Hello blog fans!

I know its been a while since our last blog but we have been in some very remote places enjoying some of the best times of our trip so far.

Shortly after our last entry we left Pucon and travelled to the Chilean capital Santiago. We had 3 days to explore the city, and spent the time sightseeing mainly on foot. We also made it up the two prominent hills , Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro Cristobal, which offered spectacular views over the smog shrouded city with the backdrop of the Andes. While Sarah spent a day at the local artisan markets, myself and some of our group went on a winery tour. The first vineyard we visited was the famous Concha y Toro, the largest exporter of wine in Chile, maker of brands such as Casillero del Diablo, Frontera etc. It was enjoyable, but the highlight was in the afternoon, when we went to a small 200 acre family run vineyard, where we had the owner himself give us a very personal and informative tour, showing us the old fashioned techniques he still employs today. Obviously I had to buy a souvenir to take home, and so far I havnt caved in and drank it.

Santiago was the leaving point for some of the group and the joining point for others so to celebrate we had a great night out involving a salsa bar and a lot of Pisco sour. Say no more.

It was then on the road again up the coast to the seaside town of La Serena, where we spent a couple of nights. Sarah went on a tour of a Pisco factory and an observatory, taking advantage of the clear skies in this part of the world. I, being nearly broke, decided to save my cash and play cards for two days instead.

We then took a very long, hot and unpleasant overnight bus journey to the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, deep in the desert. It was nice to feel some warmth again with pleasant daytime temps in the mid twenties, there were a few sunburnt faces the day after. We had a free day to explore the dusty, narrow, mud brick lined streets of San Pedro, and took a walk to some nearby Inca runs, our first experience of the ancient civilisation. I also went on a tour of the Valle de Luna, the Valley of the Moon, which consists of a totally unique landscape of volcanoes, canyons and sand dunes.

We could of easily spent more time in San Pedro, but it was time to start one of the most adventurous and which turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip, our 4 day 4WD crossing of the Atacama desert and Uyuni salt plains. After a short drive we reached the Bolivian border, where we got a couple more stamps in the old passaporte and met our drivers and vehicles for the journey. Ill let the photos when they go up do the talking but we travelled through probably the most surreal and harshly beautiful landscape I have ever seen. Our first night we spent in a rustic shelter with no heating or running water, interesting when at night the temp drops to minus 18. You forget the cold briefly when there is a deep red/orange coloured lake complete with flamingoes outside the front door though. After a very cold nights sleep we continued our adventure, passing a couple of frozen salt lakes you could stand in the middle of, before reaching our next, slightly warmer and luxurious lodgings. We even survived a flat tyre which our driver Johnny fixed in no time. There was a small 'juego de futbol' that evening, the Bolivians vs the World. We got beat 7-6, Im blaming the 3800m altitude and not my lack of form.

The next day we completed our journey over the Uyuni salt flats, yet more unbelievable scenery, with pure salt stretching to the horizon. We took our time to take lots of stupid photos and have another impromptu kickabout.

We stopped for the night in the town of Uyuni, which was an eye opener, reminding us for the first time we are in the poorest country in Latin America. It was nice to have the first hot shower in 4 days, and in the evening we had llama pizza for dinner.

The next day it was on the bus for the journey to Potosi, along the windiest, dustiest, bumpiest road in the world. We have yet to see tarmac in Bolivia. After our flat tyre jinx struck again, we made it in one piece. We all went out for dinner last night and I had fondue du carne, where you dip chunks of beef into boiling oil and cook it as rare or well done as you like. Delicious.

Tomorrow we are going to visit the world famous Potosi silver mines before our bus ride to Sucre.

See you soon

Blair and Sarah xxx

PS the internet is very slow here so photos should be up when we reach Sucre and faster internet