One of the main reasons I came to Bolivia (I suspect it is high on everyone's to do list when they come to Bolivia) is the Salar de Uyuni tour. 4 days and 3 nights travelling through the Bolivian countryside finishing up in the famous salt flats near Uyuni. I was quite excited on the morning of our departure, as many a decision had been taken to get here and I was sincerely hoping it was worth it.

On the first morning we met the rest of our tour group but more importantly we met our guide and cook (Jose and Anna), a brother and sister pair. They seemed very nice and helpful and before long we got comfortable in the Toyota Landcruiser that would be part of the family for the next 4 days. Family is probably a good way to describe this vehicle as it was good to us at times but also temperamental.

Heading out of Tupiza we immediately started on the bumpy dirt road that would become all too common in the coming days. We wound our way through the countryside through some spectacular valleys but at times the cornering was a little too close for comfort. We got used to it though and were comfortable with the fact that Jose knew what he was doing but the journey did seem relentless, as the bumpy roads never abated all day. After a few hours we hit our first snag, a flat tyre. I did expect that this might happen at some point but I chuckled when it happened so soon. Jose however was a pro at changing the tyre so quickly and before long we were on the road again…but not for too long!

A little while later the wheel in the same position got another puncture. This was starting to get a little worrying as I thought "what was he going to do now with no spare tyre?" He seemed a little worried at first but then decided it was lunch time so Anna prepared the picnic lunch out of the back of the vehicle. It was all very nice and of course, the setting was apt as well but Jose was still battling with the spare tyre. He did not seem well equipped as he was trying to repair the punctured tube but had no repair kit! When I looked at the tube I started to worry a little as it had already been repaired several times. He did apply some ingenuity and tried to tie a knot around the hole. Now I had repaired a bike tube or two in my time but even I knew this could not last for long. He was constantly looking into the distance to see if any other tour groups were en route to come to the rescue but none did, so this temporary measure would have to do for now. Oh, and we pumped up the tyre with a hand pump! Nonetheless we set off again and everything was fine for a little while until about 30 min later when the whole tyre completely exploded. Yes, the tube and the tyre were now ruptured. We stopped seeing the funny side of this and did get worried for a while as we were in the middle of nowhere, about an hour away from the next village and no tour groups in sight. He started to put the other damaged wheel back on when thankfully, some other tour groups appeared in the distance. They were able to help with a spare tyre, a puncture repair kit and ironically, the couple doing the trip DIY provided a compressor to help pump up the tyre when the tour operators didn't. I was starting to wonder whether choosing this company was a good idea particularly when he was so ill prepared but I could not fault his determination and calmness to deal with the situation. Again, a temporary measure was found and we were soon back on the road. It was weird that the same wheel in the same position kept on puncturing but looking at the state of them compared to the other wheels, it was clear why.

When we arrived at our first scheduled stop on the tour, a small village, we were greeted by a Bolivian blockade. We all laughed as if to say "what else could go wrong?" Turns out this group of miners blocked the road through the village in protest against their company or government over pay conditions. I could understand if the blockade would cause some disruption to their company or government services but this blockade was now affecting their so called 'brothers' trying to make a living also. I smirked when I found out a quick pay off opened the road up for us to pass.

We drove on for another few hours along bumpy, windy and at times amusing dirt tracks but again, the main theme of the day was the surrounding scenery. This part of Bolivia was very rugged, even more so than northern Argentina with only the odd pack of llamas and even some ostriches to keep you company, yet you did have to take a moment every now and again just to contemplate and appreciate the surroundings.

Arriving at our accommodation in the early evening, we were met by several other tour groups as well as the locals who were hosting us. We were in a small village where a family rented rooms in a refugio to the tour groups but there was no hot water, no heating, intermittent electricity and it got down to between -15 and -20 in the evening. All we had to keep warm were our clothes and layers of blankets.... and we needed every one of them!

However, at this place I was to have one of my most memorable experiences. One thing I wanted to do on my journey through South America was to interact with locals and perhaps play some football with the local kids. Well the language barrier has always been an issue but a round object full of air can often transcend language barriers. When we arrived, there were some kids mucking about the place kicking a deflated basketball. They were a little shy at first but when I asked them if they wanted to have a kickabout they jumped at the chance and were not shy at showing off their juggling skills which were quite good. Before long a small group formed and were playing 'keepy uppy'. At this point I tried to show them some different skills. Not that I was trying to impress them but I soon realised that these kids had probably not seen anything different done with a ball, as they stood in awe when I showed them some very basic but different tricks. I then thought a small coaching session was in order and tried to teach them some more skills. They were very enthusiastic and keen to learn something new. We played well into the darkness but I knew that from now on they would try and practice these new skills and this experience for me was definitely rewarding.

Everyone was trying to keep warm as the evening wore on but our fantastic cook Anna was busy preparing the food for us, while Jose worked tirelessly in the freezing cold repairing all our damaged wheels. Despite the freezing conditions, our location provided the most spectacular night sky. I had never seen so many stars in the sky with the naked eye and you could also make out white clusters of stars like clouds, it was that clear. The moment was short lived however as the freezing conditions got the better of us and we turned in for the evening....