After crossing from Bolivia at 7am we had a eight hour wait for the train to Tupiza. The Bolivian border town is a dirty, dusty and very basic town. The wait was long and cold; the food was bad and we were wrecked.
We eventually got the train at 3pm. Two hours later we were in the small town of Tupiza. We all had well deserved showers and an early night in our nice hotel. The next day we explored the nice little town and its markets. We booked onto a tour to Salar de Uyuni. The trip was three nights and four days and took us from Tupiza through the most isolated parts of Bolivia and ending at the amazing salt flats in Uyuni. It would cover 1,200 kilometers in all.
Day 1
An early start. We had breakfast and headed to the bank to get cash. At
9am we set off with our driver Daniel and guide Raul. In the other jeep
were four others, a couple from Belgium, Tom and Veronik; and George
and Evereck, two brothers, also from Belgium. We set off on a dirt road
that brought us higher and higher into the mountains. It was a nerve
wracking drive at times as there were very steep drops down the
mountain side the higher we went. The views were amazing.
After four or
five hours we reached flat land. We were driving along enjoying
watching the llamas when all of a sudden the land cruiser pulled of the
dirt road to the right. We looked to our right only to see our front
right wheel rolling at speed into the distance toward a group of llamas
who were scarpering in every direction. The lads and our guide jumped
out of the car and ran after the still moving wheel. Meanwhile Sinead
and Laura began to realise what would have happened if the wheel had
come off a couple of hours before!!!
The wheel was retrieved. However four of the six bolts which held the
wheel to the hub had sheered off and all of the six nuts were gone.
We
searched the track for the nuts and bolts but they were not to be
found. After a couple of hours the two drivers had taken the other
front wheel's hub apart for parts and we were on the road again with
two half held on wheels.
We were hours behind and were late arriving at
the first nights accommodation. Located at 4300 meters above sea level
it was standard accommodation to say the least. No hot water, an
outside toilet, no heating and it was freezing cold out. The lights to
eat by ran off a car battery. Dinner helped to warm us up. We had
delicious hot soup followed by goat meat and Smash, a gloupy potato
substance. We had a few drinks and got to know the others on our tour.
Tom and Valorik were quiet and didn't say much. George and his brother,
we were told to call him Nipples, were a good laugh and very cheeky. We
had an early night but didn't get much sleep as it was so cold. The
beds were paper thin mattresses on concrete. 
Day 2
We had to get up at 5:30 am. It was so, so cold and dark. After a
breakfast of stale bread we were off. During the day we visited a ghost
town. This mining town was abandoned a couple of hundred years earlier
after plague and leprosy hit hard and wiped most of the population out.
The remaining population left believing the town was cursed. We also
visited Laguna Celeste and a number of other lakes coloured white by
the substance borax which is used to make explosives and in the
manufacturing of cocaine. At lunch time we stopped at a hot spring. We
had the option to get in but it was so cold we decided against the
idea.
After lunch we set out for the geysers Sol de Manana.
These were at
5000 meters above sea level, the highest we would reach on our trip. We
couldn't stay here long because of the lack of oxygen. Our guide told
us that last year two Israeli tourists fell into one of the boiling
geysers and died. We didn't get too close.
That day we also saw Laguna
Verda, which was a beautiful blue, green colour and over shadowed by
Volcano Licancabur. 
After a long day reached out digs, this time
located at 4,600 meters. It was just as bad as the night before but
colder. We spent the night huddled around a tiny stove, desperately
trying to get warm. We had a few laughs and a few drinks with our
Belgian friends.
Day 3
Day three started with a lie in until 6:30 am. After breakfast we set
off. First stop was Laguna Colorado. This lake is a deep red colour
from a distance . After this we went to the Desierto de Siloli rock
formations in the middle of the desert
Here we got a flat wheel. Our
faith in the wheels of our land cruiser was fading fast. After a quick
wheel change we were on our way again. We saw another five lagunas that
day. Some were completely frozen it was so cold. After lunch we passed
a small salt flat called Salar de Chiguana, and an active volcano,
Ollague Volcano (5865 meters), which marks the border with Chile.
Last
that day we passed through a small isolated town and visited an Inca
burial ground. We wondered if it was just put on as a tourist trap as
it looked kind of fake.
Our last nights accommodation was in a salt
hotel. The hotel was built from blocks of salt, our beds were on salt
bases, tables and chairs were salt and floors were covered with rock
salt which was like gravel. It was cold again but at least we got to
have a hot shower. It was another early night as we had to be up at six
next morning.
Day 4
Up at 6am. We headed straight to the salt flats to see sunrise. It was
well worth the early start. When the sun was up the hard salt earth was
blinding white and looked more like ice.
We headed for a coral island
in the middle of the flat which is called fish island and covered in
cacti. It was a climb to the top to see an amazing view. The salt flats
are 12,000 square kilometers in area. It is the remains of a
prehistoric salt lake. After breakfast on the salt and a bit of
football we went to the middle of the salt flats to take some photos.
After this we visited the illegal salt hotel in the middle of the
flats. It is now a museum. We had lunch in a nearby town before
finishing our trip in the town of Uyuni at 2pm.
We waited for the bus office to open so we could buy tickets to Potosi
that evening. Our Belgian friends George and Nipples arrived shortly
after. They had counted on an ATM in Uyuni as they had to pay for half
of their tour and also to buy tickets to La Paz. All banks and the ATM
were closed as it was a holiday. They somehow managed to get their
guide to believe they would transfer the money they owed and they also
blagged the bus company into letting them pay when they arrived in La
Paz.
After a bit to eat we got on our small crappy bus with bags
strapped to the roof. During our journey to Potosi we had three flat
tires, (what is it with us and wheels). The journey was long, cold,
bumpy and tough. We finally arrived in Potosi at 3am.
