Our underground tour of the olde worlde mines of Potosi left us with one particular memory which is hard to shake off. It was the moment when, in the bowels of the earth, in an unsupported tiny tunnel, our calcium carbide lamp flames were temporarily extinguished. Snuffed out by....the blast of a dynamite explosion from a nearby tunnel - a dull sounding ¨whoompf¨, then blackness. Bolivian safety standards?

From Potosi we headed South to Uyuni, at the bottom of Bolivia - seven bumpy hours of pure dirt track (and only one puncture). The soundtrack to a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western would've ben the perfect accompaniment. Real 'cowboys and injuns' territory - sometimes barren and featureless, sometimes rocky scrubland; always dry, windswept and wild.

Arrived in Uyuni to find a definite one-horse town, a small desert community with streets that last a few yards and then just open up onto complete wilderness, as far as the horizon. Only one problem with this so-called desert - it got f'ing freezing at night. Since when are deserts COLD? There was ice on the street outside our Hospedaje each morning, again destroying the myth of 'scorching' South America.

In Uyuni we signed up for a 3 days 4WD tour to get us over to the border with Chile. At least for once we were in a vehicle designed for the terrain. And what terrain - a large part of it was an enormous pre-historic salt lake, and all that is left now is 12,000sq km of dried salt flats, pure white cracked ground, as far as the eye can see. Saw more giant cactii, hawks, llamas, vizcachas (rabbit-like rodents with long tails), flamingoes, volcanoes, multi-coloured lakes, geysers, boiling mud, thermal pools and more wilderness. Plus a hotel made entirely of salt. Most impressive were "Salvador Dali's Rocks", the inspiration for many of his paintings (allegedly); and the complete range of weather - from scorching hot to snow and minus 15 degrees.

Having completed the border formalities we trundled through more wilderness to Chile and hit....TARMAC!! Result! We're now heading South towards Santiago, and so far Chile seems to be mainly desert and more wild lunar landscapes in the North, with the occasional town. It is however a world apart from Bolivia in terms of roads, transport, leg room...and the cost of living. Bit of a shock to no longer get away with paying one quid for a 3 course lunch. A similar culture shock as to when we first landed in Australia after several months in South East Asia!

Have now crossed the towns of San Pedro de Atacama, Calama, Antofagasta (for J's birthday) and Copiapo (here) off our list. The plan is now to hit the beaches further South and enjoy the warmer temperatures for a bit.