http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Bolivia , Potosí Department en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 20:01:11 +0000 Fri, 24 May 2013 20:01:11 +0000 Loved loved loved Sucre The white city really is beautiful with gorgeous buildings and suspiciously well kept gardens everywhere The 5 nights we spent there flew by arriving at the hostel at around 6.30am on Monday only to be told that reception doesn39t open until 8 and there might be beds for us right away. Luckily we were able to crawl into bed by 9 oh after climbing a ladder up to t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-786562.html Hi everyone Sorry for being so slack lately ltbr stylemsospecialcharacter linebreak gt So we did the Salt Flats through Bolivia which where amazing We started the drive in Uyni a small town which at the time of our stay had no electricity which was interesting. Also when they said they hadnt had electricity for three days choosing what would be safe to eat at Bolivian res http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-785650.html Highs Sunset over the valley of the moon. Perfectly mirrored lakes. Moonset over the Salar de UyuniLows Our tour group changing plans in Spanish and not telling us despite speaking perfect English. Mild altitude sickness. Having to spend 2 nights in Uyuni.Food 2x steak chips salad and rice with 2L of coke for less than 4 quid. EMPANADA WATCH Probably the best empanadas of the trip so far w http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-785637.html As i mentioned in the last post Uyuni is full of rubbish but there is one area where there is cool rubbish the train cemetery. It39s about two kilometres out of town and is home to 10039s of old bits of locomotive39s rusting away. We got into Uyuni around 2pm and seeing as there is sfa to do in town we decided to head out to the graveyard late afternoon after a well needed shower http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-785109.html The last blog was a long one so i will keep this one brief and beef it up with photo39s...We are granted a sleep in until 6.30 on day 3 but it is still bitterly cold when we leave the homestay. Shortly after leaving we arrive at the Arbol de Piedra the petrified forest. It is not a petrified forest but a cluster of large volcanic rocks in the middle of the desert that had been spewed out b http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-784396.html We depart Salta on the Saturday catching a bus at 7am to get to the border town of La Quiaca from where we hope to cross into Bolivia. It is a 7.5 hour ride initially through the area that we did a tour a few days ago and then further into really arid and harsh landscapes. We have the two front seats on the top level of the bus and it provides a great view but also means copping a pounding fro http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Tupiza/blog-784346.html Back for some more After finishing our tour in Uyuni we made our way to the beautiful city of Potosi commonly referred to as the highest city on the planet at 4070m.During our stay in Potosi we learnt a lot about how much it played in the history of Bolivia but to the whole of south america and the kingdom of Spain itself. The abundance of Silver in the nearby mountain Cerro Rico indeed shaped http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-783452.html Muy buenos diasAfter making it to Tupiza in Bolivia it only took us the afternoon to book our trip to Uyuni the biggest salt lake on the planet in a 4x4 Jeep. Our friends for the trip would be Alpe and Lisana from Turkey and Holland with whom we would share the 4 available seats.The pictures will speak for themselves better than I can describe our adventure throughout dry deserts amazing rock http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-783307.html After our unexpectedly long bus ride into Uyuni we were in no rush to wake up in the morning. In the end into was 10amwhen we unhappily surfaced still shattered from yesterday. We were awake though showered short after and fed shortly after that. Now our task was to book a tour of the Salar de Uyuni better known as the Bolivian salt flats the place where land speed records are smashed and many http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-782445.html The next day a couple of toilets rolls and three Imodium later we set off before sunrise again. We39d been told we were going to see five lagoons or high altitude lakes. It seemed a little excessive and to be honest it was. At the first lagoon the whole group gets out the car and has a walk alongside the lake taking pictures. At the next a few people stay in the car. The third no one gets http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-781971.html Crossing the border just after sunrise immediately Bolivia is strikingly different from Argentina where we39d spent the past month. Many buildings in the border town of Villazon and every other town since remain unfinished there39s a faint odour of sewage in the air and the people look very different aged and almost worn down from the toils of daytoday life in South America39s poo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Tupiza/blog-781969.html This is a reproduction of a blog entry I deleted by mistake.The next morning we were picked up from the hostels for our pre arranged tour. The vehicle was a Toyota Luxus 4x4. After doing a rond of Uyuni we headed of to the cemetery of trains. This appears to be one of the standard destinations of the tour. There were a lot of train engines most of them corroding away not surprising that slat fla http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-779135.html I39ve added some photos to the previous two entries if you haven39t seen them yetThe bus trip to Potosi was actually very nice spectacular views of mountains rivers and little villages. It took about 4h.When we arrived we all went out for lunch it was very cheap 4 courses soup salad beef and ice cream and a drink for only 3.50After lunch we went on a tour of the silver mine. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-777565.html Today was salt flats day one of the things I have been looking forward to most We took a 2 night 4x4 excursion to see the salt flats and lagoons and desert etc.The first challenge was squeezing everything I needed into my daypack but I got there in the end The wether has been beautiful clear blue skies but very cold at night because we are so high up.We set out with 4 or 5 people in each http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-777558.html Met the group in the evening I am the only 39newbie39 they were all together in Peru doing a similar trip to the one I did 4y ago.They are all very nice two British couples a similar age to me Joe and Alex Helen and Mark four Norwegian girls in their 20s Hilde Karin Aina and Lisa a Japanese girl Mayumi less annoying than the Chinese girl on the previous tour two NZ men in http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-777557.html La Paz Mount PotosiLa Paz is so far amazing We were here 2 days and hearing about the Huanya Potasi mountain hike one place we got information on the hike and thought 39nah no way we can do that39 then we stumbled on a place who specialised in hiking had a chat to them and then abot 1 hour later handing over our money.They make it sound so easy 39beginners can do this its fine39 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-777520.html OK so why are we in Potosi I hear you ask Well we were to have two days in Tupiza but we got there mid afternoon even after our three hour challenge getting out of Argentina and into Bolivia. The Bolivian Aduana asks for our moto insurance...as we can only het it for Argentina and Chile he said we cannot enter Bolivia..haven39t I heard this before Like when we enter PeruSo after much http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-777166.html Hi all here we are in Tupiza after a harrowing 3 hours to cross from Argentina into Bolivia....but that39s another story for another time.Rosco gets Abandoned in Salta....After a relaxing couple of nights in Salta including a cultural Tourist dinner including the succulent goat meat I have ever eaten I have had my fair share of rough stuff in the past.The boys told the staff that it was my http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Tupiza/blog-776998.html Byebye Chile Hello crazy BoliviaMit d Travel Agency Estrella del Sur ischs losgange en flotte Herr ht mich pe drviertelstund zspaat am abgmachte Ort in San Pedro de Atacama abgholt und denn ischs richtig Norde gange. Ade bolivianische Grnze hani dnn mini JeepGspndli fr die negste zwei Tg Westetripp knneglernt. 5 Powerfraue vo Sdafrika Si hnd mi ganz herzlich i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-776406.html Tupiza was a small village of no onsequence. Now mainly due to back pacKers things are improving the roads are getting better there are good places to eat and a few ATMs and reasonable places to stay. The costs are half of what is in Argentina across the boarder. The town is surrounded by hills of a particular nature. They are almost bare and compltely made of red stone something like the later http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Tupiza/blog-774593.html