July 26, 2014:
Against the advice of some local riders at the BMW dealership, I departed Santa Cruz and rode west to Cochabamba and then south to Uyuni to visit the salt flats. I was told it's going to be very cold and windy and that it would be better to visit later in the year. Well they were correct, the closer I got to Uyuni the colder it got and the wind got stronger. It was pretty much survival riding from Oruro to Uyuni. When I arrived in Uyuni on the 25th there was a sand storm going through and the village of Uyuni was not visible until I entered it. It was brutally cold.
I found a place to stay easy enough and then went out for some dinner. I put on every piece cold weather clothing I had and was still freezing. People in the restaurants were dressed like they were on an expedition to the South Pole. People were eating with gloves on. It was a long cold night.
The next morning it was clear sunny day with little wind so I headed out to the flats. At 08:00 when I started the moto it was 19 deg F but felt a lot warmer than it was in the room.
I rode out to the flats, 14 miles from town, and quickly realized I hadn't calculated how large an area they covered. Distances a very deceiving here and I figured I should get more gas and a good meal, so I headed back into town. While in town I met up with an Italian guy, Stefano, on a Yamaha 250 doing a RTW journey. We filled up on food and fuel and headed out.

From July 26, 2014

From July 26, 2014

Stefano running the flats:
From July 26, 2014

We found a spot were someone had chopped through the salt to expose the water.
From July 26, 2014

I dropped a piece of salt in an watched it sink about a meter and half before disappearing:
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From July 26, 2014

From July 26, 2014

Cactus Island: A tourist stop with a restaurant, small store and a few buildings that people can sleep in.
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A bit of celebration:
From July 26, 2014

It was 4:30 when I decided to head back to town. All total, I rode 148 miles on the flats. It was really a lot of fun!

After another brutally cold night I decided to head east to warmer weather. A quick stop at the famous train cemetery south of town and then onto Sucre.
From July 26, 2014

Somewhere north of Potosi:
From July 26, 2014

There are a few more places I would like to visit in SE Bolivia but not during this time of year. Middle of the Andes in the middle of winter is not the best combination.
I'm in Sucre now and will start riding my way east to Brazil and Paraguay in a day or two.