Worst bus ride

Dear Mom and Dad,

We had by far the worst bus ride to date so far. First of all we paid extra for a "semi-cama" seats, which means there should be leg rests and the back should recline. The bus was not at all "semi-cama;" it was a dirty typical charter bus. Secondly, our bus was an hour and 45 minutes late. That's a long time to be sitting outside in the cold. The employees kept telling me that it was coming, but I was already freaked out that we somehow missed it. Thirdly, the ticket guy said the bus didn't have a bathroom, but it would stop two times for bathroom breaks along the way. The ride was nine hours, and the bus did NOT stop once. The ride was so bumpy that it was painful to sit through. Charlie and I have decided to NEVER book with "San Miguel" tours again. The company got into a little bit of trouble from the police because their bus was so late, and there were so many people waiting outside for it. They locked the doors so you couldn't even wait inside.

We did make it to Uyuni in one piece. I was terrified the bus was going to get stuck with all the reversing, rocking back and forth action. The grounds are wet and muddy, which makes for awful transportation. A dirt path would be exaggerating the condition of the roads. Today we are researching and booking "Salar de Uyuni." We will probably book with a company for three days and two nights. Most companies depart at 10:30 am, so another post will be in a few days. We can check into our hostel in a couple of hours, and no words can describe the excitment I feel to sleep and not have an alarm to wake me up.

Love always,

Matti Jo and Charles Dale