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Published: October 27th 2006
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Watch out Llamas about
Watch out Llamas about 100km before we even crossed the border into Bolivia it already felt as if we were there. Gone were the green grass-lands of Argentina and as the truck climbed to almost 4,000m the whole landscape was almost ´surface-of-the-moon´like - well apart from a few dry tufts of grass and the Llamas feasting on them.
The altitude wasn´t treating me too kindly because as well as having swollen feet, a banging headache and shortness of breath my skin was also so dry that in order to move my face I had to cover it in Vaseline.
The border was the usual bedlam I´ve come to expect of border crossing in general. Tiny old ladies wearing bolar hats and weather-beaten faces carried bundles as big as a small child on their backs, whilst mangy dogs foraged around and officials in army uniforms did their best to look official.
UYUNI
As we drove towards Uyuni to visit the salt flats we passed through some of the most remote and rugged landscape I´ve ever seen. The road was a dirt track for the entire 14hr journey and snaked up and down over the red mountains. The only signs of life we passed
Dynamite and Coca
Dynamite and Coca were lone mud brick houses with a few Llamas and goats tied up outside on the dusty soil. Uyuni is a wind swept town with rubbish strewn streets and a population of old women in traditional dress of bolar hat, coloured shawl, wool tights and full skirt. However, as bleak as Uyuni is it is still a tourist mecca because of the salt flats. As far as the eye can see if white flat, almost arctic looking landscape. The salt flats are a great place to take pictures as there is no sense of perspective - you´ll see what I mean from the picture of me and my travel companions jumping out of a hat.
POTOSI
Potosi is the world´s highest city perched at a breathless 4070m. A collection of winding narrow streets and mud brick houses live through the baking hot days and the freezing nights. We were there to visit the silver mine which was discovered in the 1500s. In days gone by slaves worked in the mines and it´s said that enough silver was taken out of the mine by the Spanish to build a silver bridge to Madrid. Silver is still mined at Potosi but
Salt Flats hat
Salt Flats hat now other mineral are also sought after, although the end product my have changed the conditions in the mine are still much the same as in the 1500s. The miners work mostly by hand and often for a 12hr day, some of them are as young as 13. They don´t eat at all during the day and their only comfort is chewing coca leaves to suppress their appetites and thirst. One miner is killed a week due to collapses and most don´t live past 40 because of silicone poisoning in their lungs. All of this for a wage of less that six pounds per day.
Before we could visit the mine we needed to buy the miners some gifts. At the miners market we stocked up on the usual things I buy at Sainsburys:
1 bottle of 96% alcohol
4 sticks of dynamite and a fuse
1 bag of coca leaves
3 packets of cigarettes
Looking at the small hole in the rock propped up by rotten wood and splattered with Llama blood (the blood is a ritual to keep the miners safe), I couldn´t quite believe that was the mine entrance. We crawled our way into the
Bolivian lady
Bolivian lady pitch dark tunnels as our guide shouted calls of "watch the hole on the right" and " mind the drop on the left". We scraped, stumbled, climbed and ducked our way to visit several of the miners at work. The air was thick and hot with dust and we could hear the clink, clink of their tools in the darkness. All the miners gave us a quick nod and then continued to chip away at the rock with their emaciated frames and hamster like cheeks full of coca leaves. There wasn´t much chatter over lunch after leaving the mine - it was a truly sobering experience.
LA PAZ
La Paz is the capital of Bolivia and a totally crazy place. The city is built in a crater and is breathtaking when you first see it sprawling out below you. The streets are packed with markets, my favorite being the Witch´s Market. There you could by everything from Llama poo to love potions and I even saw a dried cat´s paw. Street vendors sit at the side of the road, while the traffic screams around. On day two in La Paz we took a mountain biking trip to ´The Death
Death Road
Death Road Road´. The trip is a 5hr bike ride from 5,000m down to 1,000m. We began at the snow line and were soon hurtling down at 45-50km per hour into the jungle. The death road is not given it´s name for nothing. Sheer drops reveal wreckage for van, buses and trucks. Two tourists are killed every year cycling down. Everyone is out group make it in one piece, although we were covered from head to toe in dust.
Next stop Peru.
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top of the world
It looks like you had started on the coca leaves by the angle of the hat and the grin. What an experience!