The bus journey from Potosi to Uyuni was seven hours of discomfort but was otherise uneventful (listen to us seasoned pros). We chatted to an Irish couple Arnie and Serena, and Brendan a Canadian guy. Since our arrival was at 2a.m we all crashed at the nearest cheap hostel. The next day we all searched the town and numerous tour companies for a trip out to the nearby salt desert. We parted with the Irish two as they decided to get a two day tour and we were interested in three days. Brendan met up with and introduced us to Melissa and Ali, English girls he had previously met in La Paz. Knowing the tour 4x4's took a maximum of 6 people we booked a three day two night tour together, leaving the followng morning. We whiled away the rest of the afternoon hanging around the tiny town centre getting to know each other and hoping we would be able to leave town quickly on returning from the tour since there was basically nothing to do.

The morning came and we set off, but not before meeting the sixth member of our group Joel from New Zealand, and Jonny our driver, guide and cook combined. Our first stop was the 'train graveyard' an area just outsde the town alongside the railway tracks where the old steam trains that used to carry mostly minerals and water to Chile were dumped when put out of use. It's an amazing sight especially since the area surrounding is so barren. Being a photographer Brendan wandered off to take advantage of the great picture opportunities. Unfortunately some local little criminals had caught on the the fact that there were often gringos with cameras in the area and the tangle of rusting trains being the perfect cover pulled a gun on Brendan demanding his camera. He manged to back away then run, escaping unhurt but shaken up and amazingly still clutching his camera. By the time we knew what had happened back at the car the little weasles were of course long gone.

We drove further out over desert flats and on to the salt lake. It is a vast, blinding whiteness stretching far to the hills and mountains to the distance in every direction. The experience can only be described as surreal. There are miners who collect up the top layers of salt that has been dried in the relentless sun. We stopped by some regularly sized and spaced piles that were awaiting collection for some irresistably corny photo opportunities. We found Brendan's skateboard (which went everywhere with him) a perfect prop for amusing perspective photos. Giggling and playing like a bunch of kids, Johnny stood by clearly bemused and eventually made us move on. An hour further on and what had seemed like a small rock grew into an island in the middle of the lake of salt. Like something out of a film set the island, created out of rock and long dead coral, is covered in huge cactii. We took a walk around and to the top admiring the astonishing views as well as the sheer strangeness of the place. We returned to the car where Johnny had been preparing a delicious lunch of llama, quinoa and salad.

A long drive in a straight line across the salt later and Johnny told us this was the spot which was perfect for watching the sunset as there was a shallow layer of water over the salt which acts like a mirror. Since it was a hour until sun down Paul and I decided to stay in the car for the twenty minute ride to our hostel for that night where the bags would be unloaded then return to the others in time for sunset. We drove away leaving them looking vulnerable in the middle of the lake. We returned in time, and the sunset created colours around us that were beyond our expectations. We didn't hang about once it was dark as it was also getting pretty cold so we soon all sipping hot drinks at the hostel. The hostel itself was made entirely from blocks of salt and that included the furniture. It was cool, in both senses of the word.

We had a comfortable night and woke up early for sunrise and breakfast before heading off again in the 4x4. The day was spent mostly in the car admiring the scenery and taking it in turns to play music from everyones respective ipods. We stopped briefly at several lagunas, shallow lakes of wonderful colours where we could watch and take pictures of hundreds of pink flamingos. In the afternoon we drove by mountains and we could see plumes of steam and smoke from one of the active volcanoes. We made a stop by some amazing rock formations. Scattered across the barren landscape and carved by centuries of erosion but looking like the work of sculpters. As the afternoon wore on and we were headed to our accomodation for the night, we learnt from Johnny the the hostel had a couple of fair rooms but rest were pretty rubbish. From that point it was a race against all the other (and there were many) tour groups. Unfortunately we were pipped at the post and despite Johnnys best efforts were all crammed into a freezing cold and draughty room where rather than taking clothes off to go to bed we put more on!

Waking at 4.30am we bundled ourselves shivering into the car where we were promised that by 8.30 we would be warm and fed. But first, just before sunrise we stopped by some geysers. With so much steam rising from the ground it was impossible to see the gaping holes in the ground containing boiling sulphurous mud, until you were right on top of them so we trod carefully! Just a hour or so further on we arrived at our breakfast stop, which by wonderful arrangement was right by a completely natural thermal pool of steaming water. Needless to say we didn't waste much time getting in, apart from Ali who eventually plucked up the courage needed changed into a bikini in freezing temperatures! Once our bones were thoroughly warmed through and we were dressed, we had our breakfast and set off again. The hot sun soon had the car warmed up so we were needing some fresh air. Joel in the front turned on the vents and as a testement to the dry environment, instead of refreshing air, a thick cloud of dust flew in engolfing us and having us all hacking, sneezing, and laughing simultaneously.