Blogs from Salar de Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 4

Depuis Potosi, 4h de bus suffisent pour rejoindre Uyuni. Pour aller voir le salar (désert de sel) plusieurs groupes rencontrés sur notre route nous ont recommandé une bonne agence, Blueline (pour ceux que ça intéresse). On réserve notre tour sur 3 jours, avec Grober, un très bon guide. Jour 1 : Le Salar Nous partons le lendemain matin, avec 3 brésiliens qui ont également booké un tour. Tous les déplacements se font désormais avec un gros 4x4 conduits par Grober. Durant les 3 jours, il sera donc chauffeur, guide et cuisinier. Premier étape à l'extérieur d'Uyuni, le cimetière de trains. Il s'agit d'anciennes locomotives et anciens wagons venus d'Europe pour avoir une deuxième mais sont tous aujourd'hui hors d'état. Etant donné qu'il y a de très nombreux 4x4 de touristes, on ne s'attarde pas. Grober veut ... read more

POTOSI There once was a city that was the jewel in the crown of the Spanish empire, the center of legendary riches - its name... Potosi! I decided to travel here to see the mountain which was the source of all these riches and which to this day is still the main source of work for Bolivians living in Potosi; Cerro Rico or The Mountain who eats men as its also known. Estimates range between 6m and 8m men who have died in the mines here since the 16th century in the search for more and more silver which Cerro Rico had in abudance. However the further you go in, the more dangerous it gets. Therefore a city with massive history and one I couldnt pass through without checking out the mines. The miners here still ... read more

Potosi was founded in 1545 when silver ore was discovered in Cerro Rico. It was this silver that funded the Spanish empire. Due to the large amounts of silver being extracted, Potosi became one of the largest and richest cities in the Americas. Unfortunately when the silver began to dry up, the city went into decline and the citizens into poverty. Nowadays there are still many men and children working in the mines in some of the most appalling working conditions hoping they will find a little silver. We only had a short time in Potosi so we decided not to visit the mines as we have visited other mines over the years and headed to the Casa de Moneda (the Mint). The museum is on the sight that has been the national mint since 1572. ... read more

bolivien, wir kommen! gleich hinter der stadtgrenze von san pedro ist auch die offizielleg renze von chile richtung bolivien. das ist in vielerlei hinsicht komisch, weil erstens das “in der schlange anstehen” undurchsichtigen regeln der busfahrer folgt, zweitens der stempel in unseren pässen so blass aufgrund fehlender tinte ausfällt, dass wir damit anschließend in bolivien probleme haben sollen und drittens ist die “grenze” gut 100 kilometer von der tatsächlichen landesgrenze entfernt! nach dieser ersten kleinen hürde geht es in den immer mit reichlich duftbäumchen aufgemotzten kleinbussen hinauf nach bolivien. allein die grenze befindet sich schon auf über 4.000m, natürlich ohne richtige toilletten und bei ordentlich kaltem wind werden die klo-pausen möglichst kurz gehalten. nach gut drei monaten reisen muss ich auch einmal ganz ehrlich schreiben, dass sich so manch ein gespräch über v... read more

From San Juan, we hitchhiked to Uyuni –well, we thought we hitchhiked, until they asked us to pay when we arrived there-. The journey was however funny and I loved it! It was from San Juan, the small village, where we had spent the previous night and from there, I can tell you that they weren’t so many vehicles leaving… So, when we saw a vehicle leaving from there, we ran to it and even though there were full, we insisted so that we got a lift with them at the back of the vehicle. We were practically sitting on big bags of quinoa- the south of Bolivia is producing a lot of it- and there was a lot of soil powder entering the vehicle but I was very happy: I was getting a ride with ... read more