Following the inca trail, we flew to LA Paz in Bolivia and stayed in the popular hostel- Loki in the centre of town. On arrival we managed to book an overnight bus to Uyuni in the south of Bolivia to meet our Canadian friends for the Salt Flats tour.

This option of organising your own transport to Uyuni and then picking up a tour package on arrival is much cheaper than an inclusive trip from LA Paz. We went directly to the To Do Truismo office to buy our tickets but you can also book online, (you do need about 48 hours notice to receive confirmation). For transport to Uyuni and a 2 day salt flats tour with food, accommodation and transport included,we payed the equivalent of £65 compared to cheapest tour option from LA Paz starting at £135.

We were driven across the salt flats in a 4×4 jeep accompanied by our English speaking guide and his huge sun visor! We were given a number of opportunities to take perspective photos and we all took advantage of the photo shoot opportunities…

The salt flats are created from a dried up lake and the area covers 4,086 square miles and altitude of 3,656m. The salt appears on the surface in hexagon shaped plates and the salt crystals are mined and refined in the local area.

We stopped for lunch in one of the many ‘salt hotels’ which pride themselves in being constructed with mainly bricks made from salt believe it or not! We had more photo opportunities after lunch as well as a hike up the ‘cactus island’, a deposit from the nearby volcano.

As the sun began to set we drove towards the edge of the ‘Lake’ where we found some very shallow water on the surface of the salt. This is where we took the ‘reflection’ photos with great direction from our guide…

The evening was spent in a local salt hotel where we were served delicious food and wine and found our more about Bolivian culture fro our guide. We then took the opportunity to go out on a clear night to look at the stars without any artificial light. The sky was so clear we could see the Milky Way and many shooting stars. Using an app on the Canadian’s phone we were able to identify star correlations and timings of visible comets.

The second day of the tour started with a trek up Tunupa volcano to around 4,200m of the 5,321 m summit.  We were taken into a cave to see mummified bodies which was interesting and slightly disturbing… The trek took us over volcanic rock and up above the salt flats, and we could see the huge expanse of the area. We reached the viewpoint close to the volcano and headed back down for some much earned lunch. Our transport took us back to Uyuni where we started and we caught the overnight bus back to La Paz to stay in our hostel.

The flowing day we took some time to explore La Paz by taking the ‘Red’ cable car over La Paz to a viewpoint overlooking the city. There are 3 cable cars across the city, which, from what we could gather, are a means of public transport for the locals, as the price is very cheap and allows you to avoid the congested traffic in the city.

Using the travel agency in our hostel we booked a local bus to Copacabana on the edge of lake Titikaca. The bus journey took around 5 hours and about 3 hours in we had to get off the bus as it crossed the lake in a barge and we travelled in a very small tourist/fishing boat. As there are many hostels in the town, so we waited until we arrived to find somewhere to stay. Unknown to us there was a pretty big religious festival taking place in the area, and there were a number of visitors who had traveled from across Bolivia to worship. We were told that some people had walked from La Paz to Copacabana to worship ( 86 mile journey )!

We climbed to the top of Cerro Calvario (Calvary Hill) which is lined with monuments representing the 14 Stations of the Cross. Pilgrims visit the Stations for prayer and penance for sunset and we joined hundreds of people worshiping and giving thanks to Pachamamma (Mother Earth). We enjoyed a beautiful view across the lake as the sunset and people burned incense and poured beer on the ground? Next day the the main square was buzzing, we were lucky enough to see celebrations and entertainment by local marching bands.

We are currently making our way south through Argentina and Chile, whilst selecting our very best Olympic pictures from the thousands taken over 10 events. Brazil blog is on its way, we promise! Speak soon,

Hayley and Chris