Virtual Railfan Tour - Bolivia - Eclipse of the Sun on the Altiplano

 

Waiting for the eclipse

This was my last day in Bolivia on this trip.  It was very long and very tiring. The plan was to leave from La Paz in our chartered railcar, then travel via Viacha to Oruru. From there we would go along the line to a small village where we would be in a good position to experience a full eclipse of the sun.  We would then travel via Uyuni, across the salt flats and exit Bolivia at Ollague on our way to the Pacific coast at Antofagasta.  There were a couple of other charter trains also wishing to stop between Oruro and Uyuni so we had to be sure we left ahead of them.

The sky darkens ahead of the eclipse

We stopped at the outskirts of a small village and waited. Sure enough it began to darken and the noise from the village diminished. Looking to the east over the flat altiplano we could see a wall of black speeding towards us.  It was eerie in the still, quiet blackness.

As quickly as it became dark the light returned and all the cocks in the village began to crow to greet the "new" morning.

We were hustled into our train as we had a long way to go.  After Uyuni there is a graveyard of abandoned steam locomotives but we were in a hurry and could not stop 

Then came the salt flats.  The sun reflected off the white salt hurt our eyes even with sun glasses.

We reached Ollague as it was getting dark. The Bolivian customs were happy to let us go but the Chilean bureaucracy was not happy to see us. This was the first time in a few years that a passenger train had tried to come across the border. We were herded off the train into a cold shed and made to wait while they searched the train and then us. After a long wait we were finally allowed to leave and completed our journey in darkness.

This is the end of my first experience in Bolivia. I made several other trips, first as a tourist and then as a consultant working for the government.  Stay tuned.