Kerry from Derry

Back on the bus then after waiting nearly an hour for the taxi and making it by the skin of our teeth we were on our way to Potosi - and what a journey it was......as many people as possible crammed in and with the oblligatory chicken stuck in behind my legs to make room for yet more people! At least it kept my legs warm I suppose....

After approx 6 hours we arrived in the town of Uyuni - the northern starting point for those doing tours of the Salt Flats and surrounding areas. The town itself wasn't that exciting and the service in the restaurant was possibly the worst I have ever come across but apart from that it was all good - oh yeah and the hotel had no water which made for an interesting toilet situation! Anyway I digress - on to the Salar de Uyuni. After sussing out a couple of agencies we settled on a 2 night 3 day adventure which cost the princely sum of $65 per person - bargain! Inclusive of all meals and accomodation and of course our 4 wheel drive and our guide - glad that I spoke and understood enough spanish by then to understand most of what was said!

About a 20 minute drive from the town we came to the start of the Salt Flats (12,000 square kms in total) and that was all you could see for miles - an ocean of salt. We were also lucky to be there when they were covered in water which gave the most impressive mirror like quality you could ever imagine - absolutely stunning. Made for many an impressive photo I can tell you - as well as some rather entertaining ones too. Amazing what you can do with a bit of imagination and a camera - I promise one day to actually get some posted.....

In the middle of this ocean of salt you come across Pescada Island which is covered in cacti and soaring rocks - a good place to stop off and contemplate all that beauty that surrounds it.

Towards the end of the first day you come off the salt and hit the 'road' again and make your way through mountainous terrain and bone crushing passes before finally reaching the accommodation for the night. Tomorrow would bring the Colrado Desert and on through to the Laguna Colorado and Lago Verde and an amazing amount of flamingos.

As promised there were flamingos and a pretty impressive sight it was. We stopped at a couple of lakes and then that was that - there are only so many flamingos you can look at! As well as the birdies of course are the lakes. For me they were probably even better - the various mineral deposits had left steaming red and green masses of water which only the hardy aforementioned bird can survive in (they eat the algae). We also stopped of at the tree in the desert - a wierd rock formation that strangely enough resembles a tree! Then again we headed off to lay our heads down for the evening. Tonight we were to be entertained by no less than 4 groups of youngsters who went from hostel to hostels 'entertaining' us backpackers - whilst very sweet (although obviously they expected us to give them money for their trouble) I can't say it was of the highest standard.......the elbowing and occasional sniggers when someone got something wrong made that all the more apparent! Dinner was once again cooked up by our guide and left us with full bellies and not a sign of a stomach upset in sight. Tonight was to be an early start as we were hitting the road the next morning at 5.30 - what's that all about??? Well the reason being of course that we get up to watch the sun rise over the thermal grounds of Sol de Manana - full of geysers and bubbling mud pools and not a fence in sight! Health and Safety would have a field day! But very beautiful it was and an excellent spot to watch the sun come up - after this it was a quick half hour trip down the road to the thermal baths for a quick dip before breakfast. All in all very beautiful.

That then was that - after dropping one of our german companions off on the border we began the long arduos trek back to Uyuni and with a sore bum but may happy memories we arrived back to our hotel some 8 or so hours later. Not bad for $65 all in.