Could somebody pass the salt?

On Thursday I returned from one of the most incredible places on earth - the Salar de Uyuni and its equally fascinating surrounding landscapes. It´s the world´s largest salt plain at a mahoosive 12,000 km2, formed when the prehistoric salt lake Lago Minchin dried up. We had lots of fun messing about on the salar, climbing salt mountains and trying to create optical illusions with our cameras. I visitied a tiny salt museum and we stopped to see some bubbling thermal waters. There were even hotels made entirely of salt, from the walls to the tables and beds, one of which we were lucky enough to stay in. The salt plain consists of 5 cm of salt, underneath which is a shallow lake followed by a huge mass of even more salt allowing us to walk and drive all over it.

The jeep was really good and I made friends with an English girl Nicky and an Irish couple called Brian and Lorraine. Mario and Felicia were our guides (a cute married Bolivian couple dressed in the traditional clothes, and Felicia spent all of her time knitting a jumper!) and they cooked us some brilliant food including llama steaks and the best pancakes I have ever had.

Before the salt lake we went to a train cemetery where Nicky and I clambered over the rusting locamotives like a couple of kids. After the salt plain we drove to one of several islands covered with really huge cacti, sporting some incredible views over the salar. We visited a cave formed by fossilised algae and another containing the old tombs of pre-Incan bodies, and a pre-Incan house containing whole skeletons of the residents and a big collection of pottery and weapons. I have never been so cold as during the nights on the trip, but thanks to plenty of warm clothes and a ton of blankets we just about managed to keep our toes warm.

On the second day, away from the salar, the scenery began to change and resemble something more like Mars or the moon. One of the most impressive features was the famous Tree of Stone which defies logic as the base is so narrow and the top so wide. The road got progressively worse and we had to jump ship on the edge of the cliff when Mario got the jeep stuck! Boy was it a bumpy ride. We visited several lakes, all of which are inhabited by flamingoes, but the most spectacular had to be the Laguna Colorado - a mystifying blend of red, blue and white waters that I still can´t quite get my head around.

On the last day we visited a geyser basin and I´ve never heard anything quite like the hissing of the holes in the earth. We reached a thermal bathing pool in time for sunrise but all chose the warmth of the breakfast house over the biting cold and hypothermia. Our last stops were a couple more lakes before I endured an 8 hour drive all the way back to Uyuni - mentally draining and sore from the bumps!

A near death experiece come dodgy bus ride brought me to Tupiza where I shared a dorm with a German girl (Celia) and 2 French women (Stephanie and Gail). Celia and I went out at night then in the morning we filled up at an awesome market. The area was the final stomping ground of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and is blessed with landscapes of rolling red hills and cactus forests. We took a walk for a few hours around the town then chilled out with some more people and their guitars in the hostel. Dinner was enjoyed to the sound of fireworks as the locals celebrated the last day of Autumn and congregated around fires in the streets.

This morning I had a 3am start which brought me to the Argentinian border, where I met a nice Irish guy thank the lord! I was the only gringo on my bus and had heard horror stories about the immigration police. We breezed through and took a 7 hour bus to Salta where I am staying for a few days now, and hope to meet back up with Nicky, Brian and Lorraine. I am already falling for Argentina where the buses are warm and comfortable and have toilets and tvs! (non-existent in dear old Bolivia) The people seem really friendly and I have spotted a fair few steakhouses that are sure to help me build my strength up after my recent stint in hospital. Thank you all for your hopes that I am better - I am happy to say that I have fully recovered :)