13-15 May...a pinch of salt

Lynne says... Uyuni is a small dusty Bolivian desert town which offers a complete contrast to anything we experienced in Chile or Argentina. The streets are dusty and empty of cars and the shops are basic. The European faces we had grown used to have been replaced by the distinctive features of the Bolivianos - dark hair and dark skin. It´s great to be here. The women stand out the most as many wear traditional clothes; pinafore style dresses tied at the waist and thick, woolly tights and shawls. Their thick black hair is long and plaited and they wear either black top hats or straw hats with colourful ribbons - there are no white haired people in this country. Many of the older ladies carry babies or toddlers on their backs, wrapped up tightly in colourful cloth. We spent a day wandering around, taking in the sounds and sights of this completely different country. Everything is so cheap - our twin room in a hostel cost us just four pounds and a decent sized breakfast with bread, eggs and coffee cost less than a pound each. Street sellers offer delicious fruit shakes and salteñas (potato pasties) for a few pence. Our desert pals, from left, Emily from the USA, Christine and Lise from Denmark and Jill from The Netherlands The main reason travellers make their way to this isolated town is to go on a three or four day tour of the area in a jeep. We had heard very mixed reports about the quality of the tours - anything ranging from drunken drivers to food poisoning and breakdowns so I was fairly nervous about what to expect. Lynne experiences a prickly throat After a few hours of research and conversations with fellow travellers we chose an agency and waited with anticipation to see who we would be spending the next few days. Luckily, our fellow travel companions were four girls; Gill from Amsterdam, Emily from Chicago and Lise and Christine from Denmark - Matt was delighted. Big Lynne, little Matt. The salt flats were great for daft perspective pictures Pictures really don´t do justice to the barren beauty of the salt flats During the next three days we experienced spectacular, contrasting scenery. We drove along salt flats and desert and stopped at beautiful lagoons where elegant flamingos grazed on the floating algae that turns them pink. Lynne got to fulfill one of her ambitions when we saw flamingos in the wild Conditions in the jeep varied from freezing cold to red hot. If a window was opened we were immediately engulfed in dust so it was a case of either roasting or choking. Accommodation was very basic - no hot water and no electricity after 9pm - still, we were in the middle of nowhere. Sunrise at the geysers while the moon was still up. Simply breathtaking. Lynne stands in the shade as the sun hits the geyser steam The two highlights of the trip were the time we spent on the salt flats and our freezing experience watching the sun rise over steamy geysers - the photos only go so far to portray just how memorable this part of our trip has been. Damn! We forgot our bathers, but some brave souls braved the freezing air to get into the hot pools