Our journey to get to Tupiza turned out to be a long one. We got a bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz, as the only direct bus of the day to Tupiza from Cochabamba had already left around 2pm, and we'd missed that. So we got the same bus as the girl from the hostel. It left at 8pm, and she said it got in around 9am, so that should be fine to get a bus to Tupiza from there the next morning. However, the bus got in at 4am and we had to wait around for a few hours for the bus terminal to open. When it finally did open, we found out that there were no direct buses going to Tupiza. So we had to take a bus to Potosi instead, where we'd have to take another bus to Tupiza. Confused yet, I am, well was. It was a bit of a headache doing it this way, and we should have really checked the bus times before we set off, we normally do anyhow. We were just being lazy after working in the animal sanctuary for a few weeks. 

So after a long period of travelling, we finally made it to Tupiza around 6pm the next day . We were shattered, so just wanted to go straight to the hotel that a guy recommended from our hostel in Cochabamba. It's called Hotel Mitru, and they are the hotel owned by Tupiza Tours, which is the company we wanted to book our salt flats tour with. The couple we met in Cochabamba used them for their tour and said they were brilliant, so that was good to hear. We walked up to the centre and found the hotel and asked if they had a room for 2 nights, they did luckily, so we checked in. We had a look around and it was a lovely hotel with a pool, overlooking the mountains, it was nice to be staying in a hotel again. After checking in, we then went and spoke to the Tupiza Tours desk to see if they had any space on the tours departing in 2 days. They confirmed they did. We spoke to a lovely lady named Janet who secured our place on a tour. I did ask if we could be put with English speaking people, and she said they would try to accommodate my request. So once that was booked, we could relax and look forward to our salt flat tour . We then met an Australian lady, who was travelling with her son, we got chatting to her for a while, then went for dinner in a restaurant and afterwards, crashed out for a good nights sleep. 

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast as it was included. It was a good breakfast of fruits, cereals, pancakes, coffee and juices. We got speaking to Kim, the Australian lady today, and she said she was going horse riding with her son if we wanted to come with her. We have never been horse riding before, so we said we'll tag along. So we went back after breakfast and got ready to go riding. We thought this would be the best place to do it as it feels like you are in the Wild West and Butch Cassidy and the sun dance kid was filmed here.

Horse Riding in the Wild Wild West 

It was just Kim and her son Daniel, myself and John who went riding. We waited in the hotel reception to be picked up and a young lad came to collect us. We thought we'd have to drive to where we were going to be riding, but we just walked around the corner. The boy guided us and we all chatted whilst walking. Daniel told me about his plans to open up a big zoo when he returns to Australia, he's so vibrant and young, it's infectious. After about a 15 minute walk, we were at the stables. They led John and I into one stable, and Kim and Daniel into another. By the looks of it, we won't be riding together . We had to go get kitted out with hats and some chaps. The guy asked us if we wanted a sombrero or something else in Spanish which I couldn't understand, so we just opted for sombreros. The guy fitted me with chaps, although I had white linen trousers on, so didn't look quite the part. John had his shorts with boat shoes, so he looked ridiculous as well, but it was funny all the same. The guy didn't speak any English so I was trying to converse in Spanish with him as much as I could. The next step was to get me mounted on a horse, which I thought would be really difficult as i'm short. However, it proved to be much better than I thought. The boy helped hoist me up so I could get my foot in the pedal, and then I pulled myself up onto the horse. It was a lovely light brown coloured horse. I hoped he would be gentle with me as it was my first time properly riding a horse. Our only previous experience in horse riding was at a school fete when you get taken around the field on the horse, so we are novices. John found it much easier and just jumped on the horse like a natural. 

Once we were all set, the boy showed us how to commands horse; left, right and stop, that was enough for me. If we wanted to go faster, we just had to pull back the reigns, although I don't think i'll be going fast. I did just let him know that we hadn't been riding before and to go easy on us, he was laughing! So we set off slowly and it really did feel like we were in the Wild West . There were beautiful multi-coloured mountains of rustic red, burnt orange, and pastel green. It was a really hot day, so actually it was lucky that we did have the cowboy hats as they will shade us from the intense sun. Once I got comfortable with actually riding my horse, I was starting to enjoy it. We all travelled in line and sometimes John's horse would try to outrun the other horses and would misbehave. My horse was perfectly well behaved, luckily for me. 

After riding for about half an hour, he asked if we wanted to stop, because our legs were aching, we said yes, and he helped me off the horse. When we were just off our horses, we saw Kim and Daniel coming around the corner with the other instructor. It was nice to have finally met up with them, considering we were suppose to be going riding together. They both had helmets on. She said they got given a choice between a helmet and a sombrero, so that must have been what we had been offered, but I couldn't understand the word helmet in Spanish. I prefer the sombrero anyway, it looked better, but for a child, it was best having a helmet. So once we'd had a drink to cool us down, our guide told us that we are stopped at a famous section where the Butch Cassidy movie was filmed. It was a huge rock formation, so John and Daniel went to explore, and I looked from afar and got some pictures. It was just a beautiful setting for a movie, it's a pity we haven't actually seen the film . I intend to watch it when we can get hold of it somewhere. 

After our brief refreshment stop, we were ready to set off for the next leg of the journey. This time we all set off together, which was great. Our guide starting trotting soon after we set off, so in turn, this made our horses want to go faster. I was actually scared as my horse started to gallop and we were all travelling at a much faster pace. You had to stand up while moving so it's easier to ride. John said he loved travelling fast, but I was too scared that I would fall off to enjoy it. I didn't really feel in control, so that's why I think it scared me. I did enjoy it, was a bit of a thrill. Kim and her sons horses didn't run to follow us, so we were back to being just us and the guide again. We carried on going for another hour or so, by this time, my thighs were really aching, so I will be looking forward to having another break off the horse. We paid for a 3 hour session, that will definitely be enough for me. Kim and her son may carry on for up to 5 hours, which is good for them, although my body wouldn't hack that .

Our last resting place would take us right up to a canyon. Our guide said we would have around 15-20 minutes to explore the area, so we got off the horses and they just stood there waiting for us. In the meantime, we all went off exploring. We bumped into Kim and Daniel again, who came with us. The scenery around here is just like nothing we've ever seen before, the colours surrounding the mountains and around the canyon are amazing. We walked up through the canyon and started to climb up through the rocks. There was even a fresh water supply, in such a dry arid place, you wouldn't have expected that. Once we'd explored a little of the canyon,we came back down to relax for a few minutes before we set off again. There were some trees for shade, so we sat under them. John wanted to pose as a cowboy, so he laid under the tree with his hat over his face, trying to be John Wayne... 

We stayed there for around half an hour, then it was time to leave and head back . We lost Kim and Daniel on the way back as they left after us, and we didn't see them again until later. We carried on going back at a comfortable pace, just trying to take in all the surroundings and the scenery. By now my thighs were really aching, I couldn't wait to get back and get off the horse. John's horse played up a few times, but mine was as good as gold all the way home. The last section did feel like we were on the horses for hours. Eventually, when we did get back, I dismounted the horse as soon as I could. I already knew that my thighs would be aching for the next few days, which is while we'll be on our salt flats tour. After we'd finished we tipped the guide and walked back to the hotel. 

After we got back, we rested for a while, then went out to get some lunch. I had decided as a treat to myself for all that hard working in the animal sanctuary that I would get my hair dyed in a hairdressers before the salt flats. I also had some birthday money left over, so I went to a salon in Tupiza to get my hair done . It was hard to explain it in Spanish, so I just pointed out the colour I wanted on the colour chart. It took a few hours, so John went back to the hotel. When they finished, the colour wasn't quite as vibrant as I would have liked, but still, it looked better than it did before, so I was happy, although I did pay a lot of money for it, considering we are in Bolivia. When I finished, I went back to the hotel and John said Kim and Daniel are going for dinner, did we want to come. So I got ready and we went to a place where they stuffed themselves full of BBQ meat. Surprisingly, they didn't have any chicken there, so I wasn't happy. Afterwards, we went to get some supplies to take with us on the tour. We said goodbye to Kim and Daniel as they are not departing on the same salt flats tour as us and went back to the hotel. It's a shame we didn't get to make use out of the hotel pool.