As I said in the last blog, we have done a fair bit in the last few days it was only right to split it up in two blogs.
We left La Paz and travelled to a stopover city of Potosi, one of the highest cities in the world at 4070m. As little that there was to do in Puno, there is nothing to do in Potosi which is not really geared towards tourists or visitors at all. As soon as we landed we had an hour or two to spare and myself and Stephanie headed off to the market and tried to walk around some of the city. So far, apart from La Paz, and Uyuini, the Bolivians dont seem as welcoming or friendly as the Peruvians. The could be a harsh generalisation but the Potisi people down at the market would walk all over you, the people in takeaways dont seem interested in serving or making food for you, the receptionist guy was sharp when asked about WiFi, and some drunk wanker in the market was touching my head and tried to take my sunglasses off my head which was a situation that could have escalated if we didnt change direction.
Our first night in Potisi was very quiet and we just got chicken and chips to eat back at our hostel after which we watched a DVD. Even the simplest tasks of getting food ordered in Potisi was a struggle and ill look forward to seeing the back of Bolivia because of it. We are on our way back there from Uyurini now and have a few hours free time there so hopefully it will redeem itself. Ill let you know by the end of this email.
The excursion we did in Podisi proved that Bolivia is one of the craziest countries in the world - bar none. It consisted of a tour of a silver mine, buying dynamite, cigarettes, coca leaves and juice for the minors and blowing up some water melons and an actual sheep’s head! Bizarre, I know! I have to say I didnt enjoy the mine tour that much as im not the best in tight spaces. We were put in overalls with hard hats and lights and we were lead down 500 meters into a mine in the middle of a mountain. Often stooping, crouching and crawling through dusty carved caves was not an experience I enjoyed but it made me realise the harsh conditions the minors work in. The accident and death rate in the mines is astronomical as down the years the Spanish monarchy made the Bolivian native indians work in the mines, and when they all dies, later thousands of slaves from Africa were made work there to mine for silver and other precious minerals. Nowadays there is only a few hundred working in the mines but I couldnt do it. Some work up to 3km beneath the mountain where the temperature can get to 30-40 degrees. My breathing down the mine was a bit panicked but I controlled it and breathed a sigh of relief when I was finally out of the mine.
As well as giving some of the minors a few bits we had some extra dynamite to blow up for ourselves. You can actually buy dynamite on the street in stalls on Potisi which is mad. Before our tour, our Bolivian mine guide brought us down the market and we were on the lookout for stuff to blow up. We got the last water melon and papaya fruit (like a water melon) and the only other thing we could find was a sheeps head. Long story short we planted the dynamite in the different places, lit the fuses and ran for our lives. We were back a safe distance and watched the fruit and head blow to smithereens. Some buzz, and I guess just was your average day in Potisi.
Our main reason for stopping in Potisi was to get to Uyrini and the slat flats as it would be too long of a drive, on some of the worst roads in the world, all the way from La Paz. When I say road, its an exaggeration as we are travelling on more of a dirt track at the minute that links up the two afore mentioned town and city. I have to commend our driver Aran, (Azz) who is navigating these tracks exceptionally well without any fuss and seems to love it. Right now we are twisting and turning over mountains on single lane dirt roads that have us shaken to bits. I dont mind a bit as the scenery is like something out of a Western movie and we have plenty to keep us occupied from travel games, poker, and my new book: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I said I would give it a chance although it is rantish and sometimes has complicated and scientific language so its a slow read. The last book, The Life of Pi, I would recommend to anyone as its based on a true story and is very harrowing and an incredible story of survival. I hope we survive out here and our bus doesnt break down as we are miles away from civilization!
Anyway we travelled to Uyuini which is a small town near the famous salt flats. We stayed in a basic but really nice hostel run by an American guy and is Bolivian wife. The food was all Italian and excellent compared to anywhere we had eaten in the last few weeks. We continued onto the Salt Flats the following morning and got some cool pictures. Because the ground is so flat for miles you can alter the perspective of pictures and we got some really good shots. Ill post a link up whenever I have them up on Picassa. The Salt Flats would probably be one of the highlights so far. The pictures will explain why!
After one last night in Uyuini we had an early start to make our way to Salta. It was a two day journey on terrible roads and we stayed in a hostel in Tupiza on route instead of a planned free camp.
Salta is a beautiful and fantastic city and im sorry we didnt get another day or two in it. Argentina is such a breath of fresh air from Bolivia. Its fairly westernised and the infrastructure, buildings and roads are fantastic. One of the best parts of our stay in Salta was on both nights we went out for steak dinners. I have never tasted steak like the steak in Argentina; its simply unreal. You hardly need to saw your knife into the meat for it to cut like a knife through butter; its that tender. The steaks themselves are incredibly big and the portions you get are 600-700g in one serving. Some people on our tour finished it all themselves but myself and Stephanie just split ours which still worked out still bigger than any steak you get at home. Steak is everywhere in Argentina and they really pride themselves like its an industry. Any bit of beef you would get in Peri and Bolivia would hop off the ground it was so tough but the beef in Argentina is spectacular.
We went horse riding on a ranch while staying in Salta. It was excellent being in a saddle on a horse most of the day and we each got to gallop a bit which was cool. I was wearing my cowboy hat that I picked up for Matchu Pitchu so I looked the part, but it was great craic. It made me want to own and ride a horse of my own some day if only I had the few acres!
Our stay in Salta was fairly action packed as on our second day we went white water rafting and zip lining in an adventure resort not far from Salta. Every excursion we do seems to beat the last but this day has topped the lot so far. For the rafting, we split into teams of 8 and paddled rubber dingies down rapids which was brilliant craic. The rafting took just over 2 hours down river over countless rapids which was a savage experience. Often on route down river over rapids the water would drench everyone and practically fill the dingy at times. We purchased a CD with pictures so ill be posting the links soon.
Not everyone in our group did the zip lining which was not really for the faint hearted or those with problems with heights. We did nine zip lines altogether, the first one was 700m long over a canyon which must have been 600m high. We were harnessed up to the zip lines so it was all very safe and out last zip line took us all the way back to camp and within 10 yards of the bar, which was very cool. All in all it was a fantastic action packed day.
Im finishing this email in Puerto Iguazu after two more long days on the road from Salta. We camped in the back garden of a service station the night before last. One thing that is noticeable about the Argentineans is that they are very obliging and helpful so far. I guess they are just a step ahead of Bolivia and maybe more used to tourists passing through. Yesterday our expedition vehicle, “Bernie” broke down on the way here where we had stopped at at some old ruins of a Jesuit settlement. We ended up pushing the 20 tonne truck to get it started and at the minute its out of action again and parked up at this campsite. I think a mechanic is calling out to us to have a look but I don’t think its awful serious.
Tomorrow we are heading for the Iguazu falls which is the largest waterfalls in the world. Four times as much water passes through it every minute than Niagra Falls so its supposed to be spectacular. Ill let you know how we get on in the next blog and I should have some new photos up.
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