After a good nights sleep I was refreshed and ready for the six hour bus ride to Potosi...or so I thought. Little did I realise what lay ahead, and had I known I think I would probably have just stayed in bed!

We arrived at the bus stop to discover that our mode of transport was nothing more than a "hoppa" bus, this tiny caravan on wheels, the kind of bus that at home is used only to ferry people around the local village or from the train station to the shops! Anyway after overloading the roof with all our luggage, everyone piled on to find their cramped and uncomfortable seat. And to make my day I had some annoying child sitting next to me in the aisle, who did nothing but eat constantly. She was only about six, and every time I looked at her she was stuffing something into her mouth - biscuits, fruit, juice, chicken leg...and then of course came the sticky mouth and fingers constantly prodding at me - grrr!

So the planned six hours dragged by. Despite it being a public bus we stopped to help some people who had broken down, then for some photos as some salt flats (like we hadnt just spent days looking at them), then for a toilet stop that lasted over 30 minutes and on and on and on...until eventually we came to a stop, but unfortunately for us the stop was not in Potosi. Just 40 minutes away we were forced to stop by road blockades. The lovely miners had decided today was going to be their day to launch a nationwide protest about something and not only were they blocking the road but they were loaded up with dynamite and any movement in the said direction caused something else to be blown up!

So after trying to negociate and failing miserably our tour leader and the bus driver came back to tell us the good news...sorry I mean bad news - there was no way through - and there was no good news on this particular day. There were many plans formulated over the next four hours, while we simply sat on the bus getting colder and colder as the sun set and the temperature dropped. First of all we were going to stay in a nearby village and try to get through the blockade in the morning; then we were going to take the old road and get as near as possible to Potosi then walk the rest of the way; but eventually it was decided we would return to Uyuni - a decision that was not greeted with great enthusiasm by us as it meant another six hours on the bumpiest, dustiest road, in the dark, which was inevitably going to be more dangerous...and of course I was still accompanied by my six year old human dustbin!

Luckily for me, however, the girl and her mother, along with some others, decided to leave the bus...and then the fun really started. The bus driver, sensing an opportunity, started actively canvassing for more passengers. Despite there being only three spare seats there were crowds outside the bus all trying to get a ride back to Uyuni. And in the midst of all this he was also trying to fleece us original passengers out of more monry claiming that seeing as he had to drive us all back now and he hadnt had any rest we would have to pay him extra...another hour and a half of arguing before a price was agreed and the bus could leave. But before we finally started our return journey the cheeky man let not just three more passengers on the bus, but he let on three to fill the vacant seats and another 8 or 10 to sit in the cab with the driver up front. Now it´s difficult for me to explain how small this space is, but no-one could sit down and all were just crammed in up against the sides and the windows. It was a highly dangerous situation and despite many protests from people on the bus he drove off, having assured everyone it was only temporary and they were getting off in the next village.

But we drove straight through the next village, and the next one, and the next one and soon it became clear they were heading for the same place as us. Thankfully I managed to get some sleep as the journey was horrendous. I have never been so cold in my entire life as we had no clothing to help us keep warm. We had only anticipated being on the bus for six hours during the day so warmer and bigger clothes were all packed in the rucksacks on top of the bus. In the end the journey back took nearly 10 hours and in total we had been on the bus for over 20 hours, with no food, water or toilet stops. What I am glad I missed though was the chaos that was going on in the drivers cab up front, as the combination of so many people and the cold meant that the window was constantly steaming up and apparently he could hardly see and had to keep clearing it every 10 or 15 minutes. And as if things could get any worse, his relief driver was no more than his son, or some other child who was no more than about 13 years old, and they would simply swap seats while the bus was moving, no stopping just a quick slide over.

When at last the journey from hell was over, we found ourselves back in Uyuni at 6am. Our tour leader had managed to secure us some accommodation back at the hotel where we stayed before, but the walk there was absolute agony for me. My feet were so cold by this stage I couldn´t feel them, and walking just sent shooting pains all the way up my legs. I hobbled across the road, thinking only of a hot shower and a bed...but how wrong I was yet again.

Although the hotel had rooms, what our tour leader didnt mention was that there were only enough rooms for some people, not everyone. And of course I was one of those who didnt get a room. We were told that there would be a room available at 8am, so we just needed to wait until then. So freezing cold, tired, grumpy and now very pi**ed off four of sat in the hotel reception, waiting for 8am. The hotel did light us a fire, which we all huddled around, too scared to get too close because we couldnt feel our feet and hands and didnt want to burn them. And then 8am came and went...as did 9am...and 10am...and no sight of our tour leader either. So eventually, being the only one of us who spoke spanish, I wandered off to find someone from the hotel...and who should I come across but the horrible woman who had shouted at us before for ringing the door bell too loudly. Sensing this wasnt going to be my favourite conversation I asked her what was going on and she simply said that there were no rooms for us because they were already booked out to other guests arriving later in the day. I wanted to cry, scream, get hold of her and throttle her but instead I just stared open mouthed, while the others were eagerly looking at me for an explanation. Why hadnt they told us this earlier instead of promising us a room and raising our expectations?

Fortunately our tour leader arrived back a few minutes later to tell us we were leaving on a bus back to La Paz later that day. But when I tried to ask him why we couldnt have a room he only got the same response from the nasty woman and simply said never mind but we were leaving later anyway - thanks then! I did eventually manage to get a shower in one of the other rooms but then we were back out on the street, cold, hungry and still not happy.

But the final twist to this tale was still to come. I went back to the hotel after a short stroll to collect my bag from the room I´d left it in and to sit and write my journal for a while. But evil woman was waiting to pounce and not five minutes after I had gone into the room she came up and just went absolutely crazy at us. There were four of us in the room and she started shouting and telling us that we should be checked out of the room by 2pm and we were now over 20 minutes late. I tried to explain that our guide had told us 3pm but she was having none of it and suddenly started ranting about the steam from the shower breaking the tv (which incidently wasnt plugged in because it couldnt be as there was no electricity socket on that side of the room), then she said the rest of our group had already left without us, then that the room was only for a maximum of three people so what were four of us doing there...and on and on she went. In the end I lost the plot with her and was just shouting back anything and everything I could think of in spanish until eventually we all just picked up our bags and left. Needless to say she was lying, our group hadnt left and everyone else still had their bags in their rooms until 3pm. She told our tour leader a whole bunch of lies about why she had thrown us out, including that the tv now didnt work and we had caused damage in the room from the steam in the shower - er maybe that is because there were only polystyrene walls and a corregated iron roof, hardly adequate for ventilation!

So time to go...and not quick enough for me. The farewell was not a pleasant one, but I suspect she was as glad to see the back of us as we were of her. The only redeeming feature of this whole episode was that while passing the next few hours waiting for the bus we found a great little cafe which served llama fondue! It was so tasty, we lingered over the food for a good hour or so and then found a box with Trivial Pursuit, so whiled away the rest of the time giving our brain cells a good workout!

And then, back to La Paz...