What an action packed few days it has been since we arrived in Bolivia! After getting the bus to La Quiaca at the Argentinean side of the boarder, we had to wait on the Bolivian side for immigration to open since Bolivia is in a different time zone, which they did so at a very leisurely pace. As we started walking through the streets of Villazon, we could immediately feel the effects of the altitude as we got out of breath really quickly and had a tingling sensation all down our legs. It really was a strange place, especially at like 6 in the morning, and was bitterly cold. After dumping our bags we had a wander round for some breakfast, walking past loads of small "huts" each serving up local dishes, until at the end of one row a little TV on top of a fridge caught my eye - it was only showing United vs Spurs! Even in a remote border village in Bolivia, I gave the locals some early morning entertainment as I tried some guisu(a local dish) for brekky! We then caught a train to Tupiza which was an experience, sat amongst loads of locals, all of whom seem to take their entire belongings with them everywhere in these huge bags. This was the first time I have really felt in traditional (for want of a better word) South America. Brazil, Uruguay & Argentina had all been quite European, but Bolivia is just completely different in terms of culture. Fewer people speak English for a start! Pulling into Tupiza, everything went really well as we found a nice hostel for 1 pound 40 and booked our trip into the salt desert for the next day, meaning we wasted now time hanging around - which was pleasing seen as we are now on a bit of a tight schedule. After having some llama steak for tea, we hit the sack for some much needed sleep and prepare for the four day tour starting in the morning. The tour of the salt flats really was an experience. We were fortunate that three people (from Rochdale!) had to pull out in the morning because one of them had food poisoning, they thought from the llama steak! Not nice to hear given we had had exactly the same thing, but we carried on and enjoyed the extra space we had in the jeep and started talking to Eric, our English speaking guide. It would be impossible to say what we did and saw day by day, but the first three days we spent driving through huge open expanses of desert, over rivers, through canyons and passing by remote hamlets, stopping occasionally to help repair the other groups jeep, which seemed to constantly be breaking down! During the day the weather would be glorious sunshine but then at night it was absolutely freezing; on the first evening I had 5 layers and two pairs of trousers on and I was still cold! There was one point when we were driving at night to the place where we would stay, when we had the haunting sound of some traditional music playing in the jeep, and out of the window I saw the most stars I have ever seen. I really felt like I was literally out in the middle of nowhere, in some of the bleakest terrain on Earth! During the days we would occasionally pass a local out walking, miles and miles from any kind of civilization and you just had to wonder where on earth they were from, or heading to. The places where we stayed were basic in the extreme, to the point where you had to "manually" flush the toilet yourself using a bucket of water. Oh, and as in the whole of Bolivia, you have to provide your own toilet paper! By the last day I absolutely stank rotten after having no shower for days, and the terrible music we were subjected to all day was beginning to grate on me, not to mention the sore backside from spending 6 hours a day bouncing up and down in the jeep and the tiredness from getting up a 5am every morning! It was all worthwhile on the final day though, when the sights we saw were just surreal. The salt lakes offer a perfect mirror image of the mountains above them, and the sunrise on the last morning was just something else, despite freezing my nads off whilst taking all the photos - I really need to buy a coat! Every now and again the Salar would be punctuated by "islands" of vegetation, one of which where we had amazing pancakes for breakfast served up by our adorable cook Amelie! Overall, a brilliant four days! After being dropped off in otherworldly Uyuni, we caught an overnight bus to La Paz - the most uncomfortable journey of my life! The route at times was the type of roads that were hard work in a 4x4 with suspension, let alone a big ugly bus. On more than one occasion I seriously thought the bus was going to topple over, and even with my ipod on full blast I could still hear everything rattling like mad! Anyway, I am in desperate need of a good sleep and a shower, then we will see what La Paz has in store for us! Jonny