So, I got my first Bolivian bus (another classic experience) from Villazon, on the Bolivian side of the border, having just walked across the border with my rucksack and got stamped on each side with absolutely no drama. I went to Tupiza, which is another starting point for the salar tours. Tupiza turned out to be really beautiful in itself, so I stayed in town a night, then went on a 2 day ride on horseback to explore the area (you can only really go by horse or on foot - its quite remote). I loved it! I booked onto a 4-day tour of the reserve in the south west of Bolivia and the Salar to leave the next morning once I got back.

The tour was unbelievable, I honestly can hardly describe the scenery that you see. Bizarrely although I hadn´t known who was going to be in my 4x4 the people I was with turned out to be Yohann and Chris (from Salta) and another British girl, Katie. It was nice to be with people I got on well with, as you´re basically together for 4 days solidly. You get driven by a guide, and a cook comes along the whole way too, preparing impressive meals out of god knows what for every mealtime - all included within the cost as there´s nowhere to stop and buy anything. I think we ate better than in ages - fresh fruit and veg and everything! We stayed in little hospedajes in the middle of nowhere, with some power from the sun but otherwise no electricity or hot water. We didn´t even see a shower, cold or otherwise, until our last night, so we got pretty grubby in the dusty desert environment!

Getting up into the mountains was dramatic, with more stunning scenery and a precarious road we seemed to overhang at times. However, once on the altiplano it changes again and although often bleaker it was so strange to be somewhere so unlike anything I´ve ever seen before. The sunsets were amazing, we saw literally thousands of llamas and vicunyas, and at night the stars stood out and lit up the sky. On our last mornign we set off at 5am for the most breathtaking sunrise ever, over the Salar de Uyuni. It was absolutely amazing, and even though we´d been getting a little bit grumpy and tired the evening before this moment would have made the whole trip worthwhile! We messed around on the salt flats for a while, taking amusing pictures of ourselves in that bizarre place (as soon as I can I´ll send something!) and eventually headed for Uyuni, via some interesting hotels built entirely from blocks of salt and the train cemetary where lots of trains that used to transport gold and silver to Chile are gradually decaying in a poingnant setting.