We had another long drive to Uyuni via Potosi. Was really glad to see the back of Potosi as that's where everyone got sick and there's nothing to do there yet it's the hub of Bolivia and to go almost anywhere you have to go via Potosi.

We arrived late in to Uyuni so we just got dinner and got an early night as we had the salt flats the next day. I got up early to go to the ATM before the excursion but all four of the ATMs in the city were out of order, apparently this happens frequently so would've been nice to get a heads up.

We had 4 jeeps with 6-7 people in each plus a guide and a cook. The drivers and cook didn't speak English at all and our guide spoke very little. The first stop was at the salt museum but the guide only told a few people so we thought we were just looking at the markets. Typical of a tour to take you to markets so the gringos can spend their money. Jessie-Mae, Laura and I all bought some dorky hats because we didn't have any and needed extra protection against the sun when on the salt flats.

Next stop was on the salt flats where there was mounds of salt, I guess that's where they were mining them but without a good guide its hard to tell. The salt flats wasn't quite what I had expected, it was solid salt which was really hard, for some reason I expected it to be more like the consistency of sand at the beach.

Next stop was at the salt hotel, we didn't go inside but took photos out the front with the many national flags erected. There was also a small pool which was made from the salt and was reflecting a beautiful aqua colour.

Next stop was along the salt flats where you couldn't see anything at all but the salt flats. We were stopped here for a couple of hours to take some cool photos with the props we had taken along. These are on my camera so will have to upload them when I get home.

Next stop was Fish Island which is a very small island in the middle of nowhere and is covered in massive cacti. We had lunch on the island and watched a massive storm roll in.

We set off for our Eco lodge trying to get there before the storm hit. It's surprising the drivers know where to go as you can drive for hours and the scenery doesn't change at all.
Just outside the lodge we saw some flamingos!!!

When we arrived two jeeps split off and drove to a different lodge. By this stage it was bucketing down so we ran inside and put our stuff in our rooms then when we turned around two of the boys were missing, the jeeps were gone and no one else to be found anywhere. It was incredibly eerie and we kept joking we would never make it out alive from here. The lodge was very basic and the walls were made from salt, rooms were small and had four to a room except Brett and Nicole who's room literally looked like a prison cell with one flat bed. We still made the most of it and played UNO and had a few drinks. About an hour later the guide and a couple of others came to pick us up and take us to the other lodge. We got to watch sunset now that the rain had stopped unfortunately most of us didn't take out cameras from the other lodge as we thought we were just going for dinner. We had tea and biscuits and were told dinner was another couple of hours away so we walked back to our lodge to continue UNO as there wasn't even enough seats for us to sit in the other lodge.
There was a mix up with the communication, we thought the jeep was getting us when dinner was ready and they thought we would walk back (even though it was dark with no lights and a fair distance away) so they eventually sent jeeps for us but they were angry we had missed the soup and the rest of the group seemed jealous or cranky that we were having so much fun. We served up our spaghetti and sat in the corner on the floor, later named the naughty corner!
We ate and went straight back to our lodge and continued UNO. We asked the guide in Spanish what time we had to be ready to be collected in the morning as we didn't want to upset them again.
In the morning Rob came into our room to jump on our beds, steal our sheets and just be annoying in general way before we had to get up. He set his alarm early to watch the sunrise but it was stormy and raining so you couldn't see anything so he came to get everyone up if he was up!! Only rob could get away with that behavior.

We couldn't hike the volcano due to the weather and the guide decided not to drive up there either as you wouldn't be able to see anything from the viewpoint.
We were going to see more mummys but the guide was trying to charge us extra when it was already included and that got everyone's back up. It had been such a poorly organized tour and we just wanted to get back to Uyuni. We had to call our tour leader to convey our disappointment and tell them to take us back.

On the way back we stopped at the salt eyes which is where bubbles were coming up from under the salt in little puddles of water. No idea why this happens as our guide was useless.

Last stop was at the train cemetery which is where a lot of old trains and train parts are. Great for photography but with poor weather it wasn't that good.

We finally made it back to Uyuni and attempted to find an ATM, third times a charm! Never had problems with ATMs anywhere in the world I've been but Uyuni is shocking! They're either out of order or out of money!!
A few of us went out for lunch then a quick nap before heading out.
There's a famous bar called the Extreme Fun Pub and they have a shot challenge which is ten drinks/shots which you can do solo or in pairs. Some of the shots were rancid like beer and tequila or another one which has three spirits and is mixed with this thick blue liquid then set alight!! Looked awful but a few people wanted to take the challenge. Ariel and Kathryn went first and did really well, didn't even need to use the toilet they set up beside them to spew in! They were up against the Brit boys and the bet was the losers had to put up the others tent for a week. Unfortunately the boys won by six seconds! Not much in it when it takes over a minute to complete.
Later on Rachel the tour leader and Matt decided to take the challenge, it was going really well until the last shot which was the one which is alight and is drunk out of two straws, the flames went up the straws and burnt her chin and cheeks. She put out the flames with her hands then finished the last drink!! Crazy woman. It could've been a lot worse but she did get parts of her eye lashes and brows singed as well. Jessie-Mae played nurse yet again and made sure she got home safe.
Next day Rach looked a lot better but had burn marks on her face.

Drive day of approx 10hrs (yup via Potosi again) to Tupiza. Not much there but it's a small town close to the Argentinean border. Had an awesome dinner of enchiladas. Nice change from what we had been eating.