Ghost town, and don´t go ´Popular´class!

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We arrived at would could only be described as a very ghostly town, extremely dusty and a massive culture shock from Argentina. Old woman carrying their professions or children on there back were everywhere. We very sketchily tried local food, many jokes about the cleanliness were made and well we seem ok today so fingers crossed. After spending a mission trying to get some prep for the interview the next day Owen went straight for the essential Coca leaves...taste foul but the tea is better. Can definitely tell the altitude my nose cant decide whether to be blocked or not!

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We then tried to catch a bus to Uyuni to do the salt flats tour but the guy said it was $25 and took 3 hrs we weren't convinced being it was 8hrs and most places cost $80...another scam two we have seen in a day! So we had to get the train which took apparently 9.5hrs but was ´scenic´.

We got the train but couldn't get 1st class(anything else is supposed to be like cattle class, which means cattle class here!) so after queuing in what appeared to be a scout hut we got ´popular´....what the future held! Problem was that we had 8 hrs to kill so after desperately trying to arrange a hotel with a working phone etc in uyuni and also let the guy from UCSD know the number we headed for the train just in time.

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First impressions not bad, ok you can see the rails when you go to the loo but wasn't the worst we have had! The views were truly spectacular, saw my first real cactus...big moment in the world of Josh! But some truly amazing little villages in the middle of nowhere. THis was truly rural Bolivia in its full natural beauty!

We then stopped at Tupiza and on came lots of people with well whole arm fulls of corn and there farm produce etc...and we then got cramped up for 8 hrs...don´t go Popular!Also the sun set and so the magnificent views vanished and after games of cards and amusing fights between Israeli passengers and the locals about open windows we got near to Uyuni. If we hadn't been so cramped and knackered than the view would of been even more amazing. The blackest sky you could imagine, the only light were the thousands of stars literally thousands visible and the moonlit glowing Andes hills, truly amazing shame we were ont he cramped train!

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We finally arrived after 12 hrs on a cramped train, not entirely sure if it was the right station(sign posting isn't the best in South AMerica) luckily it was and we got checked into an overpriced hotel but it was a bed!