Well.... after hoping off the bus in Uyuni (and me being quite ill - oh the altitude) we happened to see our friends Nick and Hannah, a lovely English couple we spent New Years with in Rio. We decided we better get in on their tour and signed up to leave the next day for a three day tour of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia´s vast salt flats, lakes, volcanoes, highlands, and other amazing land forms. The next morning we hopped in our jeep with Hannah and Nick, their friend Suzanne and a random English fella, Jack. 
(Alyece, Suze, Nick, Jack and Hannah)
Our first stop that morning was the ´train graveyard,´ a collection of trains and parts from the 1800´s just outside of Uyuni. It wasn´t very long until we realized we were hanging out with some photography geeks and we definitely took lots of time to take pics on the trip. 
(Jack getting some good shots)After the trains, we headed to a little Pueblo (small town) to have a pit stop. This was one of the few real pit stops on our trip. (Both of us have come quite accustomed to the ¨baño naturalesa¨, or in other words, bathroom of nature, which usually involves just hoping out in the middle of the road in an open area and many people standing around you.)
We took a quick visit to the Salt Museum before heading out.
(Alyece rockin` out in the salt chair) 
(Jack commented that this photo was ¨very Canadian¨ ...not sure if I agree)
(loving the local artisan goods, especially when they are cowboy hats with llamas on them)
(chillin´on the salt llama)
After that, we headed to the breathtaking Salar de Uyuni. A long time ago there was a large saline body of water here, which eventually evaported, leaving a huge expanse of salt crystals behind. The biggest salt flats in the world did not disappoint and we spent time goofing around taking photos... and just taking it all in. 
(Our Jeep) 
On our way out we stopped at the first hotel that was on the actual salt flats. 
(Might this be an example of Americans being a little obnoxious?)Next we headed to Incahuasi (Fish Island)..."Giant Cacti Island" seemed like a more appropriate name to me.
This island in the middle of the salt flats was quite beautiful and amazing and we attempted to take the trail around it. I´m going to emphasize the word, ATTEMPTED here, because with the Altitude we actually had to turn back on the short, gradual hike, half way. Even just walking from the jeep to the bathroom winded us.
(The altitude factor) 
(SLIGHT Success) 
After our little hike, the Island seemed like a good place for lunch and our lovely cook, Eva, prepared us some lunch (on the salt picnic table and chairs).
(looking a little Salty after lying on the salt flats)
This following part of Day 2 is called ¨Nerding it Up¨, where we decided to goof around with perspective until we almost froze and Mario forced us to move on.
(¨Blowing him off¨)
(¨Cat Fight¨)
(¨The Will of God¨...taken to make fun of Jack´s Jesus sandals)
After being geeks, we visited Laguna Rojo (Red Lake), which was quite spectacular to see.
(More Flamingos! When I commented ¨It`s Chilly!!¨ Jack, who was taking this picture, quickly corrected me with¨, ¨No Erin, we`re in Bolivia!¨)
This island in the middle of the salt flats was quite beautiful and amazing and we attempted to take the trail around it. I´m going to emphasize the word, ATTEMPTED here, because with the Altitude we actually had to turn back on the short, gradual hike, half way. Even just walking from the jeep to the bathroom winded us.(The altitude factor) (SLIGHT Success) After our little hike, the Island seemed like a good place for lunch and our lovely cook, Eva, prepared us some lunch (on the salt picnic table and chairs).(looking a little Salty after lying on the salt flats)After lunch, our guide, Mario, drove us to what he called ¨Blocs de Sal¨ (Salt Blocks). It was right in the middle of nothing, and seemed like a random place to make the salt blocks.
(Trying my hand at a little photography with Hannah´s fancy cam) 
(Jack gettin´ crazy)
(Nick and I making shadows)
(Trying my hand at a little photography with Hannah´s fancy cam) (Jack gettin´ crazy)(Nick and I making shadows)After a full day of exploring, we arrived at our Salt Hotel (complete with salt beds) for the night. Again Eva outdid herself and we had a great dinner and great wine. 
(our new friend, who lived at the hotel)
After dinner, we attempted to see the stars, although the bitter cold got to us fairly quickly and we retreated to our salt beds for some rest.
Day Two began at 6:30 am and was filled with a lot of driving and a lot of beautiful scenery.
(Llamas, llamas, everywhere)
We stopped all day to take in the beautiful landscape and take lots of tacky tourist pics. 
(Alyece rockin´ out her new hat, complete with llamas on it!)
(I actually thought I might not be able to make it up this rock, being that I seemed to be adjusting quite slowly to the altitude)
We continued to climb in altitude and as it got higher it got colder, but we did get to see lots and lots of Flamingos!!
(Life looks pretty good through heart-shaped sunglasses)
(The whole awesome gang: complete with our driver and guide Mario - only our wicked cook Eva is missing)
(our new friend, who lived at the hotel)After dinner, we attempted to see the stars, although the bitter cold got to us fairly quickly and we retreated to our salt beds for some rest.Day Two began at 6:30 am and was filled with a lot of driving and a lot of beautiful scenery.(Llamas, llamas, everywhere)We stopped all day to take in the beautiful landscape and take lots of tacky tourist pics. (Alyece rockin´ out her new hat, complete with llamas on it!)(I actually thought I might not be able to make it up this rock, being that I seemed to be adjusting quite slowly to the altitude)We continued to climb in altitude and as it got higher it got colder, but we did get to see lots and lots of Flamingos!!(Life looks pretty good through heart-shaped sunglasses)(The whole awesome gang: complete with our driver and guide Mario - only our wicked cook Eva is missing)Day two we had even a better location for a completely secluded picnic lunch (which I think is quite evident from the photo). 
After a great lunch, we continued on the scenery circuit, and we continued to feel like we were in the middle of nowhere every single place we visited of the vast landscape.
After a great lunch, we continued on the scenery circuit, and we continued to feel like we were in the middle of nowhere every single place we visited of the vast landscape.This following part of Day 2 is called ¨Nerding it Up¨, where we decided to goof around with perspective until we almost froze and Mario forced us to move on.(¨Blowing him off¨)(¨Cat Fight¨)(¨The Will of God¨...taken to make fun of Jack´s Jesus sandals)After being geeks, we visited Laguna Rojo (Red Lake), which was quite spectacular to see.(More Flamingos! When I commented ¨It`s Chilly!!¨ Jack, who was taking this picture, quickly corrected me with¨, ¨No Erin, we`re in Bolivia!¨) After another full day we headed to our hostal for the night. We were actually staying at over 5000m, the highest by far either of us had ever been. To add to it, there was a bit of a snow storm, our mud huts were not heated or insulated and neither of us had even close to appropriate clothing (flip flops and light sweaters don´t cut it at an altitude comparible to everest base camp). I have never been even as close to as cold as I was that night.
We awoke at 4 am the next morning, my lips a nice shade of blue, and a shivering group of people headed to see the geysers.
(Jack, brave enough to actually get out of the Jeep)
Since there was no working heater in the Jeep, Mario was driving blindly with a sheet of ice on the front windshield and we all commented on being the coldest we had ever been. 
(One of our lower points on the trip, but trying to keep in good spirits)
(Being there was pretty much nothing anywhere in site, and it was discustingly cold, Alyece opted for taking a pit stop right in front of the Jeep)
(Jack, brave enough to actually get out of the Jeep)Since there was no working heater in the Jeep, Mario was driving blindly with a sheet of ice on the front windshield and we all commented on being the coldest we had ever been. (One of our lower points on the trip, but trying to keep in good spirits)(Being there was pretty much nothing anywhere in site, and it was discustingly cold, Alyece opted for taking a pit stop right in front of the Jeep)Luckily, a few hours into the morning, after a missed sunrise and many missed sights because of the fog, snow and cold, the sun started to come out and the amazing view returned. 
That morning, we dropped the rest of the gang off at the Bolivian/Chilean border, because everyone else was headed south, and Alyece and I continued back to Uyuni. 
(The bathroom at the Bolivian border...I wish I was joking! It was VERY discusting as you got close to it, even with the bitter cold to hide a bit of the smell)
That morning, we dropped the rest of the gang off at the Bolivian/Chilean border, because everyone else was headed south, and Alyece and I continued back to Uyuni. (The bathroom at the Bolivian border...I wish I was joking! It was VERY discusting as you got close to it, even with the bitter cold to hide a bit of the smell)During the 8 hour drive back to Uyuni, the sun returned, we descended and there was quite a bit more beautiful scenery to enjoy. 
(Last stop - Rock Country)
(Last stop - Rock Country)When we got back to Uyuni, we hopped directly onto a night bus to the capital city La Paz. When we arrived in the morning we went straight to the artisan market, which has everything you could ever think of sprawled along blocks and blocks. 
Among the streets we found the very interesting coca museum and decided to go in a take a look.
The majority of Bolivians use coca, a local plant, in one form or another. Most chew coca leaves to help them stay alert and work longer hours. It´s also used to help with the altitude providing a great deal of oxygination and Bolivians recommend it to help with altitude sickness). We learned about how it was used for slavery in the mines during colonization in the area, as the leaves were manditory for slaves to chew to keep them working harder for longer. After reading about coca for a few hours (luckily they had a book in English to translate everything in the museum) we decided to end our day at the coca cafe, with me trying some coca tea, and Alyece trying coca coffee. We even tried chewing a few coca leaves to see what it was like. Don`t worry, the common misconception that coca is like doing cocaine, is quite untrue - the Bolivians have been using coca for 5000 years with no mal health affects, it was the western world that created the drug cocaine from it by processing it with chemicals. (Sigmund Freud being the first cocaine consumer to be exact).
(Enjoying a nice fresh cup of coca leaf tea)
Among the streets we found the very interesting coca museum and decided to go in a take a look.The majority of Bolivians use coca, a local plant, in one form or another. Most chew coca leaves to help them stay alert and work longer hours. It´s also used to help with the altitude providing a great deal of oxygination and Bolivians recommend it to help with altitude sickness). We learned about how it was used for slavery in the mines during colonization in the area, as the leaves were manditory for slaves to chew to keep them working harder for longer. After reading about coca for a few hours (luckily they had a book in English to translate everything in the museum) we decided to end our day at the coca cafe, with me trying some coca tea, and Alyece trying coca coffee. We even tried chewing a few coca leaves to see what it was like. Don`t worry, the common misconception that coca is like doing cocaine, is quite untrue - the Bolivians have been using coca for 5000 years with no mal health affects, it was the western world that created the drug cocaine from it by processing it with chemicals. (Sigmund Freud being the first cocaine consumer to be exact).(Enjoying a nice fresh cup of coca leaf tea)After hanging out in the city, we were utterly exhausted from no sleep for a few days and hit the sack. We are staying another couple of days and hoping to check out the infamous San Pedro Prison and hopefully find a copy of the book written about it, ¨Marching Powder¨.
Until Next Time....
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