We were wondering why our driver Jonas was using the second gear stick as a toilet paper and sticky tape dispenser until the jeep got stuck in some snow. This is when we discovered that he didn't know it was a gear stick and had no idea how to use the low ratio gearbox. Oh dear. But at least he drove slowly and wasn't drunk like many of the drivers in Bolivia. Apparently the bus drivers recently went on strike when the government announced that they were about to start enforcing the drink drive laws.

Having avoided the roads and taken the overnight train between the dusty towns of Oruro and Tupiza, we found ourselves amidst multi-coloured, cactus-strewn canyons that were reminiscent of Northern Argentina. From here we organized a five day jeep tour to take us through Bolivia´s remote South West corner.

Surrounded by volcanoes and close to the Chilean border, the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve was the first port of call. Here we found several lagoons with names such as Laguna Verde (Green Lake), Laguna Blanco (White Lake) and Laguna Colorado (Red Lake). They must have been very easy to name, as each of them is very vivid leaving you in no doubt which one you have arrived at. These and the smaller lagoons were also covered in James flamingos which are unique to this part of the world, and seemed happy for us to get very close.

Of course it was then onto the legendary Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flats) - the remains of a long dried up sea with no less than 26 islands. We visited one of them in the early morning light which was a very surreal experience. To give an idea of the size of this place, it takes a good hour to drive across the salt to get to one of the islands, and with the monotony of the white ground, nothing ever seems to get closer. We stayed in a couple of hostels made of salt (including the tables and chairs), and made an attempt at the 5435m Volcan Thunupa before reaching Uynuni. What a unique and fascinating landscape!

Posted from Santa Cruz, July 24th, 2012.