Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt pan in the world. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust which has an extraordinary flatness.
Driving across the crusted salt of the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, is very popular. Reaching Isla de los Pescadores is possible when the salt flat is not flooded.
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack and meat animal by Andean indigeneous people.
Ariana is a young Quecha girl, the daugther of our driver on our 4-day long excursion in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve.
The Arbol de Piedra (Rock Tree), formed by erosion from windblown sand, stands in the Siloli Desert, also called the desert of Salvador Dali.
Laguna Colorada is colored brick orange due to natural hot springs which provide nutrients for red algae to bloom. The shallow lake is located within the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve.
Sol de Manana (Morning Sun) is a geothermal field located at 4850 meters above sea level in the desert and volcanic Andean region of Potosi in southwestern Bolivia.
The laguna is located in the desert and volcanic Andean region of Potosi at 4400 meters above sea level while the Licancabur volcano sits at 5960 meters.
The color of the laguna is derived from the copper, lead, sulfur, arsenic and calcium carbonates it contains.
Potosi is one of the highest cities by elevation in the world at 4090 m above sea level. The colonial city is listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.
The Cerro Rico (4824 m) dominates Potosi. It is the reason for Potosi's historical importance, since it was the major supply of silver for the Spanish Empire. The mountain is popularly conceived of as being made of silver ore.
Although silver mines are almost depleted, the mountain still continues to be mined for silver and now tin. Miners work in very poor conditions.
Due to poor working conditions (constant inhalation of dust), the miners have a short life expectancy with most of them contracting silicosis and dying around 40 years of age.
Handmade blanket widely used by the indigenous people of the Bolivian Altiplano.
These very local shops are stacked with all kind of necessity goods, from toothpaste to cigarettes, batteries and cookies.
Francois Marechal Photography
1-1-35 Meguro, Meguro-kuTokyo 153-0063JAPAN
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