Hola Bolivia!
So THIS is the quintessential south america I was looking for and I´m loving it!
From Salta in the far north west of Argentina we crossed into the Atacama desert in north Chile with a lot of drama. Our 8 hour bus journey turned into a 15 hour journey when one of the passengers on board noticed that his bag, along with his passport, was stolen. Not so good when you are at the border crossing between Argentina and Chile at a height of 4500m! It was a crash course in acclimatising and damn it was hard. Loads of ppl on the bus were pale and ill due to to the altitude and lack of oxygen. Luckily I was able to snooze for a while which alleviated my pounding head and eliminated the need for me to walk anywhere.
We got to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile late that night which meant that we couldn´t organise anything for the following morning. However, we fortunately met up with a great bunch of ppl and organised a fantastic mountain bike ride the next day (40km)to a salt lake. Note, hard work with the altitude and sand tracks but spectacular scenery.
Our main purpose in Atacama, apart from seeing the landscape, was to organise travel through to Bolivia. We hooked up with a couple from South Africa and secured a 4x4 to take us across the border into Uyuni in Bolivia. We heard plenty of warnings about these trips but we thought that if we paid a bit extra and paid for our own jeep it would at least eliminate some of the horror stories we´d heard.
Famous last words, or intentions.....
However, our 3 day 2 night journey into the south west of Bolivia was the most beautiful I have ever experienced. Moments that I will never forget;
* The most beautiful sunset I have ever ever seen setting over Lago Colorado. An oil painting in progress complete with flamingoes! I had only ever seen flamingoes in Africa but I couldn´t believe they flocked here in Bolivia....and 3 species as well!
* The longest nail biting, head splitting, freezing, bowl moving, frustrating, uncomfortable night´s sleep at 4800m in a mud hut. Insomnia is a symptom of altitude sickness. Not pleasant!
* The most spectacular barren desert landscapes.
* Catching sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni (salt lakes) and not knowing where the sky and the land met. Breathtaking.
* Also on the Salar de Uyuni, turning 360 deg and seeing only blindingly white salt flats as far as you can see.
* Sleeping in a salt hotel where everything was made of, surprise surprise, salt!
* Watching salt farmers rake salt into uniform conical mounds.
* Indulging in bunches of coca leaves in the morning (great with hot water and a teaspoon of sugar) and chewing the funky stuff throughout the day to alleviate symptoms of altitude sickness. Coca leaves are a staple for the Bolivians who chew the stuff throughout the day. It was meant to give you some sort of buzz or numbness but I couldn't tell the difference.
* Thermal springs and active bubbling grey smelly geysers.
* The beauty and self indulgent feeling of being in complete solitude and isolation.
(For pictures of our spectacular journey through the south west of Bolivia, click here).
Our journey took us to Uyuni and from there we caught a 7hr bus journey to Potossi. Very eventful again - we were also warned about bus journeys in Bolivia and were told to try and catch trains where possible. Not so bad though we had to endure Michael Bolton and various local Bolivian musicians blaring through the speakers on the bus and a flat tyre. Welcome relief as the bus didn´t stop for toilet breaks so was able to sneak off into a local school to use their toilets and kick a soccer ball around with the little chicos and chicas.
We stayed in Potossi for 2 nights and had a fantastic time wandering about the town and watching loads of women in bowler hats, plaits and puffy pleated skirts plod around complete with babies tied in colourful rugs on their backs. Fantastic llama was to be had on the menu as well.
Potossi is the highest city in the world at 4090m and you can really feel it. When an Indian farmer lost his llama and began searching for it up on the mountain, now called Cerro Ricco, he discovered after lighting a fire to keep himself warm, that silver veins formed underneath it. The spanish then discovered the potential and began mining for silver and built the city of Potossi. They brought in Indian and African slaves to work in the mines and something like 8 million slaves perished within 450 years. The mines still exist and are now run by cooperative miners who work in terrible conditions, subjecting themselves to silica dust and other noxious fumes guaranteeing that they will succumb to silicosis pneumonia within 10-15 years. Very tragic.
Now we are in Sucre, about a 2.5 hr taxi ride north of Potossi and known as the Athens of the Bolivia, or something like that. It is again a beautiful place and we have secured a top accommodation with spectacular view of the city. Here again you see the women dressed in typical costume and loads of llama and alpaca produce.
However, now I must go as we have just had a top bbq with the guys we met a week ago and Dave has just brought me my bbqed chocolate stuffed banana.
We catch a flight to La Paz tomorrow so no doubt I will have loads more to report.
From Salta in the far north west of Argentina we crossed into the Atacama desert in north Chile with a lot of drama. Our 8 hour bus journey turned into a 15 hour journey when one of the passengers on board noticed that his bag, along with his passport, was stolen. Not so good when you are at the border crossing between Argentina and Chile at a height of 4500m! It was a crash course in acclimatising and damn it was hard. Loads of ppl on the bus were pale and ill due to to the altitude and lack of oxygen. Luckily I was able to snooze for a while which alleviated my pounding head and eliminated the need for me to walk anywhere.
We got to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile late that night which meant that we couldn´t organise anything for the following morning. However, we fortunately met up with a great bunch of ppl and organised a fantastic mountain bike ride the next day (40km)to a salt lake. Note, hard work with the altitude and sand tracks but spectacular scenery.
Our main purpose in Atacama, apart from seeing the landscape, was to organise travel through to Bolivia. We hooked up with a couple from South Africa and secured a 4x4 to take us across the border into Uyuni in Bolivia. We heard plenty of warnings about these trips but we thought that if we paid a bit extra and paid for our own jeep it would at least eliminate some of the horror stories we´d heard.
Famous last words, or intentions.....
However, our 3 day 2 night journey into the south west of Bolivia was the most beautiful I have ever experienced. Moments that I will never forget;
* The most beautiful sunset I have ever ever seen setting over Lago Colorado. An oil painting in progress complete with flamingoes! I had only ever seen flamingoes in Africa but I couldn´t believe they flocked here in Bolivia....and 3 species as well!
* The longest nail biting, head splitting, freezing, bowl moving, frustrating, uncomfortable night´s sleep at 4800m in a mud hut. Insomnia is a symptom of altitude sickness. Not pleasant!
* The most spectacular barren desert landscapes.
* Catching sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni (salt lakes) and not knowing where the sky and the land met. Breathtaking.
* Also on the Salar de Uyuni, turning 360 deg and seeing only blindingly white salt flats as far as you can see.
* Sleeping in a salt hotel where everything was made of, surprise surprise, salt!
* Watching salt farmers rake salt into uniform conical mounds.
* Indulging in bunches of coca leaves in the morning (great with hot water and a teaspoon of sugar) and chewing the funky stuff throughout the day to alleviate symptoms of altitude sickness. Coca leaves are a staple for the Bolivians who chew the stuff throughout the day. It was meant to give you some sort of buzz or numbness but I couldn't tell the difference.
* Thermal springs and active bubbling grey smelly geysers.
* The beauty and self indulgent feeling of being in complete solitude and isolation.
(For pictures of our spectacular journey through the south west of Bolivia, click here).
Our journey took us to Uyuni and from there we caught a 7hr bus journey to Potossi. Very eventful again - we were also warned about bus journeys in Bolivia and were told to try and catch trains where possible. Not so bad though we had to endure Michael Bolton and various local Bolivian musicians blaring through the speakers on the bus and a flat tyre. Welcome relief as the bus didn´t stop for toilet breaks so was able to sneak off into a local school to use their toilets and kick a soccer ball around with the little chicos and chicas.
We stayed in Potossi for 2 nights and had a fantastic time wandering about the town and watching loads of women in bowler hats, plaits and puffy pleated skirts plod around complete with babies tied in colourful rugs on their backs. Fantastic llama was to be had on the menu as well.
Potossi is the highest city in the world at 4090m and you can really feel it. When an Indian farmer lost his llama and began searching for it up on the mountain, now called Cerro Ricco, he discovered after lighting a fire to keep himself warm, that silver veins formed underneath it. The spanish then discovered the potential and began mining for silver and built the city of Potossi. They brought in Indian and African slaves to work in the mines and something like 8 million slaves perished within 450 years. The mines still exist and are now run by cooperative miners who work in terrible conditions, subjecting themselves to silica dust and other noxious fumes guaranteeing that they will succumb to silicosis pneumonia within 10-15 years. Very tragic.
Now we are in Sucre, about a 2.5 hr taxi ride north of Potossi and known as the Athens of the Bolivia, or something like that. It is again a beautiful place and we have secured a top accommodation with spectacular view of the city. Here again you see the women dressed in typical costume and loads of llama and alpaca produce.
However, now I must go as we have just had a top bbq with the guys we met a week ago and Dave has just brought me my bbqed chocolate stuffed banana.
We catch a flight to La Paz tomorrow so no doubt I will have loads more to report.
posted by W at 7:16 pm
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