The trip to the Salt flats didnt start out too great. Because of the weather know one was sure whether any trips would be running or not. We just had to be up and ready for 8.45am and hope for the best. At 8 the bus arrived but still no clearer as to whether we were going. Eventually we set off round the corner to the immigration office, only to find out htat we would have to wait at least 2 hours to see if the border would open and if the roads were safe to drive on.
Phew, the trip was running and only about 4 hours late we were on our way to the Bolivian border. There we had breakfast and got in our groups for our jeeps. Evenutally we were off. In our car was us 2, Daniel and Miriam and a Brazilian guy called Fabio. The border was 4000mts above sea level and absolutely freezing, not the weather for our rucksacks full or shorts and tea shirts. Luckily we had enough to layer up and the good old jet star blanket off a flight made well as a scarf.
None of us had ever seen views like it, just pure desert and mountains it really was quite incredible. The first day w went to Lagoona Verde and Lagoona Balnco (the white and green lagoon) followed by the geishas (just blow holes in the land) at a crazy 5000mtrs above sea level. The ear popping and headaches were a bit of a nightmare.
Around 3 o clock we went to our first nights accomodation known as the refuge. And that it was, no electricity, no heating and no shower brrrrr.
Lunch was a treat though, we had sausage mash and salad. From their we went to another lagoon where all the flamingos were, there were thousands. Back at the refuge they had set out tea and coffee and then not long after it was dinner time. Soup followed by pasta and then fruit for desert.
We were all tucked up in bed by 9pm as it was so cold and the altitude had really made some people feel quite ill. If only we knew how bas a nights sleep we were in for. We all woke up with banging headahces, James had been up all night feeling dizzy, mot sure if that was the result of the altitude or that he kept banging his head on the toilet door as it was so dark. I had hurrendous heart palpitations and was afriad id never wake up. It was so hard to breather and under the ten covers we each had made it even more impossible.

Day 2

Another day of long drives, lots of stopping and pictures, cant quite remeber were we stopped though. We had a picnic lunch around one of the lagoons but the food was no where near as good. That night we had slightly better accomodation and got our own room. However the rain came down and we were all so worried that we were about to be in for another night of flooding. Luckily there were enough bins to catch the water coming from the ceiling. Fro tea that night was Steak and freeezing cold chips, like they coul dhave been frozen. The wine made up for it however, 3 bottles between 16 people, come on! luckily there were a few miserys there which made wine for us alchies.
Over all a much better nights sleep than the last.

Day 3

Finally the day we had been waiting for, tiem for the salt flats. We set off and had a couple of hours drive before we arrived in Uyuni. First we went to the train graveyard. Just an area of the desert where old steam trains are when the are no longer used. It was actually really good. In the town of Uyuni we had half our to walk around before we left for the flats. Whilst there we bumped into Lois who had not being having the best time either.
Eventually we were on our way. As we drove closer to the salt flats we all looked pretty dissapointed. Before we booked the trip we were told that it would be all brown or covered in water and this it was. We couldnt belive it, all this money for that. Hold up though we realised, we started to drive over the salt and the water and as we did the views appeared and WOW. There is literally no words to descirbe what they looked like and the pictures really do no justics, it was like we had just driven into heaven. We had 40 mintues to get out and take photos and we really should have taken more of our creative ones but we were just awe struck it was hard to concentrate on anything else but look around. The time went so quickly and before we knew it we were being called over to the Salt hotel for another picnic lunch.

After lunch we had a little bit more time to get the last pictures before it was back to Uyuni to finish our trip. On the way back we stopped at a little market which and had chance to buy some goodies.

This is were it all went wrong.

So, there were four of us returning to San Pedro with the trip rather than staying in Uyuni. When we got back from the salt flats we went to the office and the woman told us our jeep would be there in 30 minutes to finish the last part of our trip.

After a while the spanish couple, Itzy and Gary told us that there was a problem and that we ,ay have to spen the night in Uyuni insted of travelling the 3 hours to our next destination. She told us to come back in an hour and we would find out. The hour went by and every ten minutes there was a new problem. Either we had no car, no room in hostels in Uyuni, the borders were closed for Carnaval, the borders were closed because of snow and many many more.

We were ll getting a bit fed up and annoyed that know one had a clue what was going on. Eventually she jumped up and put us in a jeep and that was that. Great we thought finally on our way.

What a stupid stupid stupid man the driver was. He also did not have alcue what was going on. He also kept telling us different plans, getting phione calls, each time we knew it was bad by the look on the spanish couples faces. Basically the mian reasons were borders being closed because of snow and because of carnival. So the options we had were drive 3 hours and then another 10 or so the next day to get to one border or drive 45 mins that night and get up at 3am to go to another.

We figured out that no one really had a clue so we just drove. Not long into the journey there was a fly in the car so Gary put the window down to let it out and it broke! Just as a huge storm came over us. We stopped and tried to fix it but no chance. This now meant we had to drive a few more hours to the town we had stayed at the night before to try get it fixed.

The next few hours we cold and really annoying us. They guy could not do maths, basically we had to be a the border at 7am as it was only opening for 1 hour at 8am, it took 6 hours to get to however the driver thought that by leaving at 4 am we would have time. We all ended up in huge arguments with him and starting to worry as it was gettin dark and we still had no idea where we were going.

So we stopped at the village, had some tea and within an hour the window was fixed. Yey we thought finally we can get going and hopefully see a bed soon.

Then came the even worse news..... due to the snow a group that had been stranded at the refuge for 2 days had no signal so didnt know the borders were closed, it was now our duty to drive into the night to reach them to tell them. We were fuming, how had we ended up as messengers in all of this. All we wanted was a bed and shower. As we wouldnt of arrived there untill late, the driver told us that we would stop for dinner and a shower at the hotel we were meant to be staying at. God we hated this man.

So we arrive and he says I know lets just sleep here, we can get up at 3am and drive to the refuge to get the other group. By this point we didnt care we scoffed our food jumped in the shower and all slept like babies for the 4 hours we had.

3a, ca,e far too quickly, we all bundled up and slept most of the drive in the car.

We knew that the border was open for only 1 hour so knew how vital it was to be there on time, thats how the other group had been stranded they got to the border it didnt open so had to spend more nights in the desert.

When we arrived we he casually said, ah ok go gt breakfast we have an hour to wait. Grrrrrrr! Angry was an understatement, we sat in the car beeping the horn shouting at him untill there was nothing he could do but take us. HAHA knew we would win this fight.

Another few hours laster we arrived at the Bolivian border. Only to wait in the freezing cold snow for hours whilst we waited to see if the Chilean border would allowe a bus to cross to collect us. Long story short it did.

On our run of bad luck though, the nice man said you 4 cxan go in the jeep as we had been up for so long. Perfect.......or not so.

We watched the bus drive off and were sat all smug in our nice warm jeep that would get us there much quicker. Ha how wrong. 5 minutes into the drive the car broke down, the engine had over heated and we were going nowwhere. By this point we couldnt do anything other than laugh uncontrolably at our misfortune. It eventually occured to me what had happened, I got out of the car and said to James and Gary, you do put cold water in the tank, which I knew and of course they replied the same. I had seen the guy filling the car early but not really taken into account what he was doing. The idiot had filled the water tank with boiling hot water. James and Gary laughed as if to say Becky of course he wouldnt of put hot water in. A short translation later and of course the IDIOT had put hot water in. Know wounder it borke down, as he tried to take the cap of it bascially blew up in his face. So off he went and started pilling snow around the tank saying it would cool it down. He had no signal on his phone to call for help so we just sat and watched him fill the engine with snow. Eventually we made him take the cap off and keep pouring all our water in to cool it down. All we needed to do was get to the top of the mountain to either call for help or just coast the car down as it was ll down hill. Bearing in mind we had 1 hour to get to the Chilean border, we were all starting to accept we may be heading back into the desert.

Over the next hour, we would drive maybe 2 miles, over heat, break down, fill the water, and repeat another 6 times at least.( oh and not to forget, each time he got out the car he would not put the handbreak on and we be rolling away, he´s set off driving with the boot open, he was only about 18 and as stupid as the driver from the night before) The final time we could see the border but it was just too far to walk. So frustrating.

Eventually made it to San Pedro but had to wait about 4 hours to get through imigration.

We were so incredebly happy to finally find a hostel. That night we went out for pizza and were in bed by about 8.

The following day we soent in bed, sleeping, reading, playing cards as we were just so tired. This whole trip I had been really ill with a cold so it was so nice to have a big comfy bed to do nothing in.

With that done we are now finally leaving Sna Pedro, just 33 hour on a bus till we can finally get to Mendoza in Argentina.