Hi everyone! The story continues... Once again, less than 12 hours after arriving, we left La Paz, taking a bus, then train south to Uyuni. We were delighted to bump into Mel & Steve again over lunch and were amazed to discover our pre-allocated seats on the train were next to theirs. Seven hours later we arrived, bottoms aching more than after our 64km bike ride! The definition of "executive class" varies across continents! Less than 12 hours later, we were off again! This time, we joined a 3-day tour in a jeep across the Bolivian wilderness, taking us to Chile. We chose Toñito Tours, a company recommended to us by Dave & Jason, a couple of off-duty tour guides we had met in Mendoza. Made up of two Spanish girls, a Spanish/Irish couple and us, our group piled into the back of a Toyota Landcruiser as our driver & cook duo packed everything up ready for the off. The first stop was the "cemeterio de trenes" on the outskirts of Uyuni. Not sure why they bring tourists here, as it really is the resting place for the skeletons of decrepid and rusty redundant trains! Still, we took the obligatory photograph ... and moved swiftly on! Leaving Uyuni behind, we headed for the "Salar de Uyuni", at 9000 sq km, by far the largest Salt Flat in the world, and which was once part of a prehistoric salt lake covering most of south-west Bolivia. At the edge of the salar, we passed by hundreds of salt cones drying out in the sun (the first stage in the processing of salt) on the way to the Salt Hotel. This is a quirky, isolated building and, in the same vain as Scandinavia's Ice Hotels, everything is made from raw salt, cut from the surface of the salar. We had our lunch at the "Isla de Pescado" in the centre of the salar, following an hour's drive across a dazzling white expanse of nothingness. Afterwards, we hiked (among hundreds of giant cacti) to the top of the island, from where the views were incredible, with only the distant peaks of far-off mountains breaking the horizon. Then it was back into the jeep to continue for several more hours driving across the white expanse of nothingness! We finally arrived at Posada Toñito, our home for the night, where amusingly, hot water was available only between 5.30pm and 7pm, and lighting only between 7pm and 9pm! With nowhere to go and not much else to do, we spent the evening chatting in the hostel - Kirstie was relishing the chance to speak real Spanish Spanish (rather than the Latin American version!) and Zena was delighted to discover there was an English-speaking tour group also in the hostel. To our surprise, the tour was led by Jason, the now on-duty tour guide from Mendoza! Uncharacteristically, the Spaniards went to bed early, while we stayed up playing cards by candlelight with Jason and his group. We proved popular, not only thanks to our dynamic personalities ;-) but also thanks to our MP3 players and speakers livening up the atmosphere. Kirstie's expert censoring ensured any embarassing cheesy tracks were quickly skipped over, though a 20yr old did comment that none of the "young people" knew the words to a particular early-90s classic ... was she suggesting we are ... old?!*?! The next day was filled with visits to numerous lakes inhabited by thousands of flamingos, with a contrasting interlude being provided by a two-hour drive through the Siloli desert. At the many stops along the way, we kept bumping into Mel & Steve, who were with another tour group, and sharing our experiences. We ended up at Laguna Colorada, a bright adobe-red lake (due to the algae in it) situated at 4,200m above sea level. After we had secured the best of a bad bunch of bedrooms for our group in our very basic lodgings, we headed off on a walk to a viewpoint over the lake. Our subsequent attempt to get a closer look failed, as we kept getting stuck in the cakey white mud surrounding the lake - contrary to popular belief, hippos do not like mud: it can make holidaying hippos quite unhappy! With no heating, lighting nor running water and a 5am start to look forward to, we had an early night. Temperatures plummeted way below freezing, making it difficult to get warm and comfortable, the thin air not helping matters. Aided by candlelight the next morning, we made the transfer between bed and jeep as quickly as possible, and left for the Sol de Mañana geysers. Arriving at an altitude of nearly 5000m before sunrise, because that's when the jets of steam are most impressive, we made our way quickly around the pools of mud and stinky sulphur, our feet turning into blocks of ice! One obligatory photo later, and we got straight back into the jeep - we don't hang around in the cold for any geezer!!! Our next stop was at the hot springs on the shores of Laguna Polques and the perfect place to thaw out - holidaying hippos are much happier in hot water! Breakfast awaited us following our early morning dip, and afterwards, we set off for Laguna Verde, a brilliant green lake, which had beautiful reflections of the nearby snow-capped volcanos. It was here that we bid farewell to our group, as we caught our connecting bus to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Once again, on approaching the Chilean border, we found ourselves with excess food, so we handed it around the bus to the other backpackers before arriving at customs - "They're not havin' it - they can buy their own lunch!" We spent a pleasant afternoon in San Pedro de Atacama with Mel & Steve, before they continued on their way. We quickly made new friends, when later that evening, Cesar, a bar/restaurant owner we had met in Bolivia recognised us walking through the town. He invited us into his bar for a drink and we had a fun time drinking wine and chatting to him and Paula, one of the waitresses. With only 10 days of our South American adventure remaining, we decided to head back across the Andes for one final week in Argentina. More on this later... Hope you are all well! love, Kirstie & Zena