it is cold, ten degrees. It is not slippery but hard, and your tires can get a good grip, like riding on slip rock in Moab, Utah. It can be smooth or bumpy. The bumps are caused by the cracks that push salt up. I could get an excellent speed. It was easy to follow the car tracks that all the tourist companies make. We also had our gpx route as well.

Some may say it is very dull, but not me. It was like riding in another world, and I could imagine myself in Antarctica.

The flats are the largest in the world, 11,000 sq. And 130m deep. They mine the salt in blocks or granules.