Blogs from Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 8

Bolivien, die ersten Anzeichen eines aermeren Landes sind die Buse, welche im Vergleich zu Chile alt sind, keine Heizung haben und riechen, dafuer ist reisen unglaublich billig. Als erstes stoppte ich ihn Uyuni, um mich auf die Suche nach einer 3 taegigen Tour in die groesste Salzwueste der Welt zu machen. Am Busbahnhof folgte ich einer Bolivanerin, die mich mit grossem Fruehstueck und jeglichen Extras lockte. Dem konnte ich nicht wiederstehen und buchte die Tour und kontrollierte anschliessend den Anbieter im Internet... keine gute Wahl. Kein positives Feedback, mehr noch, alle rateten von dieser Agentur ab. So ging ich zurueck und stornierte die Tour, was ein bisschen luegen mit sich brachte. Am naechsten Morgen ging es dann mit einem empfohlenen Touranbieter in die Wueste. Ich teilte den Jeep mit vier Japanern und einem Schweden. Die Salar ... read more

After we had all climbed down from the Pringles tube, Sharon passed the addictive snacks around, Lewi grabbed a pinch of salt from the floor, sprinkled it on the crisp and munched. This is how to get extra salty pringles in Uyuni...The Salar de Uyuni to be precise. The Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat and was once part of Lago Minchin, a huge prehistoric saltwater lake that used to cover most of southwest Bolivia. Now its dried up remains only covers a mere 12,106 sq km, and most of that was under about 7cm of water when we visited. This gave the scene a surreal tropical island feel as our Toyota Landcruiser surged through the intensly salty water, shimmering ripples fanning out beside us seemingly as far as the blue haze on ... read more

After 28 hours and 4 buses (it was suppose to be 22hrs, 2 buses but one broke down and just before the 3rd one did we swapped again) we finally arrived in San Pedro de Atacama. On the bus we realised we'd taken the company used by miners and not tourists i.e. We were the only females with 24 Chilean men. They were very sweet and as we went by they pointed out the hand in the desert and where the Chilean miners had been trapped. In San Pedro de Atacama we strolled through their Market and organised our next few days. In the evening Lucille & Amanda were able to join a stargazing tour (only 2spaces left, me & Jane decided will try do it in Bolivia). After finding a nearby football pitch Jane and ... read more

Z Tupizi sme sa potrebovali dostat do Uyuni, nesiel ziaden nocny spoj a tak nas cakal dalsi den straveny v autobuse. Autobus odchadzal o desiatej a to bol cas kedy prisiel na stanicu. Ked sme si kupovali listky pytali sme sa aky to bude autobus, to co prislo sa na autobus na fotke nepodobalo ani s velmi velkou davkou fantazie - mal to byt klasicky velky autobus a prieslo nieco polovicnej velkosti a velmi, velmi staro vyzerajuce. Nastastie sa nam podarilo zabrat miesto v kufri takze sme si nemuseli veci vykladat na strechu a tiez sa nam sikovne podarilo zabrat miesta na sedenie. Iny turisti take stastie nemali, napriek tomu ze si kupili listky miesto na nich nezvysilo. Medzitym uz im ale vylozili batohy na strechu a tak si pre ne museli liezt hore a potom ... read more

A day in Uyuni without booking a trip to the Salt Flats meant another was on the cards. The prospect of another 24 hours in that town would require some chemical assistance. Ben and Fiona checked out of their hovle and into the hostelling international around the corner. At twice the price it offered no water, no electricity and no hospitality. But all Ben needed was its kitchen. It took Ben an hour to skin the cactuses. He ran his pocket knife along the valleys in the stellate plant then peeled the papery outer layer from the green flesh. He chopped them up, added about three litres of water and boiled them. Two and a half hours later, Ben drained the cactus juice and used a plastic bag with a hole in the corner to squeeze ... read more