We climbed up a good distance from San Pedro, crossed the border into Bolivia at an altitude of 4,500m (14,760 ft), and started our 3-day desert crossing in a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Our first stop was the beautiful Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) set against the Volcan Licancabur, first passing by Laguna Blanca (White Lagoon). These lagoons, like all the other lagoons we visited afterwards, were populated by flamingoes.

We drove past the Piedras de Dali (Dali stones), the subject matter of one of Salvador Dali's paintings. I wonder what caught his interest when he saw the row of rocks in the sand - they looked very unremarkable to me.

Lunch stop was at a beautiful lagoon with a thermal pool. I was too much of a wimp to jump into the pool. The sunny blue skies are deceptive, as it is actually quite cold when the wind blows, and I did not fancy the idea of stepping out into the cold wind after the warm pool, so I ventured as far as rolling up my trouser legs and soaking my legs in the 30C waters.

We stopped by at some geysers before heading off to our hostel at Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon). This lagoon was absolutely stunning, the red algae constrasting with the white salt deposits and blue waters, set against the brown of the mountains with yellow clumps of grass in the foreground. The flamingoes feeding around the lagoon added to the beauty of the setting. Laguna Colorada is situated at 4,268m (14,000 ft) and we all started feeling the effects of the altitude that day. We felt breathless just from taking a short walk, and a few felt really ill. Our hostel was basic: no heating and no running water - night time temperatures fell to almost freezing (this is in springtime), and it was a good thing they gave us many layers of thick, warm blankets. I had a huge pounding headache that night as I adjusted to the altitude - but I was not chancing getting out from under my blankets for my Advil, and instead struggled with a completely sleepless night - what a relief it was when I did finally take my Advil in the morning and the pain in my head quickly subsided.

We continued our journey north the next day, stopping to see the stone tree, various other lagoons, and finally passing by some quinoa fields as we approached the little village of Bellavista to bed down at our hostel, a basic place with lovely panoramic views down to the salt flat.

We left before dawn to view the sunrise over the salt flat. Whilst it was a unique experience and I am glad I did it, I would not wake up for a sunrise on my next trip to the Uyuni salt flats - it was not particularly exceptional. The salt flats however are amazing, and stretch on for 12,000 square kms. The salt crust goes down some 20 - 30m deep, and there is water deep underground about 60 m below.

We drove on to Isla Incahuasi (also known as Isla Pescado), which situated in the middle of the extensive salt flat, this cactus-studded hill was very appropriately named an island. We took a walk around the 'island', admiring the cacti, and views of the salt flats from the peak of the hill ..... before settling down for a tailgate picnic breakfast.

I have been so absorbed with describing the sights that I have forgotten to introduce the crew: the 3 drivers: Juan, Walberto and Ismael, Wilma (the cook, and Juan's wife), and little Natalie (Juan & Wilma's daughter). She is a shy little thing but finally warmed to me and started chatting (or rather mumbling), but I hardly caught anything that she said. The 3 drivers were very competent in navigating by reference to the mountains and other landmarks. They drove skillfully through some pretty harsh terrain, and had good knowledge of the geology and history. The key challenge was for us to understand sufficient Spanish and for them to use basic enough terms so we could communicate - and we actually managed quite well. Wilma fed us some pretty hearty meals of pasta, grilled chicken, and delicious homemade soups.

We visited the Hotel de Sal (Salt Hotel), which is actually an illegal structure, made entirely out of salt bricks, apart from the roof, beams and windows. Their tables, chairs, and beds were entirely structured out of salt slabs, mined directly from the salt flats. The hotel also housed some salt sculptures of various animals, monuments and mythical creatures. It was all very cleverly done!

We stopped at a salt mining settlement and was given a tour of how the salt was mined and processed. We had our lunch in a dining room made entirely of salt (walls, dining tables and chairs) - it felt like we were an igloo - it was very cosy!

Our last stop was at the Train Cemetery just outside of Uyuni, where a number of old English passenger and cargo trains dating back to 1826 were abandoned.

Uyuni is a bizarre little dusty town at the edge of the salt flats ... and I felt like I was on a stage set in a Clint Eastwood western. Many of the older Bolivian women were dressed in traditional colourful garb of bowler hat, shawl and flair, gathered skirts that fell to below the knees. A fair number carried a colourful wrap strapped to their backs, normally with a child wrapped within, but others used the wrap to carry their supplies.