Scenery between Potosi and Uyuni.
Had a terrible night last night, Noel barely slept because couldn´t breathe when he lay down and Melissa was being sick all night. Have decided to bite the bullet and start taking the altitude sickness tablets, so hopefully they might improve things. Left in our private bus at 10.30am for Uyuni, through many different types of scenery. Lunch was at a very basic, but scenic, restaurant with no toilets, so al fresco was the go. Thought we´d found a good spot in a derelict building, but just as we went to step over the wall, an enormous pig looked back at us. Changed our minds and found a big rock instead! As we neared Uyuni, you could see the salt flats appearing through the mountains - quite an amzing site, with a vast expanse of white through the brown of the foreground.
Uyuni town square.
Uyuni itself is very neat and tiny, and our hotel (Toñito Hotel) is right next door to the army base and an easy walk to the plaza. It is run by a young man from Boston and his Bolivian wife, and the pizzas in the restaurant were pretty good. Have found out that when the Bolivian national anthem is played at 8am and you are outside, you must stand still and remove your hat, or risk being arrested. The little things we didn´t know before! The rooms here are very nice and the beds big and comfortable. Unusually for Bolivia, the owners are making environmental efforts as well, and have installed solar hot water systems and the "we won´t wash your towel unless you want us to" signs. Very nice, all up.
