Blogs from Villazón, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 2

After the disaster of missing our jeep at 6am to the border (must buy a new alarm clock!), we eventually got on a bus to take us to Tupiza at 9am. The bus was supposed to arrive at 4.30pm, giving us enough time to continue onto Villazon (border with Argentina) before it got dark. However! this is South American time. We arrived in Tupiza (2 hours from Villazon) at 9pm. Unfortunatley, we had no money on us and there were no ATM's that took visa! We started to panic a bit, as we didn't fancy sleeping on the street. After leaving yet another hostel which didn't accept payment with travellers cheque, we bumped into this amazing woman, who offered to give us 40 bolivianos so that we could get a place to stay, saying she hoped ... read more

117 1/2 hours. That's roughly the amount of time I have spent on a bus over the last few weeks (starting from December 18th and not counting day trips). Just in case you think it's a typo, I'll throw the number out there again: 117 1/2. By now, I'm perfectly happy on any bus, with or without roaches, bus cama or semi cama seats or broken ones, on time or not. It's just something you get used to after the first 60 hours or so. But I am dedicating this blog entry to a very interesting day of bus travel through southwestern Bolivia and into Argentina. And I can say DAY because my travel experience lasted for 23 hours total. Let's begin in Uyuni, a dusty town with one main street and its only sighting of ... read more

Hallelujah! - At last the South America I thought that I would be seeing. Everywhere so far has been just a bit too easy and not what I was expecting at all. After my night bus to the border I arrived in La Quiaca at 7.30 am. The border crossing was relatively smooth and the journey from Villazon to Tupiza began. The bus was a local bus and was screaming Spanish music from the oldest, static full speakers that I have ever heard. ... read more