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Published: September 15th 2007
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Isla De Sol Inca Ruins
Me at some of the ruins on Isla De Sol, on Lake Titicaca. While we waited for the midnight train into Bolivia from Calama (Chile) we noticed the changes already.... women dressed in large skirts, top hats and platted hair.... we sat on the train and the Bolivian women were loading the carriages up full of coke, biscuits etc they were taken home... was all very strange. Travelling at high altitude (approx. 3000m above sea level) meant a freezing cold night (so cold in fact that my thermos exploded overnight), the seats were really uncomfortable too. We got to the Chile border (yay!) and waiting until 9am for the office to open, got stamped out and then kept chugging along to the Bolivia border police. It was the quickest border crossing ever, just a quick stamp and that was it. Awesome!
It took the rest of the day to get to Unyuni (sp?) in the slow choo choo train. But we got there. Caught up with some people from the train over dinner, realizing that my Spanish skills are still crap. We realized that Bolivia is very, very different from Chile, and a lot cheaper too. But full of tourists!!!
We left for Potosi the next day on a crazy bus that
Independance Day Celebrations In Bolivia
Waiting in the main plaza for the celebrations to begin in Potosi, worlds highest city. was flying along a crazy dirt road which hugged the edge of cliffs most of the way there. When we got to Potosi we decided to walk into town (us tight asses decided to save on the bus fair) and I was really struggling carrying my pack uphill at the altitude (now 4300m, the highest city in the world). Finally found a beautiful place to stay near the main plaza. We happened to be there for the start of the 4 day independence day festival which consisted of lots and lots of marching bands and girls in their teens marching along in there FMB´s to the music... every once in a while you would here ¨Bolivia¨ sung out on some dodgy speakers... just to remind you where you were. It became annoying after a while it was impossible to cross streets or anything. Anyway, by chance we ran into a guy we studied with in BA, David (or should I say we walked past a taxi that he was riding in). Caught up with him briefly, and arranged to meet in Sucre for a feed (that’s where he was studying now).
We went out on the tour of the
Locals on Isla De Sol
Locals walking along with their donkey in tow on Isla De Sol. mines in the ´cursed hill´ near Potosi, starting with a stop at the miners markets. Here, you could buy everything from explosives to coca leaves to 100% alcohol and cigarettes, all essential stuff for a typical day in the mines for these guys. We bought gifts for the miners, Jeff bought 300 pesos worth of explosives for them. From there we went up the hill and were shown a demonstration blast by our tour guide (an ex miner himself). We caught up with a few of the miners, gave them some of the booze, cigarettes and coca leaves before we went into the mines. We watched a miner use the old hammer and tap method to drill his holes, we talked to him for a while, her was curious to know what the mines were like in Australia, he told us he earned good money, about 80 bolivianos per day (that’s about $10 US). He charged the face and then lit the fuse, we ran out into the main drive and then BANG. No safety regs in these mines!
We then walked deeper into the mine and walked into (to my horror) and open stope, looked up and freaked
Visit To El Tio
During our underground mine tour, we pop in to see El Tio, to offer him coca leaves, alcohol, and cigarrettes to ensure our safe return to the surface. out when I saw several large wedges in the crown that looked like they would have preferred to be down at our level, anyway we then crawled through more tiny tunnels to get to the mine´s god/idol, El Tio. There, we all offered him coca leaves, alcohol and cigarettes to ensure our safe return to the surface (a regular ritual for the miners). Finally, we made our way back to the surface and eventually back to town (in one piece).
From Potosi we went to Sucre, the capital of Bolivia. Really nice city, very spanish but lots of poor people around. Caught up with our mate David (the crazy pom) over some Chinese food which was good. We then realized we were running out of time in South America so hooked along to La Paz. Talk about market central, you can buy anything in a market stall here from batteries to fruit to toilet paper to dead baby llamas. We also managed a day trip out to the ruins of Tiahuanaca, which was ok but you could tell they were mostly reconstruction’s of the ruins rather than the original ruins themselves (the biggest dead giveaway was the mud brick
Underground In The Cursed Hill
Underground watching a miner in Potosi, watching him prepare for an explosion, the old fashioned way. factory and collection of blocks near the ruins.... hmmmm).
We then cruised onto Lake Titicaca, stayed at Copacabana which is nothing like the beach in Brazil. Beautiful spot though, the lake itself is such a deep blue. We took a day trip out to Isla De Sol (Island of the Sun, the Inka´s believed it was the birthplace of their civilization). The ruins were ok, but the views along the old inka roads were incredible, some of the best I have seen in South America.
We then cruised back to the mainland of Copacabana and left Bolivia the next day for Peru (Puno).
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