Blogs from Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 8

Monday was the last day in Peru. We were picked up at the hotel by the guy who was going to drive us to the border. For some reason his wife was there too. The drive to the border only took a couple of hours, but of course we had to stop along the way and look at another church or two. I think I have been to more churches on this trip than I have in the total of my life up to this point. You’ll be surprised to know that there was nothing special. At one of the churches there were absolutely no other tourists around so the security guards said we could take photos – normally you can’t. By late morning we reached the border with Bolivia. I was expecting a tightly controlled ... read more

24 novembre 2014 - Jour 38 Ce matin, départ pour Potosi. En sortant de l'hôtel, on fait signe à un taxi et là, surprise, une femme au volant! C'est bien la première fois qu'on voit une femme conduire un taxi. On papote un peu avec elle et elle nous confirme que la profession n'a pas un grand succès auprès des femmes, elles ne sont que 5 dans la ville à avoir leur licence! On discute un peu de tout et dans la conversation elle nous apprend qu'il n'est pas rare ici que les gens aient des enfants à 15 ans! La vache, on avait croisé quelques filles avec des bébés mais on pensait que c'était leur petit frère ou soeur. On prend notre bus pour Potosi, 3h de trajet. On est pas très confiants dans ce ... 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

Our Arrival We arrived from La Paz at 8:20am and were dropped off outside the Trans Omar office which is on Cabrera and Arce. When we got off the bus we were met by touts offering tours to the salt flats. We went with one of them to their office from the terminal and booked a tour for the same day so didn't check into a hotel. What We Did We went on a 3 day, 2 night tour of the Salar de Uyuni, Southern Bolivian desert and Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina with Expediciones Gaviota. We were met at the bus station by a representative of the Company who took us to their office which was a couple of blocks from the bus office, on the same road, back the way we had just come. ... read more

soviel hab ich bereits darüber gelesen und jetzt, endlich, erleben wir es hautnah!… wir verlassen tupiza in richtung sucre, mit nächtigung in potosí, um den möglichen gefahren des direkten nachtbusses zu entrinnen. wir besteigen also unseren sehr schönen bus (für bolivianische verhältnisse!) und umgehend baut ein, zuerst als gealterter hippie abgetaner, bolivianer sein kleines microphon aus und beginnt. nicht etwa zu singen, sondern sein “wundermittel” anzupreisen. volle eineinhalb stunden wird der gesamte bus von den wunderingredienzen ginseng, knoblauch, quinoa und banane zu überzeugen versucht. ein spannendes beispiel des viel verbreiteten südamerikanischen (aber)glaubens. das wundermittel heilt alles! potenzstörungen, diabetes, übergewicht, gelenkschmerzen und natürlich auch frühzeitigen samenerguss! das ist nicht erfunden, ich bin nur stolz, dass mein spanisch s... read more