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Published: January 3rd 2006
Pleased to report that I did in fact manage to drink on New Year´s Eve, although Potosi was definitely a strange place to be spending it. Not quite the party capital of the world! We struggled to find places open for dinner, and for drinking afterwards it was even harder.... managed to get dinner at a chinese in the end, but on the drinks front all they had was beer or water! No wine, or any other soft drinks at all. Fortunately they didn´t mind us going out to buy supplies from a shop down the road, so that´s exactly what we did. Ended up with a some 1 litre cartons of white wine at 7.5 Bols each (about 50p!). When I say carton, I don´t mean like a wine box, I mean like a carton that orange juice comes in - classy! We also had some bottles of red, but then of course the restaurant didn´t have a corkscrew.... so we dispatched a couple of the girls to another restaurant down the road to smile nicely and see what could be done.... they came back shortly after with all bottles opened and corks in place (not that the corks were needed in the end!). Back at hotel for midnight, and then we got a call from some of the others who actually managed to find somewhere open, and with music! So off we went to join them... sadly quite soon after we got there the music went very downhill, but we had a few drinks anyway. It was a fun night in the end but I think we might have a 2nd new year in a larger style somewhere more lively, perhaps when we get to Santiago :-)
Next day was another long truck day, ending up in Tupiza - this is a really really small town! I think there were about 2 restaurants in the whole place, and most of us ended up in one of them.... they did a good job considering the kitchen was basically smaller than my kitchen at home! Basically nothing to see in Tupiza, just a place to stop off on the way to Argentina.... lovely scenery on the drive though.
Crossed the border to Argentina on the 2nd, and noticably warmer now we´ve lost so much altitude. Free day in Salta today, but we woke up to some pretty heavy rain, not the best when camping!! So today has been a day of internet cafes and shopping :-) Been very excited by the shops since getting to Argentina - Bolivia is very interesting and has some stunning landscapes but due to it being so much poorer, there are very few shops and those that we saw didn´t ever have very much in them. Had got used to buying fruit from little old ladies sat on street corners!! The first couple of times we stopped in the truck after getting to Argentina, I found myself going into the shop at the petrol station just because it was there and it had stuff in it! (There never was a shop at any petrol station in Bolivia, and if there was a toilet we considered ourselves very luckly indeed!).
Another free day in Salta tomorrow, hopefully the sun will shine and I can do something exciting like paragliding off the San Bernadino hill which overlooks the city!
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Craig
non-member comment
Argentina
Now that you are in Argentina, take full use of the 'tenedor libre' (literally 'free fork') as these are amazing value all you can eat buffet meals. Don't worry about being veggie as there is lots on offer, but Argentinian steaks are very good! The wine is also amazingly cheap and good. Got a taste for the red stuff (malbec) and along with cheese, makes a tasty meal. Also keep an eye on your bags. I got mine stolen in Mendoza after thinking things were a little safer than they actually were. Bus stations are notorous whilst swapping bags over! Don't get distracted by mad old women - someone might be behind you, robbing your stuff. Otherwise look forward to the Morino glacier and the far south. If you like snow and rock, it's the place to be.