So...first week in Bolivia. And wow what a country it is turning out to be.

We´ve just got a few brief hours in Uyuní before getting an overnight bus to La Paz (local bus, hmmm, should be fun - we´ve heard Bolivian buses and QUITE up to Argentinian standards), but getting here has been quite an adventure.

We sped through Salta much quicker than intended - as in, a grand total of 11 hours spent there, but most of them having a tremendous BBQ and our last taste of good Argentinian steak and red wine and the highly recommended Terra Oculta hostel, who found it very amusing when we checked in and checked out 5 hours later. This was due to the situation with transport up to Tupiza in Bolivia, from where we intended to catch a tour of the southwestern corner of Bolivia from Tupiza to Uyuní, taking in the famous Salar de Uyuni. (Hence the photo. You can´t actually sandboard or even saltboard - it´s as flat as a pancake, a lake of salt - but it´s to give you an idea of the quantity and colour of the stuff).

So having bolted through Salta, we arrived at the La Quiaca/Villazón border early in the morning and went through with minimum fuss. Hang on a sec, where was all the chaos we´d heard was rife in Bolivia? Once into Villazón, we decided to bin all advice (and an 8 hour wait for the train) and catch a bus to Tupiza. Easy as anything. Having expected Bolivia to be a bit more like Asia in terms of ease of getting from A to B, it felt like something was definitely up. And when, within minutes of arriving in Tupiza, we saw a sign saying "Wanted: 2 more people to join a tour to Uyuní leaving tomorrow" our suspicions were confirmed. Too easy, surely.

No - Bolivia just isn´t a crazy or chaotic as you´ve heard about. It´s just not Argentina or Brazil and, much as I loved those countries, thank god - it´s something else. The same can´t be said of Tupiza. We were told it´s a place you go for a day and stay for a week, but one day wasn´t enough time to turn up any redeeming features so it wasn´t with heavy hearts that we got in our 4WD and sped (ok, rolled, it was rocky) out of Tupiza the next day.

But as for the trip...we went from lunar lacndscapes to endless deserts dotted with bizarre stone formations - the result of volcanic eruptions - said volcanoes, snow-capped mountains, geysers at 5,000m...it was an incredible, awesome, unbelievably amazing journey. We experienced so much - playing football at 4,700m with the local kids (and not quite believing the effects of altitude on our breathing and exercise capability!), snuggling up against the cold in stone huts in the middle of nowhere, flamingo covered lake, and those lakes in all the colours of the rainbow - sometimes all in one lake! Just stunning.

And let´s not forget the famous Salar de Uyuní. They are quite unbelievable, stretching out for miles and miles in endless white to the mountains, only disturbed by some (drunken looking) tyre track. The Isla de Pescadores was amazing too - cactus covered and climbed in the very early morning sun after watching sunrise over the salt, and it was very very cool. The feeling once up at the top was really fantastic (if a little breathless). We spent ages taking the very cool perspective photos - us on each others hands, on beer cans, on mini alcohol bottles, having lots of fun and experimenting with all the different things we could do. It was great! Photos to be put up on the site at...well some point sometime, probably next May when I´m back!

So we rolled into Uyuní after 4 days, 1 shower, several lakes, 1 puncture and 1 breakdown (because our driver had forgotten to top up the gas), and spent a few hours doing not very much. The only thing that must be mentioned is Minuteman Pizza, which has to be the best pizza I´ve had in a very very long time. Unfortunately, as I write, it´s having a bit of an effect altitude-sickness-wise. Anyone who´s had altitude sickness will know what I mean. Bring on that overnighter to La Paz...!