Blogs from Tupiza, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America

After hearing about the bad road conditions from Uyuni to Tupiza, we all decided that since the train was so good last time, it would be the perfect way to travel once more. Our Salt Flat tour had finished in the evening and the train would depart the station at 10:40pm that evening. This was pretty much perfect as it meant we could sleep on the train and would save money on accommodation. The only potential downside of this wily plan was the fact that the train would get into Tupiza at 4.30am and therefore meant sleeping in the station until a hotel or café opened. We decided it was worth the minor inconvenience. Once aboard the train, it wasn’t long before we realised this wasn’t quite going to be the smooth and perfect ride that ... read more

Nå er jeg i Tupiza i Bolivia. Det er en liten landsby som ligger på ca. 3000 m o.h. Vi kom hit i går kveld etter en relativt lang reise. Det begynte med buss fra Salta klokken 7 om morgenen. Bussen skulle opprinnelig ta 7 timer, men det endte opp med å bli 10 timer. Underveis stoppet bussen i hver minste lille landsby, hvor folk gikk onn og ut av bussen for å kjøpe mat og andre ting. På et tidspunkt hadde vi ventet i 45 min på samme busstasjon. Da merket lille meg at temperaturen begynte å stige. Etter hvert kom bussen seg avgårde igjen, men det skulle ikke vare lenge. Jeg duppet av innimellom, så jeg fikk ikke med meg alt som skjedde, men på et tidspunkt våknet jeg og hadde følelsen av at ... read more

Rob Writes We made it to La Quiaca at the Argentina/Bolivia boarder at about 7am and it was damn cold. Although we had read the boarder was only a fifteen minute walk away we hailed a cab anyway, which cost us about eight pesos, or just over a pound, for three of us I might add. To be on the safe side we hooked up with four other travellers going the same way as us and shared two cabs. We were much calmer about crossing this border seeing as it was no longer our first and knew what to expect, but kept wary of the scammers we had heard about who apparently like to hang around border crossings. I think it was too early/cold for them though because we were the only ones there almost. So ... read more

Hi all we will pick up from where we left off - in puno peru. after finally getting a flight from cusco to juliaca we picked up a local mini bus from the airport to make the short one hour trip to puno (at the side of lake titikaka), it was a good job we managed to get onto a bus before they all departed as there was quite literally nothing at the airport!. We even managed to get the mini bus driver to drop us off outside our hostel, hostel was nice with a big bay window and views of lake titikaka (albeit somewhat distant!). the first night we spent strolling the bustling streets in search of something to cook for dinner - deciding to pass on the delightful looking carcasses hanging outside many shops ... read more

Wednesday is the 5 year anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis. I can’t let it go un-recognised, but we will be incommunicado, as we are about to head off on a 4 day tour of the salt desert in Bolivia, in a 4x4! What better way to celebrate!!?!? Those of you who remember the period between 6 July 2006 and the end of my treatment in March 2007 will agree that whilst it wasn’t great, it could have been worse! Lots of you have been around even longer and would agree that Gordon and I have had our share of bad luck! In fact, I remember Gordon saying years ago that we were getting other peoples share of too because we were so good at dealing with it!! Whatever, for the record, I want it noted ... read more

Bolivian Border Crossing Before we got to Tupiza there was a fairly hefty multi-legged journey, including the border crossing - I will begin with that. Our bus from Cafayate arrived in Salta in the early evening, where we initially planned on spending one night, before making a bolt for the border in the morning. Our plans changed when we realised that there were night buses and so we spent a few hours wandering around Salta and speculating over how low the temperature inside a bus, during the night, whilst the altitude is increasing, would drop. As a result we all boarded the bus to La Quiaca, the Argentinean border town, wearing too much clothes. It wasn’t long into the journey that I took off my extra jacket and Ciaran did the same, the bus was too ... read more