frequentflyer

I didn’t have much time today as I had to leave around noon for my flight in the early afternoon. I bid farewell to the rest of the group as they went on a city tour and walked to check out Mercadode Hechiceria (Witches’ Market). I was there rather early and only a few shops were open. They were selling all sorts of stuff, most notably llama fetuses. There were potions, herbs, offerings (presumably for Pachamama), magic charms with English descriptions to increase wealth, sexual prowess, intelligence and all sorts of other things that I have no clue as to what they do. I actually saw some locals buying a llama fetus. Too bad I didn’t have a good command of Spanish to ask what they were going to do with it. I guess I should ... read more

This morning we went on a silver mine tour. After putting on our gear (bright yellow clothing, boots (and plastic bag around each foot), hard hat and head lamp), we went to the miners’ market to get some supplies for the miners we were to visit. We bought a ‘kit’ containing a bag of coca leaves, an alkaline stick, usually made from the ashes of quinoa plant to activate the alkaloids, a pack of cigarettes, drinks and dynamites. Each stick of dynamite was $15 Bs, consisting of nitroglycerin paste, ammonium nitrate and a fuse. We could no longer explode the dynamites but that’s probably a good thing. We also bought cheap surgical masks that are supposed to prevent inhalation of toxic stuff down in the mine but likely don’t. I think most of the miners know ... read more

We decide as a group the night before that we would leave by 5:15AM at the latest so that we could catch the sunrise on the salt flats. For various reasons (it looked like the local guide/drivers overslept) we didn’t get going until 5:45AM. Fortunately we got to the salt flats just as the sun was rising. Formation of Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni salt flat): Scienific: This part of the Altiplano has no outlet to the sea. The salt deposits are the result of the minerals leeched from the mountains and deposited at the lowest available point. Legends(from LP): A rounded promontory juts into the Salar de Uyuni along its NW corner and on it rises Volcan Tunupa (5432m). One legend states that Atahualpa slashed the breast of a woman called Tunupa on its slopes and ... read more

Today we crossed the border into Bolivia. A short drive just to the edge of town was the Chilean border post where a short line had already formed. It seemed like about 20 minutes when it was our turn but we were informed that we left our bus without his permission (something to do with not clearing customs first) so we had to go back to the back of the line. Sounded like a big ego and a small you-know-what. Anyway, to not cause any trouble, we did and it took us over an hour in line to get our permission to leave Chile. There were quite a few transports with cars crossing the border, many from Paraguay, one even had a person in one of the cars! We were told that many stolen cars make ... read more

San Pedro is located at 2436m above sea level, near the north side of the salt deposit of Atacama (the biggest in Chile). It is located in one of the many oases in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world as it hasn’t rained for over 250 years. San Pedro is situated at the foothills of the Andean Cordillera which reaches 6100m high in this area. The volcano Licancabur (5916m – higher than Kilimanjaro!) can be seen from San Pedro as it’s only about 40km away. The name means “village hill”, and it was venerated by the Incas who carried out ceremonies and left offerings in the crater top. There is a lagoon at the top and a French high altitude diving expedition went up there in 1984! Some of us walked around town ... read more