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Published: December 26th 2008
Another flat
On the way to PotosiPOTOSI
After arriving in Uyuni we decided that a quick detour to the nearby town of Potosi was in order. Potosi´s claim to fame is being the world´s highest city at 4060 metres above sea level and for this it has been selected as a Unesco World Heritage site. The city owes it´s greatest achievements and previous status as well as it´s present horrors and struggles to the mining of silver. Funnily enough though, it is not possible to buy any silver in the city! Overlooking the city is the colourful mountain of Cerro Rico where all the mining takes place.
A visit to this city is not complete without a tour of one of the cooperative mines. The experience is both shocking and memorable. First we are taken to get the gear that will be required for the tour - pants and jacket to protect our clothing, gumboots and helmet with headlamp. The next stop is the miners market. Our guide Pedro explains to us about the items for sale here and the fact that each miner must buy whatever gear they want/need in order to do their job, even down to the expolosives. We have the opportunity
to taste the alcohol that they regularly drink - 96% is too strong at any time of the day let alone 9am, but it is very cheap which makes it appealing to them.
We briefly visit one of the refineries. This is where the miners sell the minerals that they remove. It is shocking to see that the strong chemicals used in the process are not protected in any way. Our next stop is not scheduled as part of the regular tour - at a football field to watch a couple of local teams play. One of the teams that we are watching is from the mine that we are about to visit. They are short three players (Pedro explains that this is probably because they drank too much the night before, being a Friday night and all) and go down by two goals in the short time that we are there.
The last and main stop of the tour is the Candelaria mine. We enter through the main mine shaft and come to a museum of sorts with information and memorabilia on display. They worship a devil know as Tio (Uncle) and the statue here is the focal point
Lotty ready to go...
Candelaria Mine, Potosi of the museum and is...well...interesting! Of the five levels in the mine, we visit levels 1, 2 and 3. It is shocking to observe the conditions that the miners have to work in - dusty, difficult to breathe, incredibly cramped in sections so that we are crawling around on our hands and knees (sometimes even stomachs) through the rubble. These conditions wouldn´t be tollerated in our society. To get between the levels we have to climb ladders which are in questionable condition or scamble up the rocks - workplace safety is obviously not a concern for the Bolivians. Usually during the week the mine is busy with workers. As it is a Saturday that we are visiting the mine is basically deserted but we do come across a couple of miners during the time that we spend in the shafts. We sit and chat with the miners for a while. Pedro translates that the man (38 years) has been working in the mine for 22 years, since he was 16. His son, 13 years old, works with him on weekends. We leave some of the gifts that we picked up at the market with them - soft drink, coca leaves
and dynamite. The next miner that we come across is making a hole in the wall of the mine to set some explosives and as we are sitting in the shaft waiting for each person in the group to observe him in the constricted space one by one, we can feel some explosive vibrations somewhere beneath us. It is a relief to finally be exiting the mine at the end of the tour!
A final dynamite demonstration as we exit the mine concludes the tour and is one of the highlights. We take a few quick photos holding the explosive before the mighty explosion!
Potosi, Bolivia - tick. And we return again to Uyuni to begin the tour of the salt flats.
SALAR DE UYUNI
Towards the south-west corner of Bolivia sits the world's largest salt flat. This is where we conclude our time in the country and move on to Chile. The altitude has dropped considerably from the 6000m+ of our engagement, but we are still slightly above 3500m during the time that we spend here. The salt flat covers an astounding 12000 square kms and is part of a prehistoric salt lake. When the lake
Steve
At the miners markets, stocking up on gifts for the miners & a last minute feed of course.
Potosi dried up all that was left behind were some seasonal puddles and salt pans including the well known Salar de Uyuni which sees thousands of visitors each year.
Tours of the area can vary from single days through to as much as a week. Most tours start from the town of Uyuni and the most popular length is 3-4 days, either returning back to Uyuni again or continuing down in to Chile. There are so many operators offering similar tours that it is important to do research before making a decision. The only way to do this is to wander around the town asking questions and at the end of the day, cross your fingers and hope that you made the right choice.
After much deliberation once we arrived in Uyuni in the wee hours of the morning, we decided that a 3 day tour finishing in San Pedro, Chile was the best option for us. The company that we booked with, Expediciones Lipez, certainly stood out from the rest.
Our tour began with a meeting time of 10am for a 10:30am departure on the first day. Our vehicle didn't arrive until shortly after 11am and it
was about an hour late by the time we got on the road. The first stop was at the Cementerio de Trenes (cemetary of trains). This strange collection of rusty machinery is a great place for photos and only a short distance from Uyuni. Once we have finished here our driver/guide, Franco, takes us back to town where we stop at what appears to be his house and things start to get a little funky. Eventually we work out that Franco expects his wife, together with breastfeeding infant, to get in the vehicle with us. Now, the other two couples traveling with us specifically insisted that there would only be 6 passengers plus a guide in the vehicle, wife and baby were not part of the deal. Franco tried to argue that if she didn't come we would have no one to cook the food - bollocks. After a disjointed arguement we insisted that Franco take us back to the office so we could sort it out. It turns out that Franco was indeed being dodgy, his wife was not meant to be coming along on the tour. We can now get on the way. Unfortunately we now have a
grumpy driver/guide. Time to turn on the charm and see if we can win him back...
It doesn't take long before we reach the beginning of the salt flats. We can see them long before we reach them. The mountains in the distance appear to be floating - an optical illusion of the desert. A quick stop at the salt pyramids for photos before we head off across the the open, white plain. The white of the salt is blinding to look at, it is nothing like we have ever seen before. There is not one road to follow, but many subtle tracks snaking across the surface which have been left by previous vehicles.. We stop at a salt hotel, possibly the illegal museum, and get started on the perspective photos. Next stop is at Isla de los Pescadores (Island of the Fish). This small island appearing in the middle of the salt landscape has very unique terrain - coral rocks and home to hundreds of giant cacti. We enjoy a 30 minute walk around the island while lunch is prepared. Lunch (alpaca steaks, quinoa and salad) is awesome - thanks Franco! More perspective photos fill up the time
Miner at the refinery
Candelaria Mine, Potosi until we are ready to continue on. In the afternoon we arrive at Posada Nusta/Hotel Aguaquiza, our accommodation for the night. Made completely from salt - walls, tables, chairs and even the beds. Nearby is a museum to check out - Chullpas. Essentially it is a cave where a number of pre-Inca mummies were discovered. The sunset is spectacular and colourful to watch in the desert and the temperature plummets once the sun has gone down. Luckily the salt building retains the heat well during the night. The night sky reveals an incredible star display.
Day two begins at 5am and our first stop is Cueva del Diablo (a cave) where we see Cementario de Chullpas (Cemetary of the Mummies). There is a museum called Galaxia Cristal with some interesting rock formations and we walk up to the Mirador Natural (lookout). On the drive this morning we begin to see groups of llamas and vicunas (a relative of the llama with the most expensive wool due to their rarity). We stop at a view point for Volcan Ollague which is active and has smoke billowing from its peak. Next we pass a series of lagoons including Laguna Canaps, Hedionda
Miner
Candelaria Mine, Potosi and Honda. At each of these we see various types of flamingos by the hundreds. In the afternoon we stop at the famous 'Stone Tree' - another great spot for photos among the rock formations. Franco wins back a point or two with us at this stop because he gets angry at another guide for allowing a person in the group he was with to climb on the landmark. Whether it was for the safety of the person or for the preservation of the rock we are unsure, but regardless it is good to see that our guide is considerate to this natural wonder. The second day ends at Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon). It gets it's colour from the pigment of the algae and sediments deposited at the bottom. Hundreds more flamingos here and a pack of llamas too (Steve very almost gets his wish here to smuggle a baby llama back to Australia). We take a walk out to a Mirador (lookout) where the red colouring can be seen best. The walk takes about 5 minutes to get out there and another 30 minutes to return due to the high winds against us.
The third and final day
begins much like the second but even earlier - at 4am. We are shuffled in to the car at a great speed and by 4:20am we are on the road. By sunrise, one hour later, we are at Sol de Manana to witness intense volcanic activity - a 1 square km geyser basin at just shy of 5000 metres above sea level. The early morning all seems worth it now! This is the site of flat tyre #1 but it doesn't affect us too much at this point. The bubbling pools and rising steam are facinating to observe. Nearby is the Termas de Polques which is a thermal pool for us to bathe in at 7am. This would seem bizarre and out of the question any other time or place, but here in Bolivia the normal thing to do. Shortly before arriving at the hot springs we pass another vehicle traveling with the same company and they are having some major mechanical problems. Our guide goes back to them after dropping us off to help out and returns a little later for us so we can continue on the way. We have nicknamed this day 'breakdown day'. A second flat
The entrance
Candelaria Mine, Potosi tyre for us as we are crossing the Desert of Salvador Dali put us even further behind schedule so we give Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) a miss so that we can make it to the border on time for our connecting transfer.
This tour of Salar de Uyuni, despite it's problems (we are in Bolivia after all) was even better than we expected. The scenery is so unique and diverse that we imagine there can be no other location on this planet that can offer a similar experince in such a small area.
Salar de Uyuni/Bolivian salt flats - tick.
Hasta luego Bolivia. Our adventures now move on to Chile.
Steve and Lottie x
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Shirley Elliott
non-member comment
What will you two do next?!
WOW! - another set of fantastic shots - love the funnies - what fabulous memories you two are going to have - thanks for the updates and skype contacts - stay safe - love mum xxx