Desert Adventures

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Hopefully you are all feeling refreshed from your Easter Break. So then, lots to fill you in on since our last installment. Our desert adventure begins in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. It wasn´t like any other town we'd seen before with its maze of dusty streets, cute little church and old stone buildings (some of which had great little restaurants with open fires hidden inside) - this really was a little oasis in the middle of the desert.

San Pedro was to be our starting point for a three day trip to the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia. This was a ´must-do´ trip and also the most convenient way to cross into Bolivia. But first we wanted to kick back for a few days and enjoy San Pedro itself and the surrounding Atacama desert. Armed with our newly acquired (but very necessary) wooly hats, we took an early morning trip to See Pink Flamingos at sunrise feeding from the lagoons. The setting was beautifully serene and the water was mirror like. It was a great day out and gave us a taste of what was to come in Uyuni. It was also our first experience of high altitude which we had been warned about but other than a few wheezes and breathless moments (which could have been age!) we came through the first test without too many probs. Next day was our first proper trek to the 'Moon Valley' and the name says it all, dramatic 'lunar' type landscape with lots of canyons, sand dunes and valleys...in short, way too many photo opportunities!

We enjoyed our few days in San Pedro but now it was time for the big one in Uyuni. Twelve of us set off in two 4x4 trucks and after a relatively painless border crossing into Bolivia we began our adventure. Over the next few day's we saw some incredible sights, smelly bubbling geysers, Dali-like desert rock formations, rainbow coloured lagoons and lots more Flamingos! Bathed in hot springs as this was the only means of having a wash and just about managed to survive the freezing cold nights. We were both wrapped up to the max but Lou took the prize for 'most layers' looking more like the Michelin man! Woke up early on day 3 (Lou's Birthday) for the main event, the Uyuni salt flats (the largest in the world). Got there for sunrise and we weren't disapointed. Surrounded by hundreds of miles of salt across huge expanses of desert with no roads, this place was surreal, like a winter wonderland but made of, erm.........salt! Took plenty of snaps and even managed a Moonwalk...well it did seem like the right setting!

This was such a brilliant place to be for Lou's special day, we even rustled up a B'day style cake made from a pancake (saved from brekkie) and a cigarette poking out of the top (the candle).......definitely one to remember!

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