Weather: This getting a bit repetitive freezing hot freeezing...
Llama Metrix: 0, but saw a small boy taking his pig for a walk on the edge of Uyumi.
The French are not particularly good with time. Olivier makes us all get up a whole 45 minutes too early, this means more of the freezing Bolivian desert morning. We spent the time watching the Toyota being resusitated by Freddy, who was trying everything ... It wouldn´t have suprised me if he had suddenly given it mouth to mouth.
Finally it started in a plume of black smoke. Janet appeared with the kitchen utensils, and we headed off onto the salt flats. It was still dark, the stars were still out- no surprises really at 5.30 in the morning. We stopped to watch the sunrise. This was spectacular, as a red sphere appeared over the horizon it became apparent that as far as you could see was glittering white.
Breakfast took place on a Cactus island. The Cactuses here were up to nine metres tall. The island had made its name for having Bolivia´s tallest Cactus a giant of 12 metres... Unfortunately this had died in mysterious circumstances in 2007, and half of its remains could could be seen on one side of the island. What happened to the other half is a Bolivian mystery, but there was plenty of nice wooden Cactus signs around the place.
After breakfast we were told to walk into the sun by Janet, whilst Freddy got the car started. The French found more French, and we headed off into the great nothingness of white, under a bright blue sky.
An hour later Freddy and Toyota arrived.
The rest of the day was spent taking funny photos on the salt flats, which makes a good canvas for perspective games. Turns out one of the new French contingent was a professional photographer. My camera in the face of such pressure to perform immediately broke. (It hasn´t recovered since, and now is in the hands of a Korean in Sucre who is trying to revive it.)
After this it was time to head back to civilisation. First mobile signal for four days!
I was dropped off in Uyumi, and the French headed back to Tupiza.
Uyumi is the rectum of the arse end of nowhere. It was never meant to be a town, and is really a group of shacks for the workers on the railway. It is also according to Lonely Planet, the oracle of all things, climatically challenged, with an annual average nigh time temperature of minus twenty five centigrade.
Not the greatest place in the world really to start to feel ill. But two hours after a sad farewell to the french, I was feeling very peculiar. I decided to find a hostal and stay in Uyumi.
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