Potosi

We had been on the road now for 4 days without a shower...what was another few of hours, right?
Encarna and I hopped on to the bus to Potosi - it was a rather sorry and run down looking thing - but at the front, facing all the passengers was Avril Lavigne and Shakira. Very reassuring.

Off we went, most of the road was done, there were only a few areas that were still under construction, but all in all it was better than we had been lead to believe.  It was interesting to note that the mountains were a tad greener here, and the the rock was less colourful, just more in the greys, creams and whites (not sure what kind of rock that is).



view from the room



I´ve had mixed reviews about Potosi, a girl in Salta told me not to miss it and Francine had said it was boring and there only a mine to see. As the bus pulled in, Encarna and I were tending to agree with Francine. We caught a cab to our Hostal (we had chosen an old mission from the Lonely Planet), our opinion changed.

Potosi was founded in 1546s as a silver mining town. It soon became one of the most important cities on the continent. So much so, that the word potosi became an adjective meaning much wealth or abundance. It is one of the highest towns in the world as well - coming in at 4067m above sea level (meh, didn´t faze us anymore).

When we got to our hostal/mission it was a labyrinth of a place, very cool though, even if the pictures were hung from the top of the wall - most importantly, it had HOT WATER SHOWERS! We made quick use of that and then set off on a quick re-con mission since it was already starting to get dark.

Potosi has the feel and architecture of, well, a 16th century Spanish town! HOW AWESOME! Cobbled streets, massive churches, little balconies made of beautifully sculpted wood, massive studded doors...fantastic! We would have to wait for la mañana, to appreciate its full grandeur...we were hungry and tired (we had been up since 5 that morning remember!), so we stopped in a little bistro overlooking the main square and had a lovely glass of wine with our dinner.

Casa de la moneda

After a good night´s sleep, we went to see the Casa de la Moneda (the mint) was built in 1574 and the story goes that when the king of Spain got the bill for the construction, he exclaimed, "WHAT??!!! Are you kidding me??! Did you build the thing out of silver??!" (ok, I´m paraphrasing). The whole silver era was brutal for the natives living in the area as well as the African slaves that were also brought in. The building was very interesting though and still very impressive.

Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

We also tried to get into some of the magnificent churches, but we found most were locked. We did manage to get into one though - Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco the original church was built in 1547 but mostly torn down and rebuilt in 1707. It is a really beautiful and imposing building (most of the churches here are - I guess it was part of the pope´s plan to intimidate the natives)

We did a lot of wandering around the old streets of Potosi, there was always a new, narrow street we hadn´t explored. We can´t figure out why this wonderful town has such a bad rap. Encarna and I have this town as ·1 on our list.

Some weird things about Potosi...Although it´s known for it´s silver mines, we were hard pressed to find any silver things there. We were told that although there´s silver in them thar hills, and people still break their backs trying to mine it (as individuals not for a company), no one has the equipment to work the stuff.

We found an inordinate amount of lawyers...mostly in one street.

Lastly, they won´t let you into the supermarket (I love visiting supermarkets in different countries) with any bags...not even your purse. When we asked the guy how we were going to pay without our purses he just shook his head and repeated that all bags must be checked. We left. Curious custom.

I´ve uploaded heaps of pics on FB!

Day 4 - Salt, salt, salt and farewells

Sunrise over the Salar de Uyuni

That pillar on the right is my shadow...

On our last day we headed to the Salar de Uyuni - the place where most visitors to Bolivia flock to.  We left at 5 in the morning so that we could catch the sunrise over the salar. This is the biggest and the highest salt plain in the world at 10,582 square kilometers and 3,656 meters above sea level. It is a vast expanse of nothing-ness. It´s basically a salt sea that is so salty that it has a salt crust on top. In certain places this crust can be 2m thick, and in other places there are gaping holes exposing the briny sea below (its really, really, really salty...I tasted it). We stopped to witness the sun make its appearance for the day - it was as if it was rising from the edge of the world - there was nothing between us and it. Our shadows were cast incredibly long...I swear, about 3m! What a show!

The island also had magnificent cacti

We then drove towards the Isla del Pescado (Island of fish - apparently its shaped like a fish). Andreas sent us on a little hike on the island while Idea prepared our breakfast. This island looked like the tip of a mountain peaking out of this massive salt crust. On the island we saw more coral and we also saw some volcanic rock some joined together, you could just imagine the underwater volcano engulfing the coral. This whole area was all underwater prior to the ice age....mind blowing considering that it is now a high point on the planet! The views from the top are absolutely awesome - when you look in certain directions you cannot  see the end of the salar...just a vast expanse of white.



Sorry, didn´t have time for that manicure!



After breakfast and a wee stroll on the plain around the island, we headed to Ojos de Agua - eyes of water. These were big holes in the salar (well, big as in the size of a shoe box). They say that these are the "breathing" holes of the salt plains and that they keep the plains from cracking up. Andreas put his arm in and pulled out beautiful salt crystals - clusters of perfect squares - big, small, all clumped together - to form these beautiful shapes. I don´t know what it is that makes them (or other crystal formations) do this perfect geometry...it´s truly fascinating.

Driving out of there was a bit of a slalom though! It kept freaking me out because it all looks like ice, and I know what happens when you swerve too sharply on ice. I kept expecting a spin out!

We stopped a few times more, to visit man-made things, like the very first salt hotel, and the piles of salt ready to be processed, but they paled in comparison to the natural magnificence of the place.

At the last, Andreas brought us to the town of Uyuni so we could have our last lunch together. Uyuni as a town is pretty much a dump - what a shame since its province is such a wonder.

Jon and Francine were staying in Uyuni to have a shower...and to think about where and what to next.

Encarna decided to come with me to Potosi...we got straight onto bus for a 4 hour ride over not quite finished mountain roads...our shower would have to wait.

Day 3 - Rocks, fuzzy creatures, and a dash of salt.



Arbol de Piedra



By the third day we were all accustomed to the altitude - not ready to run a marathon up here, but no more head aches. This day was practically all desert - there was very little vegetation to be seen...even the scrubby stuff that we had seen previously. Our first stop of the day brought us to a group of rocks that had been smoothed into weird and wonderful shapes by the rain and wind. Now, when I say rocks, I mean rocks that are as big as houses. The most "famous" one (the one you may have seen in photos) is called the Arbol de Piedra - the stone tree. The whole place was really awesome, the shapes really odd, the wind strong and cold as!





Just as we finished thawing in the car, we stopped again in front of a wall of rocks...nothing particularly outstanding or interesting though. Then our guide told us that this is where all the cool viscachas hang out - and then he pointed one out. We were all out of the car in seconds, cameras poised. Viscachas contain a very high cute factor - kinda like a cross between a large rabbit and a tiny wallaby (a small kangaroo) - about the size of a racoon. They´re a relative of the chinchilla (which I will hopefully see while on the Inca Trail). There were 2 viscachas that came to greet us, unfortunately, they came to us looking for food - after having learned that car = food, not danger. Sigh.

Andreas enjoyed having music in the car. The selection available, however, left much to be desired. I want you to to cast your mind back to the 80´s. There was some really great music back then....and some very, very dodgy music as well. I want you to recall the beatbox, oh yeah, feel the synth. Ok now think of some really bad lyrics...Eye of the Tiger? Take your passion? Now imagine that the person writing the lyrics doesn´t speak English very well....you will get such fine lyrics as: "Tell me if the sky is blue, and how old are you" or "You´re so beautiful, please be my lady of the night" or even "Don´t be afraid, don´t be afraid - Strange voices from space...Jabba, Jabba the hut..." No, I´m not kidding. Jon and I killed ourselves laughing.

There were a series of smaller lagoons along the way and at  one of them we caught sight of a Colpeo (Andean fox) ...who, sadly, had gotten the same bad habits as the viscachas. He also had a very high cute factor and he went so far as to lie down near us so that we could admire him more! I´m glad I got the chance to get some great photos of these beautiful animals, but its sad that these animals are showing a dependency on humans...especially when they live in an environment where your hunting skills are paramount.

Here´s my public service announcement for the day: Don´t feed wild animals.

Just before ending the day, we stopped at an outdoor museum of sorts. The people who used to live in the area were a pre-Inca civilization who used to bury their dead in the coral "hives" (can´t think of a better word - they actually do look like hives). Yes, you read correctly, it says coral. At 4000m above sea level there was coral. Dead coral of course...with dead people in them. We chatted with the (tiny) Quechua (descendant of the Inca) lady who kept the museum. She had some very distinct views on Spaniards...She seemed very proud to have such an old heritage.

We stopped for the night in a Hostal made of salt. This was the first place that had showers available to us - showering cost? $1.50. But, as you can well imagine, water in the desert is a very rare commodity so the shower was limited to 5 min. We all declined. Andreas suggested that we hike up to the top of the hill that was behind the Hostal. It was full of huge cacti...and the view of the next day´s adventure - the world famous Uyuni salt plains.

Needs salt...

Day 2 - Lions and Tigers and Bears...naw, not really.

Thanks to our perseverance the day before, the second day wasn´t so hard. We saw many incredible things this day. We passed by the Licancabur volcano, which straddles Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. It is still active, but (on this day at least) it had quit smoking. You would think that with the cold temperatures at night that there would be some snow on some of these peaks - but no, we only saw a little bit of snow on a very few peaks...truly bizarre.

Near the volcano we saw our first salt lagoon. These are smallish bodies of water that are left over during the dry season.They each have their own properties that make them unique. Some have sodium borate, arsenic, copper deposits etc.  Many of these are then collected and sold to neighbouring countries or exported to the wide world.

We also passed a place called the Rocas the Dali (yep, like the painter). The landscape is colourful and barren except for a few random rocks - very Daliesque. It was there too, that we saw a woman riding her bicycle. Yes, riding her bike through the mountains. Can´t imagine why any one would think this is a good idea, but apparently she wasn´t the only one whose fancy was struck - later we saw 2 guys doing the same...they did not look like they were having a good time.

 We stopped for lunch at the Aguas Thermes and had the chance to have a dip in the hot springs! How awesome to be able to say I had a wee dip at 4300 m above sea level??!! The water was toasty warm; not too hot. Everyone was a little worried about getting out - it was a tad windy and when the wind blows up there you really feel the cold, but because the water had warmed us up getting out was easy.

Then, after we had our fill (I put in the suggestion area of the survey that a siesta should be included) off we went to the geysers. From the car all you could see were thick billowing smoke. As soon as you opened the door though the stench of the sulfur hits you and makes you gag...not good after lunch. The other thing to strike you was the sound - it sounded like some wicked witch´s cauldron...ready for any naughty children wandering nearby. We had to watch where we put our feet here as some of the ground appeared solid, but it wasn´t. Inside each of the geyser holes was a hot, steamy, mass of grey goo - big grey bubbles bursting with a sulfurous *pop*. Way cool.

 We stopped at Huallajara for tea (we were staying here for the night as well) and then went to see Laguna Rojo - the Red Lagoon (aka Laguna Colorada). This patch of water was red due to the microscopic algae that live there...and do you know who LOVES to eat red microscopic algae? Flamingos. They were everywhere. It was magnificent!