As you can see, we are currently in La Paz, Bolivia after our long journey north through deserts and up a lot of hills. We left Valparaiso nearly 2 weeks ago and took a couple of buses to get to San Pedro de Atacama in the middle of the Atacama desert. We didn't know what to expect from San Pedro as people had told us to "be prepared for the REAL South America". However, we both really liked the desert landscape of San Pedro and the locals all seemed very friendly. Our hostel was very rustic, the rooms are set around a courtyard area, which had several hammocks and tables and chairs to eat at, also there were 2 resident dogs and several cute cats. The main town of San Pedro is very touristy and full of backpackers but it looked very pretty, especially the main square. We booked two tours, one was to see the Moon Valley, and the other was to see some geysers. Our first tour to the Moon Vally started at 4pm, and was just a short drive away. They took us to 'Death Valley' first which had mountains around it and big sand dunes. Then we went to the 'Three Marys' which are 3 big rocks sticking up out of the ground, and also another smaller one that looks like a T-Rex. The ground here was made up of many different minerals and salt, so there were white and silvery bits in the ground. There was also a small cave here and the ruins of a miners cottage. Next we got taken on a walk through the Moon Valley which was pretty cool, the walls of the valley make cracking sounds if you listen carefully because of things contracting and expanding (can't remember the details exactly!). We also went inside another cave here. Then we were driven up a hill for a view of the Moon Valley and to watch the sunset. The Moon Valley looked amazing from up here, very other-worldly. There were several mountains and volcanoes surronding us too and the full moon was very big and bright. It was like no other landscape we had seen before! The next morning we had to get up for a 4am start to see the geysers, this is because the geysers are most active at 6am-ish in the morning (and it took a couple of hours to drive there). The geysers are at an altitude of 4321m so it was very cold at this time also (-6degC). There were a lot of geysers in the area we were first taken to, there was so much steam coming up from the ground. In some of them you could see the boiling water coming out the hole. Also there were orange colours around the holes which is Thermophillus bacteria, which Shil was excited to hear about as she used to use an enzyme from this bacteria in her PCR experiments! (as the bacteria can live at very high temperatures). We then got taken to a natural thermal pool, which Shil went in for a bit but it wasn't that hot so she couldn't stay in for long - Dave just watched her, shivering. We also saw some bigger geysers in this area which were spurting a lot of boiling water. There were small walls built around these ones as some people have died from falling in the boiling water!!! On the drive back to San Pedro we stopped off to visit a very small village, where we could look around. There were just a few houses and a church and the ruins of the old village. The villagers were barbequeing llama meat which we tried, and liked a lot. We saw some llamas in the desert on the drive back and also a baby one, which was very cute - so we tried not to think of the meat we'd eaten earlier! We got back to San Pedro at about 12.30pm, so it was a long trip, but very enjoyable.

Our plan was to travel straight from San Pedro to Uyuni in Bolivia, as on the map it looks like a straight toad that crosses the border. When we looked into booking our transport we were told that the buses didn't leave from San Pedro, but from Calama (the regional capital), and that the buses didn't leave everyday. Luckily there was a bus leaving on the day we wanted, however it did mean spending one night in Calama. The town was only a couple of hours from San Pedro and we got there at around lunch time. After we checked into our hostel (the only hostel in town), we had a look around. We were only a minutes walk from the town centre and there was some sort of show going on. A traditional looking band were playing music (with varying degees of success) and people were dancing a traditional handkerchief dance. It was great to watch as the professionals invited the spectators to dance, however the spectators all knew the dance. There were even little children doing the dance, and they looked very cute. Calama seemed just like a normal town. I think we were the only non-locals there, which was nice. There was nothing touristy, just everyday, normal Chilean life. The show in the town square went on all day and into the night.

The following morning at 6am we got the bus to Uyuni. We walked quickly through the still dark town to the bus terminal. Dave had been postulating about what the bus would be like since it only cost 7 pounds for a 12 hour journey. Thankfully there were no chickens on board, however there was also no toilet. After about 4 hours travel people were looking desperate. They were pretending their legs were jigging to the music, but we all knew the truth. We stopped at just after 10am at what looked like a ghost town. We don't know why we stopped, but when it was clear that we would be there for a bit, people started getting off and running behind the nearest pile of rubble to relieve themselves. The old Andean women had blankets on the bus. We realised at that stage that they were multipurpose, to protect their warmth and their modesty. Everyone, no relieved reboarded the bus and we drove the the border crossing. This turned out to be less than 5 minutes away and had toilets. No need for all the panic then! Our passports were stamped and we reboarded. We got ourselves comfortable again, but then all of a sudden, between border checkpoints the coach stopped and we transfered to another bus. This bus was hideous. There were hundreds of flys everywhere. After the second coach was loaded we set off. After a minute of travel down the road Dave realised that he had left his passport on the first coach. He quickly got the driver to stop and he jumped off the bus and ran back down the road to the first bus. He got there just in time! When he got back on the second bus everyone was relieved that everything was sorted. Dave didn't feel well though. We were now at high altitude and Dave had run quite a way and couldn't get his breath due to the lack of oxygen in the air. It took over an hour for him to get back to normal. Again there was no toilet on this second bus, so when we stopped again after another few hours at a small town, everyone rushed to what must be the grottiest toilets we have ever seen. This was not a good journey and we were glad to finally get to Uyuni.

We had heard some very bad reports about Uyuni. Some people said it was the worst town they'd been to and that it was terrible and they never want to go back. What we found when we arrived couldn't have been further from the truth. As soon as we got off the coach we had wanted to book a tour for the Salt Flats and book the train to La Paz. When we were collecting our bags from the coach a little lady approached us and told us about a tour she did to the Salt Flats. She said that if we would get information from her she would drive us to our hostel. We agreed. We liked the information. We booked and were driven to our hostel. The hostel was great. We had our own private ensuite room (since it was so cheap) and the hostel owners were incredibly friendly and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. We wandered around town and realised that Bolivian people are perhaps the most friendly we had met on our travels. The food in the restaurants and cafes was good and very cheap. Uyuni is small but has character. There are various monuments around and lots of markets stalls and clothing shops. Since it was Sunday we had to wait until the following morning to book the train, however once again we were lucky with transport. The trains from Uyuni don't run everyday, however on the day we were leaving there was a train. On our second day in Uyuni we took our tour to the Salt Flats. The tour was quite cheap so we were unsure what to expect. We started off by visiting a Train Graveyard. Basically had driven 10 minutes out of town and there were lots of trains and carriages that had been left there to rot. In any other country there would be some sort of scrappage scheme, but no, there was clearly someone who had the great idea of not scrapping or recycling the metal, but instead turn it into some sort of tourist attraction. When there you get to climb on the trains and pose for photos with the trains. Fun. After that we were driven half an hour to a small village. There they sold trinkets and at about ten stalls. Every stall had exactly the same things though. We didn't know why we were there. From there we took another half hour journey, this time to the edge of the actual Salt Flats. It was very strange there. Most of the Salt Flats at this time of year are covered with about an inch or two of water. The idea is that when you go there and it's dry, you take perspective photos, but when it's wet, you take reflective shots. Google it to see what we mean. Before verturing further we had lunch. We were expecting bread and maybe more bread, but we actually got a home cooked meal of chicken, rice and salad. We also had fruit and drinks. It was all very welcome. The place we stopped had a memorial for an accident that had happened two years earlier at the Salt Flats. About 12 people were killed in a car accident, when two cars collided. I don't understand how this happened since the Salt Flats are flat and you can see for miles. Clearly it did though and it was all very sad. After lunch we were driven to the Salt Hotel. Here we were left for over an hour to explore the hotel and take photos. The Salt Hotel was strange. As you'd imagine it was all made of salt - salt bricks, salt tables, salt chairs, salt beds. You had to buy something from the shop to wander around the hotel. Dave bought a Mars Bar that cost him over a pound. You could buy a meal for that in Bolivia! We didn't see the point in the hotel. We were there for an hour. We'd seen it and were ready to move on. Why stay there? I bet it wasn't cheap or fun or comfortable! After a couple of stops on the way back to take more photos, the tour ended. It was a good day. The rest of the time in Uyuni we just wandered around the town and relaxed. There was the sound of a brass band playing for the majority of the time we were in Uyuni. Day and night they played. They didn't get much better though! On our last day in Uyuni the town was completely different. There were hundreds of school children around all getting ready for a parade. It was an important day in Bolivia - 23rd March. They were comemorating the Battle of the Sea with Chile. Bolivia lost the war and with it lost access to the Pacific Ocean. We weren't sure why everyone seemed so happy on that day. That evening, at midnight we got our train north to La Paz. We didn't sleep much - it wasn't very comfortable, and it was cold. In the morning they put the TV and showed that BBC show that was on on Saturday afternoon - the comedy one where no one speaks but there are practical jokes on the public. Visual humour. We weren't very amused with the train though. We got to Oruro at 7am and then got our bus to La Paz.

We arrived in La Paz at 11am. Our journey had taken us through some very flat terrain and some quite desolate looking towns. It was good when we arrived though because La Paz is kind of in a bowl and we entered this bowl from the top, so we had great views of the city below. Our taxi ride from the bus terminal to the hostel was interesting and gave us a taste of what to expect. La Paz is crazy. Within 5 minutes we had seen out first car get bumped. There is incessant beeping of car horns, loads of traffic, loads of people, loads of stalls and markets selling practially everything. It's a very lively city. La Paz was originally called Our Lady of Peace. Oh the irony! We like it though. 3 days is certainly enough though. Our hostel is more like a hotel, and again very cheap. We've spent the last few days exploring the city and trying to take it all in. Yesterday we went to San Francisco Church which is the only touristy thing to do here. The church and museum were practically empty though. A nice change to the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. The church is absolutely amazing inside - very well kept with so many statues and flowers everywhere. We leave La Paz tomorrow and head for Lake Titicaca and from there we'll be heading to Cusco for the Inca Trail!

D and S