30 December, 2009 - 1 January 2010
Potosí is the highest city in the world (4090m), and it is said that once upon a time it was more successful and populated than London or Paris. The mines (silver) which gave it this wealth also killed about 8 million people.
The history of Potosí is certainly interesting, but the city didn´t do a lot for me. I survived the altitude, but no doubt it affected me. I only took 2 photos there and they weren´t good. And I didn´t much enjoy the place. The main attraction is to go into a silver mine, through small shafts and tunnels, breathing toxic fumes, to visit the miners. I have definate anxiety about man made tunnels and slight claustraphobia ... so I didn´t waste my money. Even to this day the miners live short lives, if they don´t die in a mining accident, they die at about age 40, from the damage to their lungs.
I did spend NYE in Potosí, but nothing really happened there. I chatted to people at the hostel until 11.45pm, then hit the street to find some activity, but there was only the odd fireworks to be found, nothing big. I was accompanied by a Black african guy, resident in Brazil, in Potosí to join their Soccer team.
On NYE the hostel lost my laundry, and so I had a cold time as well. They eventually took me to the laundry the next day so that I could find my clothes, and I got them back eventually, even if they were still wet.
Notes:
Accomodation: Casona Hostel. * $5.50
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Uyuni to Potosi
30 December, 2009
Once a person has done the spectacular 3 day tour on the Salar the Uyuni and the lakes, then there isn´t a lot of reason to stick around in the town of Uyuni. It has a train cemetery, which was included as the final part of my 3 day tour. The train cemetery didn´t much interest me.
Uyuni, is incredibly dusty and the land around the town is strewn with rubbish. Add to this that my hostel roon stank! and you can see I didn´t like the town too much. So I hoped on a bus the very next day to Potosí.... a few other people from the tour were doing the same, so I tagged along with them. (My Plan A had been to 4wd to Tupiza in the South, but the road was too wet and the conditions reported to be terrible).
The bus journey to Potosí was quite spectacular.
HI hostel, Solar de Uyuni, musty private room, shared bath, $6.
Bus to Potosí $4.50.
Eggs for boiling (my lunch on bus) .11c each.
Once a person has done the spectacular 3 day tour on the Salar the Uyuni and the lakes, then there isn´t a lot of reason to stick around in the town of Uyuni. It has a train cemetery, which was included as the final part of my 3 day tour. The train cemetery didn´t much interest me.
Uyuni, is incredibly dusty and the land around the town is strewn with rubbish. Add to this that my hostel roon stank! and you can see I didn´t like the town too much. So I hoped on a bus the very next day to Potosí.... a few other people from the tour were doing the same, so I tagged along with them. (My Plan A had been to 4wd to Tupiza in the South, but the road was too wet and the conditions reported to be terrible).
The bus journey to Potosí was quite spectacular.
Taken from the bus... a farm house in the countryside between Uyuni and Potosi, note the old couple is amongst the setting.
The same old couple as of the farm house (there was a stream nearby, and at this place the drivers assistant jumped out and grabbed a rock to put under the wheel of the bus (the brakes) and then him and the driver went for a wash in the stream, leaving everybody sitting on the bus while they did). I don´t know what the farmers are digging at here, but they also seemed to have Llamas and sheep to look after.
Notes: HI hostel, Solar de Uyuni, musty private room, shared bath, $6.
Bus to Potosí $4.50.
Eggs for boiling (my lunch on bus) .11c each.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Entry to Bolivia via desert, lakes, geysers and the worlds largest salt flat.
27-29 December, 2009
I chose to go from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) into Bolivia on a 3 day 4wd trip, past colourful lakes, geysers, desert scenes, flamencos, and the world largest salt pan. I think I´ll let the pictures do the talking!
Laguna Blanca (White Lagoon).
Isn´t it cute how they put the coloured wool in the ears... just like eartags at home, they identify who the stock belongs to.
I chose to go from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) into Bolivia on a 3 day 4wd trip, past colourful lakes, geysers, desert scenes, flamencos, and the world largest salt pan. I think I´ll let the pictures do the talking!
Laguna Blanca (White Lagoon). Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon)
Geyser Sol de Mañana (Morning Sun Geyser Basin). Lots of colours, bubbling mud, bad smells.
Laguna Colorado... amazing colours, the white is Borax, which they do mine here, the other colours are mostly created by microscopic organisms. You can also see llamas and Flamencos.
Three types of Flamenco exist in this part of the world, the Andes Flamenco, the Chilean Flamenco, and the James Flamenco.
The Car, the car companions... all Chilean. I was really lucky because they made sure we got a fabulous tour!
Our driver, waiting for us, as always.
Inside a hotel made of Salt, where we slept the night.
Driving across the Solar de Uyuni... the world biggest Slat pan, whilst it had a a few centimetres of water on it, it´s amazing how well the vehicles hold up with the rust.
Due to the rain, there was just one solitary salt miner working the day we were there.
Notes:
The tour from San Pedro to Atacama was with Cordellia Tours. 3 days, including 2 nights shared accomodation, 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners, and entry fees, was $US140. I definatly recommend this tour.
Friday, 1 January 2010
Bolivia
Bolivia is South America´s poorest country, with an estimated two thirds of the population living in poverty. The majority of the polution are indigineous, and from many different groups. Many people speak Quechua or Aymara. It has no coast line and shares borders with Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.
As a travel destination, it used to be quite undiscovered, but not anymore. It´s isolated, and it has quite a lot of ´world´s highest´ things. It´s possibly the country in South America I have most been looking forward to.
As a travel destination, it used to be quite undiscovered, but not anymore. It´s isolated, and it has quite a lot of ´world´s highest´ things. It´s possibly the country in South America I have most been looking forward to.
Impressions of Northern Chile
Well, I have left Chile now, so I think I should give a taste of my impressions of Chile. From the People to the Landscapes and everything in between. All of this will relate only to the part of Chile that extends North from Santiago, because I have yet to visit anything South of Chile's capital.
The People
Firstly, it would help if they spoke Spanish. Well, ok they do, but they cut the ends off the words, create new endings, and run all the words together. Then they change some words. Some explain that this is because Chile is so cut off from everywhere else... the Andes Mountains on the Eastern side, the Pacific Ocean on the West, Antarctica down below and the world driest desert to the North. But I come from a great big island in the ocean, so I don´t think it´s much of an excuse. All the neighbouring nations say Chilean Spanish is terrible, so this isn´t just coming from me.
Now to the men.... well I haven´t been whistled at and called every synonym of beautiful (in Spanish and in English) so much since Cuba. Actually, Chilean men may have outdone the Cubans. I took it all as compliments and it only bothered me when they sidled up too close so they could whisper their words. The men were largely helpful, on 2 occasions a group of men (both groups from mining area´s) became my main bus terminal support when my bus was late, finding out for me that I hadn´t missed my bus and making sure I got it when it came.
Dress standards were very casual and mostly jeans and T-shirts, even when working. I noticed the only people wearing shorts when not on the beach were tourists.
It seemed that 90% of adults smoked... but I have said before I might be exaggerating. It never seemed crossed their mind that you mightn´t like it.
The Food
Nope, not good. Ok, I tried to get good, I went to the nice seafood restaurant in Valpariaso, and the Scallop place in Caldera, and ate what Jaime told me to at the place he said was really good, but nothing stood out. At best, the menu of the days were like a reasonably good home cooked meal. (And perhaps I should say that my Mum is a fantastic cook.) And somehow all the fresh fried fish meals tasted like they had been battered and fried some other time and then microwaved for my plate. Sorry Chile.
The Transport
Oh the Chilean buses are very nice. They are clean, they check your lugguge with tags, they run to a pretty good schedule. But they are speed limited. Every time the driver passed 100kms per hour a long beep started in the passenger area of the bus, so that we could dob him to the authorities if he didn´t slow down.
The Scenery
I took only day time buses so that I could see the scenery all the way. It was so spectacular. Most of Northern Chile is what I imagine another planets landscapes might look like. It´s very mountainous. And for the most part it´s very dry. It´s also very exploited with mining and mining exploration, which is a shame, but without it they´d be very poor and the terrain doesn´t seem much good for other things.
Environmentalism
huh? I don´t know if the average Chilean knows much about environmental concern. They are extremely consumeristic, plastic bottles aren´t being recycled, there is a lot of litter lying around. At home I often pick up rubbish while I´m walking.... here I wouldn´t know where to start.
Other Travellers
Are there any Germans between the age of 24 and 30 left in Germany? It used to be Australians that had the well traveled reputation, but they´re being outdone. A couple of the German travelers have told me that with the Global Financial Crisis there isn´t much work in Germany at the moment, so better to travel now, and go back to working when things improve. I´ve only really met Australians in the beach towns. I´m in a age gap here, not a lot of other backpackers my age. Some are older, but most are in their 20´s, on tight budgets (making the same mistakes as I did when I was a 20 year old backpacker), and opting to save money by not going to see things and spending it instead on alcohol and cigarettes, (to while away the hours that they aren´t using on sightseeing).
Notes:
I think I averaged about $330 (USD) per week in Chile. I could have done it cheaper, but I like to try to find nice food, and take the odd tour. Good tours give you information you might not otherwise get, and that´s worth a bit more. You also get a day off by doing a tour... somebody else organises everything and you just have to tag along. I also ate out most meals. Travelling alone, you don´t save much money cooking for yourself. Also, I like to cook.... I mean I like to cook well... limited backpackers kitchens and no access to good oils, herbs and spices (I really can´t be expected to carry a pantry) is just a bad experience. I do however often boil a couple of eggs.... boiled egg, banana, and a bread roll make a ok lunch for long bus journeys that might not stop for a meal break.
The People
Firstly, it would help if they spoke Spanish. Well, ok they do, but they cut the ends off the words, create new endings, and run all the words together. Then they change some words. Some explain that this is because Chile is so cut off from everywhere else... the Andes Mountains on the Eastern side, the Pacific Ocean on the West, Antarctica down below and the world driest desert to the North. But I come from a great big island in the ocean, so I don´t think it´s much of an excuse. All the neighbouring nations say Chilean Spanish is terrible, so this isn´t just coming from me.
Now to the men.... well I haven´t been whistled at and called every synonym of beautiful (in Spanish and in English) so much since Cuba. Actually, Chilean men may have outdone the Cubans. I took it all as compliments and it only bothered me when they sidled up too close so they could whisper their words. The men were largely helpful, on 2 occasions a group of men (both groups from mining area´s) became my main bus terminal support when my bus was late, finding out for me that I hadn´t missed my bus and making sure I got it when it came.
Dress standards were very casual and mostly jeans and T-shirts, even when working. I noticed the only people wearing shorts when not on the beach were tourists.
It seemed that 90% of adults smoked... but I have said before I might be exaggerating. It never seemed crossed their mind that you mightn´t like it.
The Food
Nope, not good. Ok, I tried to get good, I went to the nice seafood restaurant in Valpariaso, and the Scallop place in Caldera, and ate what Jaime told me to at the place he said was really good, but nothing stood out. At best, the menu of the days were like a reasonably good home cooked meal. (And perhaps I should say that my Mum is a fantastic cook.) And somehow all the fresh fried fish meals tasted like they had been battered and fried some other time and then microwaved for my plate. Sorry Chile.
The Transport
Oh the Chilean buses are very nice. They are clean, they check your lugguge with tags, they run to a pretty good schedule. But they are speed limited. Every time the driver passed 100kms per hour a long beep started in the passenger area of the bus, so that we could dob him to the authorities if he didn´t slow down.
The Scenery
I took only day time buses so that I could see the scenery all the way. It was so spectacular. Most of Northern Chile is what I imagine another planets landscapes might look like. It´s very mountainous. And for the most part it´s very dry. It´s also very exploited with mining and mining exploration, which is a shame, but without it they´d be very poor and the terrain doesn´t seem much good for other things.
Environmentalism
huh? I don´t know if the average Chilean knows much about environmental concern. They are extremely consumeristic, plastic bottles aren´t being recycled, there is a lot of litter lying around. At home I often pick up rubbish while I´m walking.... here I wouldn´t know where to start.
Other Travellers
Are there any Germans between the age of 24 and 30 left in Germany? It used to be Australians that had the well traveled reputation, but they´re being outdone. A couple of the German travelers have told me that with the Global Financial Crisis there isn´t much work in Germany at the moment, so better to travel now, and go back to working when things improve. I´ve only really met Australians in the beach towns. I´m in a age gap here, not a lot of other backpackers my age. Some are older, but most are in their 20´s, on tight budgets (making the same mistakes as I did when I was a 20 year old backpacker), and opting to save money by not going to see things and spending it instead on alcohol and cigarettes, (to while away the hours that they aren´t using on sightseeing).
Notes:
I think I averaged about $330 (USD) per week in Chile. I could have done it cheaper, but I like to try to find nice food, and take the odd tour. Good tours give you information you might not otherwise get, and that´s worth a bit more. You also get a day off by doing a tour... somebody else organises everything and you just have to tag along. I also ate out most meals. Travelling alone, you don´t save much money cooking for yourself. Also, I like to cook.... I mean I like to cook well... limited backpackers kitchens and no access to good oils, herbs and spices (I really can´t be expected to carry a pantry) is just a bad experience. I do however often boil a couple of eggs.... boiled egg, banana, and a bread roll make a ok lunch for long bus journeys that might not stop for a meal break.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)