Atacama Desert Crossing, Bolivia - Day 2

I do not sleep well. The mattress feels like it's been stuffed with old rags. Worse still, every time someone turns over during the night there's a clanging of rusty springs. With seven people in one room that happens fairly often. There are no showers so after a quick breakfast of coffee with powdered milk we continue across the desert in our 4x4s.

We pass through the Silole desert and stop off to see the famous Arbol de Piedra (Stone tree). Big cumulus clouds cast long shadows over the mountains. When the sun breaks through, the landscape transforms into various shades of red, brown, green. I feel like I'm in a painting.

We stop at Laguna Onda and Laguna Hedionda, where the lake's edge is encrusted in sulphur, turning the the ground a bright greeny-yellow colour. Before we reach Laguna Cañapa, my car has a blow out and is reluctant to start. On from Laguna Canapa we pass the Ollague Volcano, which is still active. A thin plume of smoke can be see from the base.

Before we stop for the night we drive through the Salar de Chihuana, a salt flat with a railway track running through its middle. Twice a week salt is transported from here to Chile.

We're spending New Year's Eve at the Salt Hotel in Atulcha. I'm fairly excited about sleeping in a hotel made entirely of salt. In addition to the wall structures, all the furniture is made of salt - beds, tables and chairs. I'm also looking forward to a hot shower for the price of five bolivianos (35p). We queue for a shower and only have a few minutes to prepare for the UK New Year. At 8pm Bolivian time we crack open a bottle of warm champagne (no fridge, electricity or phone line) and the Brits in the group toast their absent friends and families. The champagne and rum punch flow easily all evening, complementing our dinner of chicken and chips.