A short bus ride to Oruro, a small ex mining town that had seen better days and certainly doesn't see many tourists, and onto the train for the 7hr ride across the altiplano to Uyuni.

The next morning, Juan our guide, our cook and her daughter, were busy loading our ancient looking Toyota Landcruiser for our 3 day jaunt across the Salar & Eduardo Avaroa National Park. Our group consisted of 3 American guys and the most annoying French girl we have ever had the misfortune of meeting.

After the eerie train cemetary the Salt Lake was first up. Standing on the Isla Pescado, the 9,000sq km of Salar is too vast to comprehend. See the photo's and video's! We stayed that night in Bella Vista, expecting loads of other tours to turn up, but we had the place to ourselves. We did our best to descinate their wine and beer stock, ending with drunken star gazing. WOW!

7am the next morning with Jona, Emma and Jack feeling a little worse for wear after our 2.30am finish, Juan was nowhere to be seen. 9am Juan arrived and we loaded up the Toyota. 9.15, Juan stalled the Toyota and rushed round the village looking for a jump start.

Finally headed off to the Salar de Chiguana where the rail road runs through to Chile. Juan stalled the jeep on the railway lines. Twice. Very grateful there are only 4 trains a week!

We started climbing up into the Cordillera Occidental. A rocky road (if you can call it a road) but the Landcruiser did us proud. Emma firmly insists, however, that the Kia Sorento would have done just a good a job.

We stopped and lunched with flamingos by Laguna Canapa then continued our drive passing through the dramatic mountain scenery, crazy rock formations and several more lakes. After a long day being thrown about in the back of the jeep we arrived at our refuge for the night opposite Laguna Colorado. s*** it was cold! Some hot mate (coca leaf tea) upon arrival was very welcome. After a few bottles of wine, and several layers of clothes later, the cold had abated.

6am start. No sign of Juan. Oh there he is, under the bonnet of our jeep. No luck borrowing a battery, his next brainwave was to get another jeep to push our Toyota about to try and hillstart the thing. 20 minutes of comedy Toyota bumper cars, and we were off, until Juan decided the engine was still a bit cold, so he took a blow torch to it.

First stop was the geysers high up in the mountain (5,200m). Very smelly but amazing to wander round dodging the spewing 150 degree mud. We began our descent back onto the altiplano, passing the Dali Rocks, followed by a stop at the Laguna Verde. It was beautiful. A quick dip in the hot springs at 3,200m by Laguna Polques to warm the bones before lunch.

Our return route took us past yet more lakes... and yet more crazy rocks, but by this point it was all becoming a bit tedious and the Toyota was beginning to get feel very cramped (afterall there were 9 of us in it!) and we all longed for a hot shower and a decent feed back in Uyuni.

The scenery we saw was amazing, especially the salt flats, but the photos do it more justice than words. Onwards to Potosi.