I tried snowboarding once. I lasted three minutes. I fell and banged my knee and decided there and then that I intensely dislike winter sports and would never ski or snowboard again. I had hoped that sandboarding would be better. It was hot after all. I could get a tan. And then I had to climb a sand dune at altitude with my board, and that alone nearly killed me. Heading down the dune took longer than coming up it and involved an disagreement with the instructor as to whether or not what he was asking me to do was even possible, according to the laws of physics. I retired gracefully.
The Valley of the Moon was much better. We were taken to salt caves and a lunar landscape before another climb to a vantage point to see the sunset with a glass or two of Pisco sours.
Salty.
We awake at ridiculous o'clock the following morning for our journey to Bolivia. We have been told to bring lots of water, but also that there are no toilets (go figure) and that the accommodation is basic. It is therefore with some trepidation that we cross the Chile/Bolivia border.
The landscape is incredible. There's nothing for miles, apart from llamas. We stop at many lagoons, and get to have a swim in a natural hot pool, which is like bath water.
Our group is lovely, and after some llama spotting by another lagoon, we retire to our accommodation for the evening.
Unfortunately, we're 4,800 metres above sea level and the temperature outside is dropping below freezing. The altitude sickness is starting to kick in and we all feel a little grotty, so it's an early night in our dorm.
Still not feeling brilliant in the morning, we leave to see some rocks in the dest. Sounds wild, doesn't it? They're pretty spectacular though.
Yet another lagoon trip beckons, but this one is full of wild flamingoes.
All the little dots in the background are flamingoes too.
Our tour group.
We spend a thankfully warmer night at a more sensible altitude the next evening, before heading to Uyuni and the salt flats the next day. They are like nothing I have ever seen before. Tens of thousands of square metres of salt, covered with a inch or so of water because its the rainy season, creates a giant mirror, reflecting the sky, the mountains and us when we play in the water.
After Uyuni, the tour is all over and we head back to San Pedro, glossing over a brief overnight stop at the place we stayed on the first night. It was a great trip, we met some wonderful people and the salt flats were amazing, but it was tiring, having to pee behind a jeep was no fun and we are desperate for a shower.
Fully restored, and still having a day left in San Pedro, we head out to their salt flats, which are dry, to get some silly pictures and swim/float in the salt lake, which is awesome.
On leaving San Pedro, we pop back to Santiago for a brief overnight stay before our early morning flight to Rio.
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