From Darkest Peru to Breathless Bolivia

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Hola!

I've done so much in the few weeks since my last entry. Here are some photos. Unfortunately there is a bit of a gap between Haucachina and Bolivia as I broke my camera sandboarding. I now have a nice shiny new one though, so the blog will continue.

More photos to follow soon. These are largely of my tour of south west Bolivia, a land of thin air, cold and windy plains but above all of endless beauty. Big thumbs up.

Bye for now.

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Photos

Dune buggy ride, Haucachina
Like a roller coaster except with the added excitement of bald tyres and human error.

Sandboarding, Haucachina
Looking pretty cool eh? Well I fell over about 0.5 seconds after the picture was taken. Was really good fun though.

Haucachina
The oasis resort of Haucachina can be seen behind the handsome fellow in the foreground. It was full of gringos, but a great place to relax for a day or two.

Fruity
A pretty fruit stall in Sucre, Bolvia.

Dinosaur tracks
Near Sucre, a cliff face is covered with hundreds of crisscrossing tracks made by dinosaurs. Unfortunately there are no Adventursaurus specimens.

The mines of Potosi
Kitted up for a tour of the famous Potosi mines. Once apon a time, the mines bankrolled the Spanish empire and Potosi was one of the biggest cities in the world.

The mines of Potosi
Exploring the mines was more like caving than a soft touristy experience. It invloved crawling on hands and knees hundreds of metres into the ground. Not one for claustrophobes.

The mines of Potosi
Conditions in the mines have not changedmuch since colonial times. Miners work long shifts, sustaining themselves by chewing coca leaves. After working in the mines for 10 to 20 years, almost all miners suffer from silicosis pnuemonia and die after a short retirement.

Salar Tour
Loading up for a 3 day tour of southwest Bolivia and the Salar de Uyuni.

Salar de Uyuni
The worlds biggest salt flat is a very surreal place. Salt for miles and miles in every direction. It could be on another planet.

Posing again
Oooh what a lovely cowboy hat. Does it make my bum loook big?

One of the locals
This is what happens on the Bolivian altiplano if you dont use a good sun cream.

Classic Catcus
I'd been hoping to see one of these huge and amusing cacti in the US but no such luck. I was delighted to see them in abundance here.

Salt Hotel
On the first night of the Salar de Uyuni tour, we stayed in a hotel constructed entirely of blocks of salt. I licked the wall to check the authenticity of this claim. Its true.

Volcano
The innocent looking hill in the background is one of several active volcanos around the South West Bolivia and Chile border. In the photo you cant see the smoke puffing cheerfully from its summit.

Lllama
This is a llama, one of a few varieties of similar creatures native to Peru and Bolivia. They taste nice.

Lllama?
This is me pretending to be a Llama. Convincing eh?

Flamingos
Thousands of them occupy the cold windswept lakes of South West Bolivia.

A nice mountain
At 4600m the air is so thin that a mountain 50 miles away looks so clear, so sharp that you almost feel you can reach out and touch it.

Killer Rabbits
These indigenous creatures are basically huge rabbits with long curly tails. Not phased by inquisitive camera toting tourists either.

Rock on
Impressive formation. Says it all.

Another epic landscape
Walking across the bed of this lake felt like walking on the moon. Except there was water of course. And gravity. Maybe not the best metaphor then, but the pictures ones again dont do it all justice.

Top Geezas
My group from the tour.

Top Geeza
The bubbling pools and clouds of sulphur were amazing, if a little smelly.

Bolivia
The Bolivian flag and the sign in front of typical Bolivian landscape. Muy bien.

Comments

[Panwasher]

Funnily shaped cacti; yes!!
Sandboarding, cool. Salt flat, surreal is the best word for it. You may find the phrase 'Me burro esta muerto' useful!

[Ash]

Gaylord
I'm glad to see you still are looking gay as ever. Your trip looks amazing. I miss you a lot! Keep having fun and taking pictures so we can all see your lovely gay smile and ears flapping in the wind. Love Ash

[Cathal T Scullion]

Your Bum
Hi Ad, I don't think that hat makes your bum look big. I think your bum looks just smashing.