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Cold, stiff and sweaty, we arrived in the ghost town of Uyuni having successfully survived "The 900km Crossing" No-one felt like a further 6 hour car journey but there was little debating as we felt we should spend Easter somewhere special. Our jeep collected us with one vital component missing..petrol. On a little bit of faith, syphoning from another vehicle and frequent engine checks, we were able to top up at a nearby village
To reward us for our tenacity, we arrived in Tupiza and booked into our most extravagant hotel thus far. For $3 a night we were blessed with a private bathroom and SWIMMING POOL.
As all the shops and restaurants were closed for easter sunday, I was sure we were doomed to a lunch of cocoa leaves and stale chocolate. Unexpectatedly though, everyone decided to gather what they could from the market and combine ingredients which resulted in an epic "Last Supper" which could easily have fed 5000.
Brett masterminded an egg-hunt which had 12 adults scampering around like excited delinquents.
Tupiza is a landscape of colouful eroded mountains and vast expanses.. It is best known as the area where Butch Cassidy and Sundance
kid battled out their last days. Our aim was to set off into the"Wild West Wilderness" on horseback. A couple of hours into the ride, it was ball-painingly obvious that the horse and saddle are a cowboys worst enemy or greatest ally. Brett was stuck with the skinniest who had recently given birth, thus it was Brett´s task to keep an eye on her obstinate foal who trailed lazily behind. Parenting did not come easily, nor did pain relief to hios nether regions, but much fun was had by all.
We spent the night at at a local farmhouse where the pigs, goats, chickens and horses share the same living area. We drank and debated politics with an Israeli group under the stars until we fell into bed sore and exhausted, the boys haunted by nightmares of another gruelling day on horse-back. The next day proved as spectacular as the first, passing medieval villages where prematurely-aged women carried huge sacks on their backs. Galloping through the river valley, whilst vultures circled overhead and the odd donkey eeh-aahed in approval.
Potosi is the highest city of its size in the world and in the 17 century rivalled cities like
Paris and London as immense amounts of silver were extracted from its belly. It is now virtually a mining ghost town inhabited by the families of the harrowed miners. We experienced the greatest human suffering imaginable on a tour of the Cerro Rico mines which have become a toursit destination as a result of the appalling medieval conditions in which these men work.
They spend 12 -24 hours a day in the darkness and oxygen depraved depths of Pachamama(mother earth) where a human life lost is a good omen for finding new mineral deposits as Pacha Mama has received her sacrifice. We were barely able to endure the 2 hours underground which can reach temperatures of 40 degrees are excruciatingly claustrophobic and dusty.
The miners have haunted expressions and survive on coco leaves and 96% alcohol to maintain sanity in these shocking conditions. They have a life-expectancy of 45 years but are still regarded as worthwhile husbands as they are seen as mucho, virile and can earn, on average more than a doctor . Seeing these guys come scampering past, with 50kg of rock ore tied to their backs, through tiny passageways and steep inclines, one is filled
with immense respect for their resilience.
We seemed eager to leave the discomfort of 3rd world exploitation behind us. The international mining companies buy the ore from the miners, and then process it with cyanide and other delightful chemicals, which then wash straight into the local river. The irony that these people, 8 million of whom died in the mines at the hands of the Spanish, are now exploited by multinational companies, whose greed knows no ethical boundaries. It is difficult to purchase silver jewellery at dirt cheap prices when you know the lives and land of those employed to produce it are devastated. But it is a momentary consideration for most, and your blessed life continues with ease and excitement, especially when you get to blow up some dynamite outside, as buying and detonating it is legal in Bolivia. Go figure.
We arrived in a charming capital city.. Sucre. It is a World Cultural Heritage Site and referred to as La Ciudad Blanco as all the main builidings are painted in their original colonial white. I enjoyed the Bolivian chic and culture of Sucre and could have stayed a week doing Spanish classes from the view point
Tupiza - Wild West Country
Our 2 day horse ride- "Mate Man" at the convent. Brett however was struggling with far greater enemies than time constraints. He was in his second week of travellers´ diarrhoea and losing weight faster than any dedicated anorexic ( much to my selfish annoyance!) We discovered a magical Egyptian remedy and at last he was back enjoying gourmet dinners and boozing sessions without having to document the respectability of all the Bolivian bathrooms we passed!
A treachorous bus ride later, we arrived in La Paz to stock up on supplies.. mainly music as we have now lost and broken our ipod and mp3. It just isn´t as relaxing travelling on buses for hours to the music of screaming children and repetitive pan flutes played at illegal decibels.
La Paz is situated at 4000m above sea level and although it is carved into the mountains and ringed by snow capped volcanoes, it isn´t only the scenery which is breathtaking. Every up hill step can leave you panting in humiliation as decrepited old ladies burdened with goods , scurry past you nonchalantly. But we could be forgiven, in this, the world´s highest capital, where chaos reigns and the 21st century struggles with the 13th.
The Witches
Market sells fascinating charms, spells herbs and more gruesome items like llama foetuses.I was looking for "get rich quick" potion but supposedly it is not terribly effective as the Bolivians are dirt poor and will sell you anything for a few pence.What we could have done with were some protective charms against the madness of the "World´s Most Dangerous Road", which we conquered by mountain bike the following day.....
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Pips
non-member comment
Wow!
Looks like you two are still having an awsome time!! I'm green with envy!