Hi All,

Currently in the Bolivian Desert in an area called Uyuni. We hae just completed a three day four wheel drive trip across the Altiplano Desert and Salt Flats which must be one of the most remote places in earth as we saw nothing but dusty deserts and salt planes for 3 days. The scenery was absolutely amazing though with salt lakes containing flamingo in the middle of nowhere and high mountains with hues of orange and red. We went through one area which looked remarkably like some of Salvador Dali´s paintings. Prior to the desert crossing we were in chile in another desert(!) called the Atacama desert which is the driest place on earth - they get about 10-30mm misty rain per year!

While in the Atacama we saw some active volcanos and visited a number of geysers and mud pools inside the crater of volcanos - so many volcanos in this part of the world. One of the highlights was the hot springs of Puritami which came straight out of the mountain from the volcano and created an oasis of seven pools surrounded by green vegitation and waterfalls in the middle of the desert. We were able to swin under these waterfalls which were heated to 3.5 degrees - magnificent!

Been at altitudes up to 5000m (15,000 ft) dor last couple of days and will remain about 3000m for most of trip - getting use to the altitude slowly. Some people in the group hae been using coco leaves which the locals recommend for altitude sickness - this is the same plant that cocaine is derived from as well incidently!

Heading to Potosi and La Paz in next few days - while in La Paz we re doing the ´worlds most dangerous bike ride which has drops of 600m over the edge of the road! Will send another blog entry after this to let you know I am still alive.

Take care
Chow

Heather xx