Uyuni is the largest salty desert in the world but its main characteristic is to be located in…Bolivia… The Bolivian is a being from another planet where there is no hot water (even if indicated in flashy letters on the top of the hotel), no smiles, no roads (already mentioned), nor other word than "gringo" to describe this alien commonly known as tourist. The Bolivian world is made of smoking coaches with super-springs, brand new 4x4 bearing the name of multinational on their sides, walls painted and repainted to the rythm of elections with slogans (such as "Evo…lucion"). In one word, one comes to Bolivia to find  something difficult in any other country: cultural shock. And the desert of Uyuni is one of the biggest shakers…

A gigantic pure white salty desert that even the many vehicles entering it have not changed. We decide to visit it after Gonzalo spent the night fixing the fuel pump again. We'll stay until dawn fighting against the cold to stare at the sun.

Gonzalo spends another night fixing the pump . The next day, Vincent definitely quits; his uncertainty as to his future is worrying him and so he prefers to stop for a while and go to Sucre where he will stay a few months. Vincent, in the name of the H2 Project, thank you for all these amazing pictures; we are grateful to you. For the rest of us, we are back on the road towards the North when 30 km after leaving, the car stops mysteriously another time. I point out this fact here because it will be the last time for many thousands km to come…

We spend the night in Oruro and eventually reach La Paz after 2 days: we'll spend a week, the time for Gonzalo to change the 4 springs and gather some information from the Argentinean embassy about the renewal of his passport. The procedure is too complicated and after a few days he decides to go back to Mendoza without reaching the goal we had set together: seeing Machu Picchu.

Gonzalo will have been for me more than just a mechanician during all those past weeks: he managed to blend in the team with humour and has alwas managed to be a source of entertainment for all of us. As I told you, the door to the beetle remains open and you are free to come back at any time if you manage to sort yourself back in Mendoza…

We are left Elise and myself alone in the car when we leave La Paz for another country, another destination but still. as many adventures...