Sorry about the order of posts - Internet is very intermittent & I have only been able to update what I had on the iPhone at a restaurant. Will endeavour to include photos etc when we can.
At 8.00 am we spent an hour or so wandering around the old Potosi city area observing the 16th century architecture and the splendour of the facades on the old buildings.
We then visited the mint and spent a very interesting time seeing the machinery and methods used by the Spanish in making coins from the silver mined nearby.
We then stocked up at the supermarket and headed off on a 5 hour bus trip to Uyuni which will be our starting point for visiting the salt plains of the Bolivian Atacama desert region. The drive took us high over mountain passes and then down to 3500m where there were flat grasslands with hundreds of grazing llamas. On the rocky hillsides were lots of large cactus plants.
Uyuni is a desolate town with a challenging continental climate with little to inspire. However it is becoming increasingly important as a tourist destination because of the salt flats. The local people are public sector workers, salt miners or tourist operators. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid movie sequel was filmed nearby.