Blogs from Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 15

OK, so why are we in Potosi I hear you ask? Well we were to have two days in Tupiza, but we got there mid afternoon even after our three hour challenge getting out of Argentina and into Bolivia. The Bolivian Aduana, asks for our moto insurance...as we can only het it for Argentina and Chile, he said we cannot enter Bolivia!!..haven't I heard this before? Like when we enter Peru!!! So after much negotiating, and flashing of a US$50 note, he would consider making and 'exception' this time ( like every other time) so here we are in Potosi. Getting back to the last day in Argentina, as they have paved all the road to the border, we had made good time, so decided to take an alternative route on a Ripio road a lake ... read more

17/03 to 20/03/13 - Potosi: The highlight of this stop was to do the Mine Tour at Cerro Rico Mountain. We used the company Big Deal Tours. They used to be miners themselves and are very straightforward. Every company conducting those type of tour sell the fact that they give a pourcentage to the miners but this is not true. Nobody does. We stopped first at a miner shop to buy juice and coca leaves for the miners we will encounter inside the mine, and some dynamite for the end! Our guide Pedro was experienced and funny. We visited a processing room for the minerals and then put some protection clothes, helmet and boots before entering the beast. The walk is around 3 hours going through narrow tunnels, toxic stalactites, up the ladder with a potent ... read more

12/03 to 18/03/13 - Tupiza - Salar de Uyuni We started our tour for Salar de Uyuni: 4 days trip / 3 nights with Alessandro Adventure Travel. We paid a bit more than through other agencies but the difference was in the fact that we weren't following other fellow travelers or at the same place than other jeeps. The places we went to were incredible and the landscape was always changing. 1st day: We started a 8.00am. We were 2 couples in the Jeep, our guide and driver Zolando and our great cook Noemie. We pass through the Valley El Sillar with natural red rock formation, San Antonio Ruins which is a nice place made of stone and used to be a miners villages, we saw the Morejon lake at 4850m about see level and spend ... read more

Tupiza was a small village of no onsequence. Now mainly due to back pacKers things are improving, the roads are getting better, there are good places to eat and a few ATMs and reasonable places to stay. The costs are half of what is in Argentina across the boarder. The town is surrounded by hills of a particular nature. They are almost bare and compltely made of red stone (something like the laterite stone, but dry). It is something unique to this area. The hills are with sharp sides. Erosion has made interesting statuets and figures on these rocky formations. There are 4 wheel drive conducted excursions to the hills.After our pleasant "Ride with the Gouchos" experience in Salta myself and Laticia opted for a horse riding trip to the hills rather than a jeep excursion. ... read more

Gerai išsimiegoję keiaujam į autobusų stotį, autobusas pagal Bolivijos standartus visai neblogas. 5 valandų kelionė neprailgs, nes kaip visada už lango gražūs vaizdai. Atvažiavę į Potosi keliaujam iki hostelio. Hostelyje yra viskas ko reikia: virtuvė, internetas, karštas dušas. Čia sutinkas ir kelis draugus su kuriais gyvenom Orure, tik jie jau šiandien išvažiuoja, tad ilgai kartu nepabūnam. Pasidedam daigtus ir einam pasivaikščioti po miestą. Hostelis pačiame miesto centre tad toli eiti nereikia. Susirandam ryt dienai ekskursiją į šachtas. Eidami atgal į hostelį užsukam į turgų, nusiperkam produktų vakarienei. Pasigaminam vakarienę ir likusią dienos dalį praleidžiu prie kompiuterio. Beveik savaitę laiko nerašiau dienoraščio, tiesiog nebuvo kada. Hostelyje į kainą (maždaug 20 Lt. parai) įskaičiuoti pusryčiai. Tad pavalgę visai neblogus pusryčius išsiruošiam į ekskursiją po šachtas.... read more