Confusion reigned supreme at the Sucre bus station. Our bus to Uyuni was scheduled for a late night departure so we could get a restful sleep overnight on it... but the station was like a 3-ring circus! They were lowering luggage over a balcony down via a rope with a hook, narrowly missing the heads of their customers walking around below. People and dogs were whizzing around and buses pulled in and out without any discernible clue of their destination. But we somehow found our budget bus, threw our luggage in the baggage hold and climbed aboard to find our seats. These seats were in the back row, so instead of Clare and I having our own two, I had the pleasure of sitting next to an unwashed Bolivian man sitting with a guitar, an accordion and elbows that couldn't keep to themselves. The speaker right above our heads pumping some loud Spanish crap was not ideal either, so I thanked God for ear plugs and sleeping pills and knocked myself out. Waking up at 4am to get out in Uyuni wasn't amazing either... the bus station was the side of the road, it was dark and pretty cold when you're only wearing shorts. But we found our hostel and spent a couple of days in this small town that has way too many tour operators to choose from when selecting a tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats. But find one we did and then next morning we met our tour group, which consisted of three 4WD Land Cruisers equipped to take on the driest desert on earth and loaded with colourful young backpackers. Our 4WD had two American girls and a Kiwi couple (and of course the tour guide/driver/cook) and we quickly made good friends with the Kiwis (the Americans were a bit weird). So we set off for a 3 day adventure in the desert and I gotta say: it was the highlight of Bolivia.

They took us to a rusty train graveyard, a hotel made entirely of salt and a cactus island in the middle of a barren plain of salt. We saw amazing sunsets, wacky rock formations and flamingos for the first time ever, walking around in salty lakes made up of the most bizarre colours! The seemingly endless Salt Flats (12,000km² to be exact) and perfectly flat, empty horizons are also ideal for crazy photos that use perspective to make people seem like giants or Tom Thumb tiny. See our photos for some downright 'zany' examples.

The basic hostels we stayed in were good fun too! We busted out the cards and red wine, made a big bonfire and gazed at the stars. It was kinda like camping, except instead of a blow up bed, you get a mattress on a huge block of salt. Salt was EVERYWHERE. Except, strangely, on the dinner table...

On the final day we saw the sunrise as we explored a hectic geyser field. The steam shot up from the earth and I even jumped through one, but it didn't work out well: I fell and had to use my hands as breaks! As we bumped violently up and down through a desert named after Salvidor Dali (because of the mad colours and rock shapes) we knew the Chilean border was approaching, so we exchanged Emails with the Kiwis (not the Americans). We then waved our trusty 4WD convoy and our group away as they headed back to Uyuni and we crossed the border into Chile. It was quite a ride... and though our bruised asses will be happy it's over, the sights in this desert were well and truly worth it!

Daz