We had an interesting 6 and a half hour journey to from Potosi to Uyuni. The buses in Bolivia are definitely a step down from Brazil with people standing in the aisles for most of the journey. Seats reclined at one time in the buses life but now were just fixed or broken. No aircon and our window unfortunatly didn't open and when the man who was standing in front of the roof vent decided he was cold it meant that we were cooking hot for the last few hours of the trip.

But the amazing scenery made up for the bus. Large cactusus and dramatic cliffs which remind me of the old western movies.

It was really great to finally make it to the hotel which was pretty comfortable (if a little chilly in the morning and at night once the tiny heater went off). Also a great restaurant (Minuteman) was in the hotel which meant we could get western style pizzas and breakfast without having to wander out in the cold.

We were picked up at 10.30 by a Toyota landcruiser which was to be our transport for the next 2 days into the Salar De Uyuni which is a huge Salt Flats which once used to be a lake. Our guide and cook travlled with us in the landcruiser which seated 8. The cook sat and knitted in the back seat while we were travelling around.

The scenery was amazing and everything that I'd expected. Our first stop was the train cemetery where we got to see trains that would have been around when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid roamed Bolivia.

From there we headed onto the salt flats, and the first stop was piles of salt that had been stacked up in little triangles by the locals to dry out. Once the salt dries out they then collect it in the trucks and take is to the salt processing factories (think a large backyard) where it is spread out on the ground and regularly walked over to bring the wetter salt to the top. Once it is dried it is then heated to remove any final moisture before being ground very fine and minerals added. The ladies then pack the salt by hand into 1 kg bags and seal the plastic bags on a hot pipe lit by gas from a barbeque sized gas bottes. On our last day we got to visit a factory and actually pack on the bags ourselves. These ladies pack about 3,000 bags a day and make only 40 bolovianos a day (6.5 US). The packets of salt are then sold for about 1 bolivianos for 3 kgs, or you can buy in bulk 20 kilos for 8 Bolivianos. Our guide said that the price of salt is now very cheap so the families living near or on the salt flats arn't very rich. The poverty is just heartbreaking sometimes and its tempting to just hand then money when we seem to have so much in comparison. Little girls were walking around on the cold concrete floor in bare feet. I was in 2 layers of icebreaker and had my down jacket on and can't comprehend how cold they must have been.

The salt flats are just amazing at some points the salt is 150 metres deep. Each year the salt flats are covered with water in the wet season (Dec to Feb) and then another layer of salt is added each year. When the salt is cut to make table tops or chairs for the salt hotels you can see the dirt layers left. The dirt from the mountains blows over the salt plains and in October is it a dirty brown instead of the brilliant white that we saw. Then the water comes and a layer can be seen in the salt of the dirt that was left. The bigger layers indicate more than 1 metre of water covering the salt flats.

We had a lunch stop at a salt hotel where our cook laid our a really nice meal for us, and we stopped outside and took photos. After lunch we drove and had a few more photo stops before arriving at a different salt hotel which was to be our accommodation for the nice.

All of the furniture was made out of salt (tables, chairs, beds, walls) with salt crystals on the floor which looked a little like gravel and was very crunchy when we walked around.

Our guide suggested a walk up one of the close hills to see the sunset which we did. Unfortunatly we kept waiting for the sunset to get better, but it never really got spectacular so we ended up walking back in the dark. We were prepared and had out headtorches which made the journey back possible.

We had another nice meal made by our cook. We were supposed to have Quinua and vege soup, however they had forgotten the Quinua so we just had vege soup followed by Vegeterian Spaghetti.

We were a little worried that we would be cold during the night as when we arrived we only saw 3 wollen blankets on the twin beds without any other heating in the hotel. We survived our night by sleeping in thermals inside out sleeping bag liners under the blankets and adding out down jackets and icebreaker tops just under the bedspread. Fortunatly I was actually too hot during the night instead of cold and had to remove a layer of thermals.

I had a hot shower in the morning (5 Bolivianos) which was a really great way to warm up as the morning was a little frosty.

From there we had a few more photo stops and got to see some of the nautural Octogan shapes that are naturally made in the salt. We took a few photos jumping up in the air but due to the altitude (3600) we seemed to get tired really quickly.

Then onto Fish Island to climb to the top and see more of the scenery, some of the cactusus were 12 metres high and were huge. Lunch was had at the base of Fish Island (again a really nice meal of rice, cooked carrots, tomotoes, cucumber and egg for Tony and I)

Then onto the base of an inactive volcano where the Flamingoes congregated in the pools still left on the salt flats.

Overall I really enjoyed the salt flats, they are pretty amazing to see. They seem to go on and on forever and the drive back to Uyuni seemed really long.

After the trip we were dropped back at the hotel where we were able to shower and each another delicious pizza and chocolate cake before our overnight train to Oruro.

The train left at Oruro at 12.00 midnight and arrived at Oruro at 7 in the morning. The train was filled with Grinos like us and was pretty comfortable for an overnight train. The seats reclined really far, which was good but the only bad part is that you lost leg space when the person in front of you put their chair right back. Luckily for Tony, Carmen our tour leader sat in front of us and as she had a spare seat she sat infront of me and Tony didn't loose any leg space. The train conductor with traditional Thomas the Tank engine conductor hat gave out thin blankets and small pillows for the journey. Hot tea was also given out right at the start. The compartment was freezing cold, however heater were turned on which made it a little more comfortable for me as I was sitting by the window right beside. I slept most of the journey, however Tony couldn't as his legs were too cold and he was uncomfortable.

At Oruro we got out bags off again from the baggage cabin then jumped in a taxi to the bus station. Taxi had the most unusual drivers seat made of wire that I've ever seen.

We had to pay a tax of 1.50 Bolivianos to get into the bus station, then we jumped onto a bus to La Paz. Bus was freezing cold all of the journey with no heating. My legs were freezing, as my jacket kept the top half of me warm. Every now and then the sun from the other side of the bus would stream through enough and onto my legs to keep them a little warmer. Unfortunatly people were standing right next to me for most of the journey and blocking my sun.