From her
Hello all, greetings from Bolivia.
Well I have to say that the 3 days crossing the Altiplano (means high planes) has introduced me to some of the most amazing, jaw dropping landscapes I have ever seen. We spent 3 days in a Toyota 4×4 going from one lagoon to the next, one volcano to the next, salt flats, desert, you name it, we saw it. Flamingos too!! It really was breathtaking but I´m afraid that my words wont do it justice so I hope that some of the pics I took below will help you see what I mean.
(Im sorry but I had heaps more pics to post but this crappy internet wont let me! Apologies)
When we arrived back poor Shaun got soooo sick. I had to be a dutiful wife and look after him, which I was, even tho it was not pretty! Can you believe I even handwashed all our mud, salt and sand ridden clothes from our trip. Now thats dutiful! Bolivia is a pretty poor country and even the laundries don’t have washing machines.
We are now in Potosi which is the highest city in the world. Can I say that at 4060m its hard just walking up the street with a backpack on. It was a city back in the hey day that was full of silver and it has some amazing structures to show for its previous wealth. Unfortunately back then Spain pretty much raped and pillaged them and all stocks are now depleted.
However the mines are still in working order(for other minerals), if you could call it that! We had the pleasure (not really, Shaun pulled me along!) of a mine tour. It was horrible! These men work in the most appalling conditions you have ever seen. They constantly chew coca leaves to keep them alert and dull their hunger as they can’t eat down the mine because there is so much contamination from the Silicon, Arsenic and Asbestos. To top it off there are big holes everywhere in the mine, I´m suprised it didn’t come tumbling around our feet, I was fretting the whole way! These men have a life expectancy of 40-50 years which gives you a good idea of what the conditions are like. Remind me to never complain about work again.
When you look into an eye of a Bolivian you don’t see alot. There not a particularly friendly bunch and hate having their pictures taken which sux! Alot of the women still wear their traditional dress which is strange but amazing to see. They live very simply and they work hard! If only some of the lazy arses that live in the Western World could see the hardships of these really poor countries. I´m sure that would change their perspectives.
We are off to Sucre tonight, another Bolivian city. It’s a pretty big city so hopefully I can find some non camera-shy subjects.
All my love xxxx
From him
The tour from San Pedro in Chile to Uyuni in Bolivia is anxiously anticipated by most travellers.Through the accounts from previous participants I can sort of see why. Tales of drivers so drunk that passengers had to take charge and drive,grumpy drivers that don’t stop for photographs, bad meals, bad accomadation. You really begin to question taking the journey at all.
Now I´m not saying that the said events didn’t take place or that some tour operators aren´t less than satisfactory. But,I also think that some of the things written in the “little book of complaints”,which is free to flick through at the tourist office, are nothing but petty whinges from primadonna gringos .What I´m trying to say is although the transport and accommodation is basic if not rough,the tour is truly amazing.
I now know how jack felt when he climbed the beanstalk. We have spent the last few days in the land of the giants. Where your judgement of distance goes completely out the window, where it takes an hour to drive past a volcano, where your eyes play tricks on you under the guise of reflection. This is a place that defines big, and redefines you, ego and all, as small.
Melissa went spastic with her camera and some of the shots definitely do it justice. But unless you actually stand in the middle of one of these plains and realize that walking to the foot of one of the mountains in the distance will take a day if not more,it is impossible to describe.Without sounding over the top that is,and your probably thinking it’s too late for that Shaun.
If you thought those descriptions were dramatic hold on to your britches because the salt flats are almost beyond my vocabulary.
12000 square kilometers of blinding white severely flat sparkling salt. In some parts the layers are 9 metres thick. Driving over this bitumen smooth surface knowing that essentially it’s what you put on your chips is really quite hard to fathom. You have to begin to wonder if the guide slipt something into the coffee at breakfast.
Being the rainy season we were also fortunate enough to see half of the expanse with a 10 cm layer of water covering it. This is when the coffee really kicks in because from horizon to horizon you are basically standing on a giant mirror. Trippy man!
When you look at a map and see the area we travelled in relation to the rest of Bolivia is so small it’s almost frustrating. I suppose what we think is big and what really is big is a concept we will never be able to grasp. Not through our eyes anyway.
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