Uyuni - Potosi, a Bolivian road trip

It was late afternoon by the time we left Uyuni. The locals told us the 200km journey to Potosi would take 6 hours, so we didn't have much hope of making it by nightfall. After rising out of Uyuni - giving us a last spectacutar view of the Salar - the road skirted the sides of the barren Andean foothills. This road, between a major city and major town is dirt - often nothing more than a track, and most of the traffic is on foot.

This group of llamas was accompanied by a couple of donkeys, a dog and an old woman. The woman was dressed traditionally in a very full skirt, a bright cardigan and a bowler hat perched on top of two long black plaits, with a bright bundle of fabric on her back, full of wood. She held out her hand to us asking for money. We gave her our last coins, putting us in a spot the next time we were asked by a man walking his goats (tourist, or vehicle-owner tax?) We were happy enough to give what we had.

We wound through the mountains, stopping in a village for water and tomatoes (and was upsold tuna) to complete our meal for the night. Back on the road, nowhere seemed appropriate for camping. We were riding through a valley, and the land was either too steep for a tent or occupied.

As it was getting too dark to go much further (not many of the road-users come with lights here), an old man standing on the side of the road with a couple of sacks called out to us. Hoping that this might lead to the accomodation we were looking for, we turned around to greet him.

It turned out the sacks were full of vegetables, and as we sat there he started pulling out handfulls of them and packing them into Andy's hands and our tankbag. While I watched the darkness set in, Andy patiently tried to give them back, explaining we had no money. This didn't seem to phase him, so we swapped the veg for some tomatoes and kept on down the road.

Not two curves later we spied a flat exit leading to the unmistakable silhouettes of cacti to the left, and a myriad of powerlines to the right. We opted for the cacti, found a little nook, and set up camp.

Our nightly routine involves getting off the bike and putting on warm clothes as quickly as we can, then Andy sets up camp while I cook dinner. We have got the timing to an art, so as Andy puts the finishing touches to our beds (putting the jackets under the mattresses for pillows), I am just about serving up tucker. This night it was tuna and (incredibly sweet) tomoato pasta. Yum. After dinner, we usually fall straight into bed.

Out in the foothills, we woke to another incredible view. We have started a photo series called 'views from a tent'. This one is a beauty for it.

We have camped in some amazing spots on this trip, and this was no exception.

The man told us the corn he gave us needed cooking on its husk in a fire. In the morning we discovered he was right, this varitey was not for boiling (it was still rock hard after 20 minutes). However, it was a spectacular vegetable - bright golden with a purple husk, giving us misgivings about the watery, easy-to-eat varieties back home.

After brekkie of porridge, apples and tea (we seem to have mislaid our Argentinian coffee filter), we packed up and set off up the road.