Uyuni, Bolivia

Last night was difficult, I wasn’t cold but I think the altitude hit me as I have had a throbbing headache for most of the night. It could be dehydration as I haven’t drunk alot of water and I can’t breathe through my nose, so I am a joy this morning. I drink the rest of my water with a couple of paracetamols that I could find once everyone is awake. On a positive, I am already dressed! A bit of fresh deodorant and I am ready for the day ahead. We have proper American pancakes for breakfast albeit with dulce de leche rather than maple syrup but they are tasty. My headache goes pretty soon after we set off which is a relief. Our morning is spent at different points in Rocks Valley. It is pretty incredible walking through these high rocks that don’t seem to belong on the landscape. The group all enjoy scrambling and climbing the rocks before we move on. We reach a viewpoint where we can see down the vast Inca Canyon. It feels very strange to see such diverse landscapes on this trip and certainly not what I imagined Bolivia to look like. We move on and have lunch at the Black Lagoon, we are able to walk for a bit around the area and I wander alone to the other side to see Llamas. It is a beautiful and tranquil spot that has a lot of bird life as well, more a wetlands environment. Our last stop is a old train station that would have been active in transporting minerals across Bolivia, we stop to sample local beer including quinoa, cactus, cocoa and honey. Honey and quinoa were the better two, and we have kept the bottles ready for our salt flat pictures tomorrow. Tonight we stay on the edge of the salt flats, at a salt hotel. Two words ‘hot showers’ a bargain for 15p and it is bliss getting warm and clean tonight. A fun evening of cards, campfire and a cheeky bottle of wine with our chicken dinner makes for a great last night.