Day 25

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Waking at 5.30am was well worth it to climb to the top of a nearby mountain to see the sun rise over the mountains and never ending salt flats. It was a freezing, rough, steep and rocky climb but when the sun started coming over the mountains and shone onto all the cactus' we stood in silence and took it in. In Salar De Uyuni the temperatures are around 20 degrees C during the day, but drop to -25 at night... true desert weather. Hopping back into our 4WD's we drove for a few hours before arriving at the first lake called Laguna Verde (green lake). We weren't expecting the strong winds that were encountered, so I was greatful for my windstopper jacket as I didn't feel a thing. The pink flamingos on the blue lagoon, with brown mountains in the background was a real sight. Dad took some amazing photographs with his new camera. Lunch was pre-prepared this morning so we all helped get it out of the car and set up another picnic at a table next to a different lagoon, again with a stunning view of the pink flamingos. I refused to eat the deep fried vegetarian patties they had cooked and a few people a good laugh at me eating three chicken wings with my hands true paleo style! I usually say I am full vego when travelling as the meat is usually processed, but if it isn't ill definitely eat fish or good quality meat. We stopped at many places today, and witnessed a huge crater embedded into one of the mountains which was the result of a meteorite. We also walked a fair bit during the day with the 4WD's dropping us off at various sites, then picking us up. At one stage we got caught in a dust storm that even moved the car! I cannot wait to have a shower tomorrow! It will be three days with no shower, and extremely basic shared hostels in the middle of nowhere so apologies for how I look in the photos from these few days! Brooke, Trevor, Patrick, Roger, Karin and I played cards for a few hours before dinner then headed to bed early ready for another early adventurous start! The few days we have in Salar De Uyuni are hard going but are already without a doubt the highlight of the trip.

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