We had pretty low expectations of the salt flat tours having read the guidebook and spoken to travellers who'd suffered it first hand - we'd been told to expect a very bumpy ride, drunk guides, frozen beds and terrible food. Thankfully we experienced none of the above...
We had a brilliant group and an even better guide! He didn't speak a word of English, but luckily Kenny was fluent in Spanish and translated every fact, joke and story for us. We'd been forwarned that Bolivian people were quite shy - Luis must have been the exception, as he kept us entertained the whole way and even sharked us at cards!
The first day we went to Laguna Colorado which was deep red and purple and looked amazing as the sun was setting across the mountains... we even caught our first glimpse of wild flamengos!
We also visited some more geysers, which were very different to the ones in San Pedro de Atacama. They stunk of rotten eggs (due to the sulphur) and had created huge craters that made the landscape look like a scene out of Star Wars. We trod carefully as Luis had warned us that some could explode at any moment!
We then went for a quick dip in some thermal baths with the most amazing views. Sam made quite an entrance as he slipped on an algae covered rock and splashed everyone. Thankfully the outside temperature was much warmer than in Chile, so getting out was no where near as painful and Sam didn't scream this time!
After a bitterly cold night, wrapped in our thermals, jackets, jeans and sleeping bags, we headed out to see huge flocks of the endanged James Flamengos on beautiful half-frozen lagoons. It was amazing how close we were able to get, and how loud they were!
Our accomodation the next evening was a hostel made entirely of salt - chairs, tables, beds and walls! In the morning we set out for the slat falts, stopping off for a wander round a coral island, which was covered in 1000 year old cacti...
We witnessed a couple of flirtatious male llamas frolicking on the salt flats!
We then spent a good three hours conducting a photoshoot....
We had an amazing trip and made some great friends along the way!
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