We leave Tupiza with 10 people in 2 cars, plus our drivers and cooks. I'm slightly peeved that 6 strangers piled in the other car while we have only 4, making our tour more expensive. When I complain it should have been 5 in each car, Beatriz simply gives us a small discount instead...much better because we're so bogged down with photography equipment even one more person would have been extremely unwelcome.

Our driver/guide is the grinning Angel, more kind than knowledgeable. Sweet Mercedes is our wonderful cook. Our travel partners are Gilles and Sonia from Toulouse, both engineers and very nice. They're quite affectionate. Extremely so. Sometimes it's hard to avert my eyes.

Mercedes and our vehicle at the Quebrada de Palala

El Sillar

Llama farm

The benefit of departing from Tupiza rather than Uyuni is taking in some spectacular eroded landscape. We marvel at the Quebrada de Palala, which Gilles and Sonia had biked past the other day. Next up is El Sillar, "the saddle," a colorful valley of rock towers. Beatriz had warned us in advance the first day of the tour was the least exciting, but we all find the scenery beautiful.

We lunch at a llama farm, although llama isn't on the menu; the creatures simply provide a photogenic backdrop. They are none too pleased, and lope away every time I approach. Tailgating out of our jeep, we munch on coldcut sandwiches and Mercedes' amazing beef tamales—much better flavor & texture than the llama versions we got in Tupiza. Bolivian tamales are not sprawling affairs like Mexican ones...these are about the size and shape of hackey sacks. For dessert Angel tears open a bag of swirled lollipops that we would see frequently for the next few days.

Hemmy surveys the lunch spread

We doze off and on in the backseat the rest of the day—once we hit the paramo (Andean grasslands) we realize what Beatriz meant.

It's dry season, so we become accustomed to driving through dry riverbeds...until we get unexpectedly stuck in the sand. I so regret not grabbing my camera before we all get out to push the jeep, especially because there's really only room for 3 sets of hands on the back! I just stand around laughing. We notice the other car, which appears newer, simply sails through this spot.

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