When discussing trips to the Atacama Desert and Bolivian Salt flats the Lonely Planet for South America describes the tour operators with the grizzly quote of 'none get glowing reviews'. OK, so the bible doesn't like them so like many others we check out the tourist information office hoping for some words of solace; sadly this is not the case, tourist info cant recommend any particular operator for legal reasons BUT they do have a book of grieveances (and in small letters) feedback. Upon reading this I begin to see horrific tales of jeeps breaking down multiple time sin one trip, guides falling asleep at the wheel and tourists ending up in Bolivian hospitals (worse than the NHS) with limbs broken and trips in ruins. With all this in mind, the trip was booked!

With all this in mind, it was a top 3 days! At first I wasn't too sure after we were greeted by Figo our driver/guide who bore striking resemblance to Goldfinger with his 2 shinny front teeth and the 4X4 he affectionately called 'Butterfly' due to it being an automatic transmission. (butterfly referred to the sexuality of the automobile, given his previous car had been called Diablo as it was a red and a manual transmission its derogatory meaning is self explanatory). He also had an uncanny ability to siphon petrol and have 80's classic's ie ghostbusters blasting out the stereo….i could go on but wont.

The beauty of the area is that you really have to want to be there i.e. its not just another tourist trap due to the time it takes (min 3 days) to complete. Climbing to a max altitude of around 5500m it was also literally breathtaking! We got close to lots of different wildlife, saw hundreds of Flamingos, Llamas, desert foxes, a huge rabbit/hare (bigger than a cat), visited quite a few lagunas, thermal springs, rancid smelling simmering geyers and a live volcano although we didn't go near the top.

With all that good stuff aside the food and accommodation must be mentioned. The main stays of the 3 days were potatoes! If you don't like either of this Bolivian food group I'd suggest you enquire about the menu before you depart. It seemed that every meal the spuds were wheeled out in one form or another. Boiled, mashed, fried, in a soup, in a stew, every which way, they dominated the menu.

As for the accommodation, first night was fine although it was highly amusing that for £1 you could have a hot shower. OK sounds like a deal, after a long day in the dusty desert I'm dying for a shower. I walk in to find 2 hoses a 70 year old wooden oven and an old fella in a hardhat. One hose is cold which leads to the wood heater, warming the water to whatever temp the heater is combusting at then a second hose with a small hole in it leads to the shower. Sounds reasonable so I ask the man in the hardhat (don't know why he was wearing the safety equipment but it made me feel uneasy as he wore it constantly) why the hole in the hose?? The answer, of course, to test the water temp! Ahhhhh, that's why I was hearing the numerous spates of cursing coming from the next room as ppl either froze or were scolded depending on the amount of fuel the construction worker was putting into the oven! Truth be told, it was a great shower although strangely some tramp stole my soap whilst I was getting dressed!

Second night could only be described as a cowboy outfit. The room(s) were seemed to have been an idea dad had on the weekend that if we tack on a second floor above the living room, we can cal ourselves a B&B/hostel/hotel depending on who's selling the tour. A really s***ty building job, combined with uber squeaky floorboards and a rickety ladder that went up 10ft, this place, surprisingly didn't make Lonely Planet or any other guide book we checked! Combine this with the local electricity curfew that means you run on solar from 7am-8.30pm (even though the sun sets at 7.30pm) means I wouldn't recommend it!

Following this we had to leg it out of Uyuni as Evo Morales decided that on Presidential election day the entire country was to close down. With this in mind we caught the last bus to La Paz, a 12 hour epic on 2 busses and the worlds worst roads. Following this 2 days in La Paz relaxing, washing clothes and not doing much. La Paz was good but again it was time to roll. Last night in Bolivia was in Copacabana, a small town on Lake Titicaca. After a visit to Isle del Sol (island of the sun) a place we later renamed Isle del Trap Bolivia was finished, bring on Peru.