Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/132138
DRIVING REPORT T he first sunrays of the morning are starting to filter through over the mountain peaks surrounding the salt flat. The wind gathers speed over the endless expanse and the crisp cold air bites at the cheeks. For a recent arrival the thin air manifests itself in the form of a light headache. "I started driving Volvo trucks here when I was 14 and I have never used other trucks," Dario Machaca Colque says as he climbs up into the cab of his Volvo FH16 parked outside his home in the little town of Colchani. Salar de Uyuni, or Salar de Tunupa as the local Indians call it, is situated in the province of Potosi in western Bolivia. The world's largest salt flat covers the same area as the city of Los Angeles and consists of 4,200 square miles of densely packed salt. Today, Dario will load and transport salt that is extracted from the salt flat. Before heading out he picks up the loaders who will help him today. They have a hard day's work ahead of them. The large trailer will be loaded with 62,000 pounds of salt – by hand, aided only by simple shovels. That's why Dario makes sure he brings lunch and drinks for the loaders. "That's Edgar and his brother Ivan, they are also from this town. Everyone knows everyone around here," Dario says as the two loaders arrive. Edgar and Ivan climb up on the trailer bed where their father Paulino, who is also a loader, is already sitting. Forty thousand years ago, this whole area was a prehistoric lake, and when the water receded "It is not dangerous to drive on the salt but if you drive off your regular route you can get into trouble." DAR IO MACNACA COLQUE, TRUCK DR IVER the salt flat was formed. The salt crunches under the wheels when the truck drives out on to the vast plateau where it makes large octagonal shapes. All traces of the road disappear in the white emptiness and Dario navigates using the mountains in the distance as reference points. His knowledge of the local area is exceptional. "The surface is really made up of two layers of compressed salt, one upper and one lower. In between these is a layer of mud. It is not dangerous to drive on the salt but if you drive off your regular route you can get into trouble. In some places the surface is softer and the truck can get stuck deep in the salt." The sun climbs up over the horizon and the rays bounce off the white terrain making sunglasses essential. Dario's calloused hands and the creases at the corners of his eyes bear witness to a life spent working hard in constant struggle Dario Machaca Colque has been working in the salt desert for more than 30 years. Today he owns and operates two Volvo FHs. He has imported the trucks himself from Europe. 10 DRIVER 'S DIGEST #1/2013 VTM_1_13_US_en.indb 10 DDQ113PG008-19_30-31_Common Pages.indd 10 2013-05-22 14:50 5/22/13 10:16 AM VTM_1_13