Saldar de Uyuni - The Salt Lakes of Bolivia At this point of our travels another tour was the last thing we felt like doing but the only way to see the salt lakes is with a tour and from discussions with other travellers it was worth visiting. So after what was meant to be a nine hour bus ride turned into 12 hours we made it to the start of what we currently consider one of the highlights of our trip so far. Firstly the most important ingredient to a successful and enjoyable tour is of couse the company. Once again we were very fortunate to have a fantastic group of people. John and Kathleen a couple of well heeled travellers from the US and Doug an Australian who is pretty much a Japanese considering he has lived there for eight years and planning to go back there for a while longer, made us a party of five in a jeep for three days! The three day tour was one of continual contrasts. The first day we drove across what seemed like an endless planet of white - the salt lakes. We spent lunch on Isla de Pescadores (Inkawasi), an earthen oasis amid the sea of salt. Covered by an army of ancient giant cacti. The second day we left the white land of salt lakes for glacial lakes and besides what are quite cold temperatures at night and in the winter. Three different species of flamingos inhabit these lakes. Surprisingly we could get quite close to admire the elegant flamingos stride through the lakes. These glacial lakes are rich in minerals which enhance the colour of the water and the water can appear a different colour depending on the mineral and the time of day. Adding an extra element to the surreal landscape. Primarily deposits of white borax are found in these lakes making the shoreline like a spongy white clay and almost a little dangerous to walk on in spots. The beautiful Lake Colorado was where we spent the night. The third day began very early, 5am! This was to get us up in time to reach the geyser region of Sol de Manana by sunrise. The sun appearing from behind the surrounding volcanos was beautiful but not as breathtaking as the amazing landscape. Where do I start to explain the landscape..? Lunar is the best word I can think of. And each of the craters on this lunar landscape were bubbling and spitting boiling mud and sulphur gases. The smell was a little horrendous but I was blown away by this bubbling craters that we could pretty much walk into (if we were stupid enough, considering the gases and bubbling mud were at around 200 degrees). After the morning's experience we didn't think the day could get much better, but we were proven wrong. We moved onto to have breakfast cooked for us by our lovely guide at nearby thermal springs with a chance to watch a few more flamingos go about their day. On our way to our final destination Laguna Verde (Green Lake) the road opens up to a desert of a myriad of colours from red, brown, yellow depending on where the sun was shining. Then in the middle of no-where our guide stopped the car and pointed out the window telling us something about 'Dali'. Sure enough this was the backdrop used in the famous Dali picture with the melting clock. The one with the red desert, sparse rocks etc. In fact thinking over the past few days at the extreme scenerys we have seen many of them have been featured in Dali's work. Laguna Verde claims its name to the cobalt that colours this lake a blue green colour. We arrived at a perfect time of day when the sun was reflecting the huge Volcan Lilcancabur that sat on the opposite bank of the Laguna. We then departed our fellow travellers and boarded a bus to cross the Bolivian border and enter Chile.