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Published: November 4th 2007
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Laguna Verde
One of several lagoons...many have toxic levels of minerals, but are different colors as a result Well, Bolivia was a blur...for a number of reasons! Time constraints were the first limitation, because we had to be in Cusco, Peru in time to pay for our trek to Macchu Picchu, so we only had about 9 days for Bolivia. It was a shame to have such little time, because it is such an affordable place, in addition to having amazing scenery and good, hearty food!
Since we didn't have much time, we had to pick and choose what to do. We decided to start with a 4 day jeep tour of the Salares de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flats. What we didn't know, and stupidly didn't research, was the altitude! We thought that we would have to worry about altitude sickness later on, like in La Paz and Cusco, but there were several points on the jeep tour that were much, much higher. At the highest point, we were at 16,000 feet! As a result, we were introduced to the lovely effects of altitude sickness while bumping along a dirt road at 65 miles an hour in a jeep...headaches, nausea and body aches don't like bumpy roads for 8 or 9 hours at a time! But
we toughed it out and were rewarded by an incredible four days of amazing desert and mountain scenery, history and great company. There were only four of us on the trip, and our travel companions were Richard and Eloise, a Kiwi/Aussie couple that were so much fun to be around that we traveled with them a few more days after the jeep tour.
Our tour guide, Adelio, and cook, Tomasa, were really wonderful people as well. Adelio was a store of knowledge, not just about the geography, which included breathtaking mountains, multicolored lagoons, volcanoes, and lots of animals (llamas, vicuna, flamingos and more), but also about the local indigenous people and their way of life. He also loved to sing along to all kinds of music, English and Spanish alike, and had a wicked sense of humor once he opened up and our group had a good chemistry going. Tomasa could cook up wondrous meals on a camp stove, and was just a gem of a person, just like a surrogate mom. We didn't actually see the salt flats until the last day of the tour, and we had so much fun, because that is where you can take
Laguna Roja
Red lagoon with LOTS of Andean flamingos. all sorts of wacky pictures because the white backdrop of the salt flats creates optical illusions. Our tour ended in Uyuni, and we decided to join Richard and Eloise in Potosi rather than stay the night.
Ahhhh...the adventures of arriving into a town late at night! Although we had made reservations for a hostel in Potosi, and the front desk guy swore he would be there when we arrived at 12:30 a.m., no one answered the door bell, fervent door knocking or the telephone call. So the four of us set out on foot, at night, in the city with the highest elevation in the world, to find a hotel after midnight. About 45 minutes later, we succeeded after awakening a poor girl who stumbled out to show us into a room. The next day, we found slightly better accommodations, and set up a visit to the mines.
Tracey had been to Potosi nine years ago, and raved about what an amazing and eye-opening experience it was to visit the mines and see the conditions that miners worked in to extract tin, zinc, silver and some other minerals. Well....it WAS eye-opening, partially because of the conditions, but largely
because our tour guide was a lunatic who took us into parts of the mine that no inexperienced person should ever go into. Once you're in the mine, you're at the mercy of your guide, and he liked to take off rather than wait and make sure the group was with him. We quite literally slid down mine shafts, crawled in others and got right up into the chamber where the miners were jack-hammering trying to find a vein of minerals and inhaled lots and lots of dust. After seeing those conditions, and breathing in that air, it is very easy to understand why miners have such a short life expectancy, around 45 years old. It’s a very tough job, and sometimes it pays off handsomely, but not always. Suddenly a 9 to 5 cubicle job doesn't seem quite so mundane and terrible....
After Potosi, we left for La Paz. We had hoped to go to Copacabana, near Lake Titicaca, but we missed the last bus for the day (on Halloween). So we decided to spend the night and just make the last push to Cusco and then stay put for a few days. It would have been nice
Tracey showing local kids an ipod
We don´t think they´d seen one before, so Tracey showed them pictures of our dogs since they had pet dogs too. to spend some time in La Paz, because it is a very unique city, but fatigue, dirty laundry and a need to stay put for a few days in one place nixed that idea quickly. We arrived in Cusco on November 1st and have enjoyed it so far. We found this wonderful little restaurant called Jack's. Okay, so it’s not local cuisine, but it is delicious, healthy and they have HUGE portions of international food, and we have the most comfortable beds that we've had in weeks. And clean laundry, after being covered in mine dust, is just blissful! We head off to Macchu Pichu for a four day hike on Monday and then we'll probably hole up here in Cusco for a few more days before going somewhere more affordable. Hopefully we'll have some great photos of the hike for you in a few days.
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