Wayne:

We left San Pedro, Chile, the day after the fabulous chicken experience. Got up really early and into a mini bus for the first hour to the bolivian border, which is only a small building/house in the middle of the desert with a small line of rocks dividing the two countries. The toilet was a hole in the ground about 50 meters away from the building, your only privacy being a half a meter high wall.

This is where we met up with our 4x4 driver for the next 3 days through to the Salt flats of Bolivia. WOW. The geography changes at least twice an hour, from huge dry mountains to baron plateauxs, from snow to huge red, green, white and pink lakes, hot springs, exploding geysers and then finally on the 3rd day, the incredible salt flats. The first night we slept in a refugio which was over 4000m above see level. One or two people suffered from ultitude sickness but we seemed to be fine. Our biggest worry was the cold, we were told it gets to minus 20 at night this time of year. It turned out we we lucky, it only dropped to minus 10 degrees. The second night was in a hotel made completely of salt, even the chairs, tables and bed bases. It was really fun, and we managed to get a semi good shower which was greatly needed.... I smelt bad.

Finally, the salt flats on the 3rd day. A sea of salt as far as the eye can see, with a small island of cacti in the middle.

We got to Uyuni on sunday afternoon, had the most amazing pizza and got straight onto a bus to La Paz and planned to leave directly to Lake titicaca because we heard of a bit of political tension in the capital. When we got there we were a bit uneazy and got a taxi to the airport (long story short) and booked a flight to Cusco, Peru, to avoid any possibility of being stuck in La Paz. Our flight to Cusco was for 10am the next morning, so we slept the night in the airport.

So, then Cusco. A complete contrast and absolutely beautiful. To get to our Hostel we had to walk the ¨stairs of death¨, an uphill battle for streagth and breath. I think the Inca´s must have been really short because the stairs were too far apart for taking 1 step at a time and too close together to take 2 strides between steps. Hence, you continually stepped up on the same leg each time. We soon discovered it wasn NOT easier without the added weight of a backpack and that few rum and cokes didn NOT help iether. The first night we had a few drinks and hung out with our new american friend, Partick, whom we had met on the 4x4 trip.

That night mandy came down with something hard to describe. But she was not well for the next 3 days, she thinks it was a chicken roll from a dodgy pub. Between getting water and toilet paper, and making sure she was OK, I managed to fit in a few hefty nights of excessive drinking. It turns out Cusco is the Disneyland of beer and free drinks. There are so many bars and clubs that they all offer free drinks to entice you inside... the end result is a lot of club hopping... south african style. Once Mandy was feeling better it was time for SHOPPING, and as only Mandy can do, we found all the markets and got all the deals. I knew she was feeling better.

In total we spent 6 days in Cusco doing absolutely nothing (as far as trekking, sightseeing and touristy things go) and it was GREAT.

Left for Nasca on 6 June...