09 Mar 2023
I wish I could give more stars. Our experience with Joker Expeditions and our amazing, amazing guide Liroy and courageous driver Dioni was truly a trip of a lifetime. Mr. Jose and his team run a flawless tour of the Salt Flats and the Colored Lagoons. From the moment we were met at the airport by Liroy, he was attentive and so helpful orienting us to the history and culture of Uyuni. We had thought that on arrival we would only have a brief overview of the tour and then brought to our hotel, but Liroy took the time to get us what we needed in town and how to navigate the streets. He even took us through a quick tour of the local schools as they were getting ready for Carnival with their school bands and dancers. So much fun.
Day 1 started off with a visit to the train graveyard. Liroy was very patient and even helped take pictures of us. We then went to a Salt Museum where he explained how salt mining works - don't let him tell you otherwise, his English is perfect. Finally, we arrived at the Salt Flats - and what an experience it was. It felt truly like another world. Flat and white as far as the eyes can see. And silent, except for the wind. The next thing we knew, Liroy and Dioni had set up lunch complete with tablecloths and linens - "was this really happening?" Sunset was sublime. Our accommodations for the night were great: in a real hotel made of salt, but with all the amenities one expects from a world-class hotel.
Day 2 was more time in the Salt Flats with Liroy taking our pics - he has a great eye for pictures and knows every trick shot that we had so much fun putting together. But the focus of the day camping on the Salt Flats, but not just anywhere - this was going to be in the middle of the reflection, so camping on water. Mr Jose and his team pulled out all the stops, setting up tents on top of wooden boards so everything was just above the water line. With no moon, the night sky lit up with stars. It was spectacular (and I have the pictures to prove it).
Day 3 was breakfast and a much-needed shower back at Mr, Jose's hotel. And while we were doing that, Liroy and Dioni cleaned up the SUV we had pretty much destroyed with our salt footprints and dust - their professionalism never stopped. And then it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Jose as we continued the tour south to the Colored Lagoons, flamingos and even higher elevation. We explored the desert mountains of Southern Bolivia and felt like we were on Mars.
Day 4 was an even further drive south as we headed to the Atacama Desert. We bid goodbye to Liroy and Dioni at the border of Bolivia and Chile where we were met by another guide and driver to get us through the border crossing and onwards to Atacama. Goodbye with Liroy was bittersweet as we had grown so fond of him and Dioni. We truly lucked out having them both as our guide and driver.
Again, I cannot recommend Joker Expeditions enough. Do yourself a favor, spend the money and get amazing service, attentiveness and just outright fun with these guys. They are so good at what they do. We saw so many other tour groups where the guides just did not care at all.