We had another early start on Friday morning as we were headed to Bolivia so had to do two border crossings....one to leave Chile followed by another drive through no mans land, and another at the Bolivian border and the outskirts of the National Park. We were at the Chilean border by 7am waiting for it to open at 8am and were through by 9am, which was a record according to Dave and this was despite some local bus drivers who didn't seem to understand the notion of a queue! We then had to head back through no mans land where we'd been stranded a couple of days before and diverted left to the Bolivian border. We got there in good time and this was a much simpler border crossing....our passports were stamped as a group and there was no need to unload luggage for searching as the Bolivians have less restrictions on bringing fresh products into the country. At the border we picked up our guide, Baulio, who was going to help us navigate across the Bolivian altiplano to Villa Mar for an overnight stop and then onto Uyuni. The Bolivian altiplano is very remote and much of the journey was going to be off road, it's only possible to cross it in overland trucks such as Amber or in 4WDs on guided tours. The terrain ahead was going to be some of the toughest we'd encountered so far and we would be ascending to altitudes of over 5000m. The first part of the day was fairly uneventful and we drove through some absolutely stunning scenery again. Stopping off at Laguna Blanca (White lake) and Laguna Verde (green lake) as well as Dali rocks (so called because they are very similar to a picture that he painted). We had lunch next to another beautiful Laguna and had great views of the pink flamingos (apparently they're this colour because of the algae that they eat from the lake). After lunch we were able to take a dip in thermal baths on the side of the lake. Next we continued our tour of the National Park, visiting some very active (and very smelly) geysers before reaching the highest point of the drive at 5020m.....naturally the boys decided that they had to have a nude picture taken at this point to mark the occasion! Shortly after this we had another stop to see the red flamingos in Laguna Roja. By this point a couple of the girls were feeling pretty ill with early signs of altitude sickness and to top things off disaster struck Amber once again and we discovered we had a flat tyre...the inside back one which is apparently one of the most difficult to change and as before we were in a very remote and incredibly windy location. We all had to get off the truck so that it could be jacked up and stereotypically the boys all got involved to help change it while the girls took shelter at the front of the truck! It was already 6pm so we were once again going to be quite late arriving at our campsite. The boys did a great job though and we were on the road again within the hour. We arrived at Villa Mar just before 8pm and Georgie and Mic were both taken straight to bed as by this point they were suffering from classic altitude sickness with severe headaches and nausea. Baulio gave them both some coco leaf tea which apparently helped a lot but they weren't feeling up to joining us for dinner. The rest of us all pitched in though and made dinner which we enjoyed before heading to bed for an early night. It was one of the best nights sleep I've had so far as the beds were amazingly comfortable and the dramas of the day meant we were all pretty tired! We woke early on Saturday and were on the road again by 9am. Fortunately the drive was less eventful then the previous day....Georgie was feeling fine by this point but Mic was still suffering. I was fortunate enough not to have had any problems at all, other than a slight shortness of breath. During the drive to Uyuni we saw wild alpacas and stopped off at the pinnacle rocks to look at the strange animal rocks created by wind erosion and to pose for some pictures. The boys continued the theme of stripping off for a group shot and we also took the opportunity to have a group shot in/on the Dragoman truck! We reached Uyuni mid afternoon and had the chance to go for a wander and browse the shops for some of the famed alpaca products that I'd heard so much about before and during the trip. Uyuni was a bit of a strange town and it didn't take long to see the sights as there weren't really any! Just a couple of streets with very touristy restaurants and lots of shops selling jumpers, ponchos, gloves, hats, leg warmers etc. The only real reason people visit Uyuni was as the gateway to the salt flats...we were due to visit these the following day. After an afternoon shopping spree (unusually it was the boys who got the most carried away buying head to toe outfits!) we headed back to the hotel for some chill out time before meeting for drinks that evening. The location for the evenings drinks was the 'extreme fun pub', which seems to be THE place to go in Uyuni. The floor was covered in salt and tables & chairs were made out of salt blocks. The walls were covered with pictures of people out on the salt flats, taking advantage of the expanses of white salt and the contrasting blue sky to take photos that challenge perspective ...a good source of ideas for the following day! They specialised in Bolivian themed drinks, e.g Seven Llamas, Sexy Llama b****, Llama Sperm, Bolivian Hen Night, all served in unusually (!) shaped drinking vessels. Following a couple of hours of power drinking and sampling the various drinks we headed back to the hotel for their legendary pizzas and continued on the red wine with everyone pretty worse for wear by the end of the night. Given we'd started to early we were all still in bed before 11pm, which was just as well given our full day trip to the salt flats the following day! We had a reasonably leisurely start and were able to enjoy the hotels all you can eat breakie of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, fruit, bread, cereals etc before loading into the 4WDs for our salt flats adventure...sadly Amber wasn't able to drive on the salt flats due to the risk of getting stuck and the impact of the salt on the underside of the truck. We were split into two 4WDs for the trip and travelled in convoy. The first stop was the 'train cemetery...the site of abandoned train carriages provided by the British along with the entire track system connecting Uyuni and the port of Antofagasta. Sadly the Bolivians weren't able to maintain the railway system due to skill shortages end lack of funds and it's now no longer used and the railway carriages have been left abandoned on a siding. Our next stop was a small village near the start of the salt flats where we were shown the traditonal production methods used to produce the bags of salt, it was an incredibly manual process. After buying some more local products (including a Bolivian flag for use as a prop in the pictures that were coming up) we then hit the salt flats properly and the adventure began. The first stops was in the main salt production area, followed by 'the eyes' of the salt flats (an area where gases from the nearby volcano bubble up to the surface through the rock and salt creating a small pool with water that has healing properties). We also made a stop at the Salt Hotel, made entirely of salt where you can stay for $60 per night. We then proceeded on to a rocky outcrop in the middle of the salt flats known as Fish Island, it was completely covered in cacti and looked very bizarre in the middle of the flats. This was our lunch spot and we enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken and pasta before wandering around the 'island', posing for various pictures with the cacti. After lunch the fun began and we were driven a short distance to an area of pristine white salt where we spent the next 2 hours taking photos of us as a group and as individuals....... appearing to hang off of wine glasses, sitting on a copy of the lonely planet, playing jungle speed and some obligatory risqué shots as well. We then returned to Uyuni for the next step in our adventure to find that instead of spending the night there as planned we had to hit the road for a 6hr drive to Potosi as it had been discovered that there was going to be a strike the following morning and the roads out of Uyuni were going to be barricaded......apparently not at all uncommon in Bolivia! After a quick shower and pack of our bags we picked up some takeaway pizzas for dinner on the truck and have hit the road again, next stop Potosi. There are now only 3 nights left of the tour before I fly to Peru and go solo....!