Written Monday 21 April
Woke up feeling shitty today but luckily it wore off after a couple of hours. Was FREEZING this morning so wrapped up in 4 layers plus hat and scarf - almost all of which was peeled off a couple of hours later when the sun decided to shine and emit heat at the same time. Almost all of which went straight back on the following hour when the winds were up. The climate here is crazy - bone chillingly cold early in the morning and the second the sun sets and then blisteringly hot during the day - until the winds have their wicked way.
Travelled by 4x4 to a small island where cacti vastly outnumber inhabitants (three families in total!) and climbed to the top to be rewarded with gorgeous panoramic views of the Uyuni salt flat.
Stopped on the flats for the second and last time for some more snaps...
...then spent the remainder of the day driving to our hostel - a small and incredibly remote collection of buildings quite literally in the middle of nowhere. Fecking FREEZING (in bed right now wearing leggings, PJ bottoms, socks, t-shirt, hoodie, fleece, scarf & hat - plus a sleeping bag and four blankets). Cool views on the plus side - dusty orange mountains providing a spectacular backdrop for the lagoon dotted with hundreds of hot pink flamingoes. Nice! The silhouettes in the early eve were pretty sweet too...
...or as our guide would say, un-Bolivia-ble. LOL. Lots of South America punnage flying around - I particularly enjoy "I'm alpaca-ing my things for tomorrow" and many more to come I'm sure.
Not feeling too good again, think I've caught a cold/cough from one of my 4x4 buddies, booo :( We're all quite excited to be heading to lower altitude (and warmer climes!) in a couple of days, although tomorrow should be good - lagoons, flamingoes and hot springs...and most importantly, a hot shower and nice hotel! Although even there the doors don't shut properly. Building doors which are too big for their frames seems to be a continent-wide affliction - interesting when you're sharing a dorm with 5 people you met 3 days ago and the bathroom door doesn't close! In the earth-shattering event that a door and frame form part of a matching set, there's often a fairly wide gap between the edge of the door and the frame, which isn't terribly helpful in a situation where privacy is generally appreciated...! Anyway, all part of the experience I suppose! Over.and.out.
