Day 32– 6/09/09
POTOSI

Up nice and early for an 8 hour bus journey to Potosi. Our guide Alex thought it would be best if we did the trip in two parts stopping for lunch half way….when we arrived in Ururo he found out that the bus stations was on strike!! We all got quite a shock as the place was deserted and smelt like a sewer or worse!! While we found a chicken restaurant to park ourselves in, Alex bribed some of the local ladies for tickets to Potosi. With a bit of luck and some extra cash we were sorted. 5 hours later we arrived in our hotel to get the briefing for the Silver Mines the next day!
Day 33– 7/09/09
POTOSI
Silver Mines

Indiana Jones day!!! Today was the day we could buy dynamite and visit the silver mines of Bolivia!!!! Hahaha!!

Yes dynamite, in any local shop it was ok to buy a stick of dynamite for 4euro!! So we got 2!! Our tour guide collected us and brought us to the office to put on wellys, overalls, hardhats and torch for the silver mines. We all looked ridiculous in our yellow suits.
When outside the mines it was time to blow something up so we got 2 pumpkins and placed a bomb in each, with extra gun powder!!! Our guide needed a volunteer to help him set the bomb up!! So I was quick to put my hand up!! We headed down a little hill which was a good 200meters away. Placed the 2 pumpkins next to each other, lit them and RAN!!!!!! I was expecting a normal size explosion, but what we got was like something out of a war movie!!!!! The 2 BANGS were incredible!! I was like a little boy on Xmas day!!!!After this we made our way into the mines with gifts for the miners (coca leafs, soda, smokes and 96% alcohol!!!) 50meters into the mine 3 girls turned around after 100 meters another 3 girls turned around!!! But not our Danielle!
To be honest the mine got so small we had to crawl through parts! So if you were in any way claustrophobic this was not for you! Tight Squeeze!The Mine God! Yes a man!

300 meters into the mine it was so cold there were icicles on the ceiling. We had to rush out of the miner’s way at one stage they ran by us with a barrel on rail tracks full of silver. They were out of breath and sweating, shouting for coca leafs! We were now in 1100meters into the and the change in the climate was unreal, it was now 42degrees!! We were being roasted alive in a tiny little cave; this is when it was hard to breathe and to keep yourself under control. I think we were all happy to head back outside after 2 hours in the mine.
Coming out I’ve never appreciated oxygen more, that first intake!!

Day 34– 8/09/09
UYUNI

Another day on a bus! Possible the worst road we’ve even been on, apart from the Death Road! 6 hours of constant bumps and pot holes and lots of dust coming in the windows! But at least when we arrived at our hotel we treated ourselves to South America’s best pizza!! It really was! Rob even got the T-shirt!! Just another travel day- Salt Flats for the next 3 days!

Day 35– 9/09/09
Salt Flats Day 1

We got up at 9am thinking it was a great sleep in because we are up at 6am most mornings. Danielle was cold (no surprises there) so we had to go off and bargain for a hoody in the local market. Our 4x4 jeeps arrived at the hotel to take us to the first stop of a 3 day tour of the salt flats. The jeep had an ipod connecter which came in handy, playing all our cheesy music!! Our first stop was the train cemetery, where really old trains were laid to rest rusting, also made famous by the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

We headed onwards to the salt mines where there is 277km by 177km flat of pure salt 10meters deep in some points. The scenery was amazing as far as your eye could see; it was just pure white, incredible site. The locals just scrape the salt off the surface and leave it in a mound for 4 days to dry, and then sell it to big cities in South America for an unfair price. It was time for what we were all waiting for, perspective photos of the salt flats. Very hard to explain so have a look at the photos below and I’m sure you will understand!!!! Very funny!! The Girls Hitching a ride on a truck!Karate Chop!!

Big Kiss!


Next stop was Fish Island; it’s called this because the rock on the island looks like coral. This was a panoramic viewing point of the salt flats, and where the highest cactus in the world was, standing at 11 meters. So they say!!!!! The fighting Irish!
Off to where we were going to spend the night, Salt Hotel, where everything is made from salt, except for toilets, sinks and doors of course. The Salt was getting to us...

Pretty cool hotel, walls, chairs, tables, beds and floor were all made from salt!! We had 2 hours of light until they turned off the electricity, so at 9pm it was time for torches. Plus there was NO heating and it was -5 outside so Danielle’s hoody came in handy!! About the temperature here, it doesn’t make sense because it is 27degrees during the day then it drops to -5 to -12 in the night!!!!!

Day 36– 10/09/09
Salt Flats Day 2

Rise & Shine!

The next morning we had to get up at 5am because there was a sand storm coming, heading away from the salt flats so we had to leave early to avoid it. Getting up at this time with a temp of -10 with no heating or electricity!! Not fun!! But it paid off seeing the sunrise over the desert. We made our way the red lagoon where Flamingos made there territory, over 400 of them just standing there on 1 leg!!We annoyed a few of them by getting too close. I’m just going to say here now that everything we saw on this 3 day trip was out of this world, instead of saying it in every sentence!!!! Amazing sites. Driving along one of the driest deserts in the world, it was strange to come across lagoons with hundreds of flamingos in it. (Chulluncani lagoon, Cachi Lagoon and Ckara lagoon)
Time for our second night in a hotel at an altitude of 4500meters, and expected to be even colder at night. When arriving same deal, 2 hours of light and no heating and it was -15!!!!!!! It brought me back to my scout’s days!!!!!! Also had my first accident with my Swiss army knife (thanks Andy) cut myself pretty deep but it was fine because I had 9 girls in our group fussing about it, running around getting emergency equipment!!!!!
Bed was very basic and it was 6 per room, and again it was me and 5 girls, god I’m going to turn into a girl soon!!!!The next morning was the coldest by far, around -15! IT WAS SOOOOOO COLD!!! Even for me.

Day 37– 11/09/09
Flats Day 3

We all bundled into the car next morning some of us even kept our sleeping bags on us!! That cold! Then we drove to our highest point at 5000meters, to say it was freezing was and understatement! We just about got out of the car to see to geysers at Sol de Mañana. They smelt pretty bad, but they looked amazing, loads of mud bubbling and hot air steaming away! Back in the warmth of the car we headed to the hot springs for breakie, we were all to chicken to get in, it was still about -5 outside and the water was only about 30 degrees! So we tucked into pancakes for breakfast instead! Then it was of to the Salvador Dali Desert, this is when the winds got to about 80km/h, so we just stayed in the car and took our photos from there!! Called the Salvador Dali Desert because they say it is where he got his inspiration for a lot of his paintings! The sights were amazing in the desert, the rainbow coloured volcanoes and the wide open dirt tracks and high mountains surrounding us! When we arrived at our last stop, it just topped it all off, The Green Lagoon. It was spectacular! The lagoon looked like the Caribbean Sea, turquoise green water surrounded by white sand and backed by volcanoes and mountains!
The dodgy bit…ha ha! Crossing the Chilean border! Our tour guide was so nervous which made us a bit edgy. But it was totally fine we just had to declare anything we bought it Peru and Bolivia and show them, no biggy. But our tour guide had to pretend he was a student traveling as he can’t work in Chile!! Arriving at our hotel we all legged it to the showers, three days sleeping in the same clothes you can imagine what we were like. But unfortunately our shower was freezing….ahhh! I just left the shampoo in my hair and got ready for a well deserved big night out!!

Day 38– 12/09/09
SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA –CHILE

We had the morning off, thank god, so we slept til 9am…that’s a serious sleep in for us now! Ha ha! The town here is beautiful; the roads are still dust roads and no cars in the main streets. Loads of little markets and boutique store selling the usual tourist things. And the food here is yum!
By 3pm we headed off on a tour of the Moon Valley. It is famous for its resemblance to the surface of the moon. The Salt Mountain Range (Cordilera de la Sal) creates this moon like surface, and walking in and around them you can here the mountains cracking, because of the difference in temperatures. Sitting on the moon!

The wind was unreal. We were nearly blown away! Then we arrived at the sand dunes, which we struggled to climb because of the high winds we were sand blasted. Mouthfuls of sand… but it was totally worth it, as the sun set the colours of the Cordilera de Domeyko (large mountain range) changed from shades of red, orange, purple and blue!
We finished off the day with a beautiful meal in an outdoor restaurant around a big open fire!