Blogs from Potosi, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 12

Israeli´s. God they are funny. At least these 3 were. Really nice guys, but why is everything an argument? All 3 competing to be the big fish in the small pond. Too many chiefs, not enough indians. Rode the bus with them, got a hostel with them. When paying for the hostel up front, the manager/office guy told them he didnt have change for them, he was 5 bolivianos short, and that he would give it to them later. Its sunday, he said, a lot of places are closed and its hard to find change (this is in spanish, by the way). 5 bolivianos is about, I don´t know, 65 cents? Does it really matter? Apparently. This guy demanded, (shouted!) that he get change now. The older man, said momentito, momentito, with his hands out, palms ... read more

Altitude sickness Haven´t really talked much about the effect of altitude sickness on us. In the planning part of our trip we tried to keep rising in altitude as we travelled and also to give ourselves time to acclimatise after after each rise. Jill has been more affected than me but even so the effects have been minor compared to others we have seen/heard of. The effects here at 4,000m are such that if you try and move too fast then it feels as though your brain has been left behind and it takes a moment or two for it to catch up. A problem was the trip to the Amazon where we dropped down for a few days and then had to return to La Paz. We picked up a big packet of coca lollies ... read more

So, a quick tour entry blog journal doot doot here…This was were we did the proper tourist feeling and ran like hell through most of Bolivia over little time and covered almost everything offered to us from within the Lonely Planet…Starting in Sucre (apparently the nations capitol, although argumentative) for old school Jurassic Juxtaposition Juggling Jitterbugs….DINOSAUR TRAX…then to the world’s richest Silver mine (in one of the world’s poorest countries)…and finally to a whole lot of nothing..! Basically as far as the eye can see - all right if you like salt on your chips! So, Dinosaur tracks which weren’t really dinosaur tracks - probably…I reckon some kid was having fun with a compass and etched out some patterns in the side of a rock…! Any way…met our tour guide called JC…not the son of the ... read more

After Uyuni, it was off to Potosi. Potosi is the capital of the department of Potosi in Bolivia. It is claimed to be the highest city in the world at a nominal 4,090 m (13,420 feet). Good thing we were acclimated because we were higher on our salt flats tour. Still, this was a pretty high city. I got winded just walking up hill or waking up the stairs to our room. It was founded in 1546 as a mining town, it soon produced fabulous wealth, becoming one of the largest cities in the Americas. So we arrived in Potosi after a seven hour bus from Uyuni. The bus wound itself up dirt roads along huge cliffs. We were told to take this route from Uyuni to avoid the dangerous Uyuni- La Paz road, but I ... read more

So at about 3am we arrived in Potossi, and found a cab to take us to the hostel, along the way we saw a dead dog just randomly laying in the middle of the road which was nice. The next day we all got up and had a wander around the town, yes its got a lovely Plaza right in the middle. In the afternoon all of us (except Sarah) did a trip down a mine. Now this has to be a very strange tourist attraction, but it does teach you a lesson on how lucky we are. The entrance is 4000m above sea level, and the conditions that the miners work in can only be described as horrendeous, as part of the tour you are expected to buy coca leaves and fizzy drinks as a ... read more