Nil:

We´re in La Paz now after having spent three days on the salt pans in Uyuni. We were bundled into a 4WD jeep with 4 other travellers and drove through some of the most diverse landscapes. Every day we saw something different. The first day we were taken to the salt flats which were bright white and barren, allowing us to have some fun with the camera, taking perspective photos. We then came across Fish Island, called that because of its shape and not for the fish, as there aren`t any, obviously!!! The island was covered, infested, if you will, with huge, towering cacti, the oldest of which was an impressive 1200 years old! Fact friends might like to know that cacti grow 1cm per year, and from their size you can work out their age, so there you have it... hopefully this piece of information will help someone in a pub quiz. The second day took us around bright red lagoons, flamingo breeding grounds and volcanoes, and the last day we saw the famous Laguna verde, which is a startling turquoise colour due to the rich minerals and microecosystems. The only problem with the tour was the pretty cramped conditions in the jeep - I was okay really, I`m speaking for the long-legged people who were pretty uncomfortable (I knew there were advantages to being short!). The weather was pretty unbelievable, as we were at 4800m at one stage and we were caught in a snow blizzard. What didn´t help matters was the accommodation was very primitive: no showers, let alone hot water, and no heating! I`ve never felt less feminine or more dirty in my entire life- I ended up wearing the same clothes for the entire three days because I wasn´t prepared to contemplate taking them off even for a second in that cold! I bet you all really wanted to know that, hey?! In summary, it was an awesome tour. Hope you enjoy the photos, we had great fun taking them! Lots of love

P.S. We`re home in 3 weeks!!!!!!!!

Tom:

We weren´t actually bothered by the Salar de Uyuni at first, and at one point were debating whether or not it´d be worth the money (about 100 pounds) - I know, sounds silly now. It was totally worth it, and on the first day Nil was saying it was more impressive than Machu Picchu (a bit strong if you ask me but hey...). It felt like a bit of a natural priveledge to be standing only 8 metres of salt above the lake-bed, and to see nothing but blinding white for miles around. On the second day I got sick and so didn´t enjoy seeing my first flamingos in flight as much as I should´ve, but it was still very cool - before this point I genuinely thought I was going to make it the whole 5 months without vomiting, but some out of date beers argued otherwise! Those of you who know me well know that I NEVER get cold. But on this one occasion (it being well into the minus figures and suffering as I was), it took two sleeping bags and 4 blankets, plus Nil to keep me warm. I´ve never been that cold in my whole life!!! So getting into the thermal baths on the third day seemed like a stupid idea, but that we did, and I don´t know if the baths are supposed to have medicinal qualities, but I felt amazing afterwards, and was able to brave the 10 hour jeep ride back to Uyuni. I can recommend the largest salt pans on earth to anyone, it was mind-numbingly cold, breath-takingly beautiful and an awesome three-day adventure. Hope you´re all well back home and enjoying the coalition!!! TY