Kingdoms of Ice, Silver, and Salt, Chapter III
Salt
Bolivia and Peru, South America
Kingdoms of Ice, Silver, and Salt by Anton Briansó and Georgina Morón, Chapter III
Unlike the ice, salt wasn’t so hard to find. We slept surrounded by the Peruvian salt; our house was build out of it. While outside the night was cold, inside we felt the embrace of its heat. Back then I didn’t know salt is the best natural thermal insulation.
After Torres del Paine, the land here seemed warm and free from suffering. Salt is a beneficial mineral for the people of this land. It was already present before the colonization and you could feel the privileged living condition it had generated with it. I learned to understand how the salt had become synonymous to wealth, life and abundance.
They call it Salinas de Maras; infinite amounts of salt terraces that lay resting in the sun.
We went down a brown valley that took us to a clear white space. Tons of salt were scattered all over the land. Its dimensions seemed endless. Unlike the ice, the whiteness of the salt didn’t deceive our sight; it was impossible to ignore the great vastness of this place.
We felt how salt became powerful for us too. When the sun came up, the earth warmed quickly. We found ourselves enthralled again, in an even more torrid way than before. Once again, my camera shot on its own. It didn’t need me anymore.
The most beautiful about this mineral is its capability to protect itself. In the past, large companies intended to exploit the Salar de Uyuni, yet they never succeeded. There simply wasn’t enough water. As if the salt had already foreseen man´s need to dominate, and had asked the water to leave, as a means to protect itself.
We could feel the harmony and balance of this place. Perhaps because salt helps the inhabitants and salt helps itself, a pure energy is generated — like an eternal alliance between the mineral and its inhabitants.
Photography. Anton Briansó
Words. Leticia Sala
Artwork. Ángela Palacios
Thanks to Georgina Morón y Antonio Fermia
Traveller/s
Anton Briansó
Photographer
Anton Briansó was born in Reus. He’s a photographer and professional voyager, with a passion for landscape he likes to shoot from its most romantic and pure state of being.
@anton_briansoGeorgina Morón
Pediatrician
Georgina Morón is a pediatrician and travel aficionado. Her mind is free and ever searching. She’s always looking for the next route to take while simultaneously maintaining her personal credo to always live in the moment.
