Week 26, Bolivia

28/11

Rose at 8.00 and felt a lot better, due to paracetamol i guess...
Breakfasted, packed for the day and walked to the starting point of my 2 citytours for today.

Arrived too early, so a nice coffee at Alex coffee shop it was.
First tour was very nice...

I was the only passenger on the top deck!

Especially the moon valley, where we stopped for 20 minutes ...

Back at the bus terminal i strolled for 2 hours in this part of town ...

Looking over the edge of a very high bridge .... brrr.

Some modern architecture here.

Then the second tour through the old part of town...

With some splendid views over town...

Walked back to the hotel, showered, sipped a beer, had a small meeting about the upcoming days (its gonna be very cold!!!).
Celebrated Leannes birthday ... (who just told me that she will leave us soon ... sob, sob... i really liked her and i hope we will meet again some day... in Brisbane or so).

Updating blog now. Will try to publish week 25, but wifi is pretty bad up here, so... it may take a while. Laterz...
Getting some sleep now.
With an episode of Torchwood... i think...



29/11

Rose at 6.00, packed, a quick coffee & cookie from next door, and by taxi to the truck.
Packed the truck and on the way to Uyuni we were. A long drive over the pampas, with a herd of lama's every now and then.

Still, i like these drives: moments of reflection, a nice chat with the boys from the back of the truck, good music on my earphones, a very nice lunch on the market of a little town with Richard and Norman...

Arrived in Uyuni round 17.30, took the dirty laundry from me and my roommates (Pauwel and Hugo again) to the lavenderia, booked a tour for the saltplanes tomorrow, sipped a beer with Hugo (later Pauwel too), showered, ate a tuna sandwich... Tired now... getting some sleep. Laterz.

30/11

Slept good, rose at 8.15, great breakfast. Pick up laundry now, then ... off to the salt planes ... laterz...

Left for the salt planes too late, due to a lazy driver...
First visit was the train cemetery... weird place, but special, look ...

Then a small market and the salt museum... a touristic (and so not that special) stop...

Then up to the salt water springs at the edge of the salt plane ...

The sun, straight above us. It was not warm though, due to the high altitude....

Dinner at the salt restaurant, where the dakar rally was held and all the flags of all countries waved in the wind...

Then a long drive to the other edge of the plane, where you can make funny pictures, because it's empty and so, there is no perspective which tells you what is big and small...

Steph, lifting the jeep...

Me, being kicked over by a dino...

On the run for mr. T. Rex...

The salt plane came into existence coz a big ocean (or salt lake) vaporized and left a 12 meter thick layer of salt.
But.. then there must be islands too.... indeed... this is one of them.... notice the huge cactusses. ..

... and the amazing view over the former ocean....

Round 17.30 we went back to town.
Hugo and i had a beer in a nearby restaurant, soon accompanied by Richard and Norm. Nice pizza and the cherry on the cake was a performance of the local bras band ...

All in all a great day.
Showered and updated blog. An episode of Torchwood now... laterz...

1/12

Rose at 7.00, breakfasted with pancakes, and on the truck we went to
Potosi. A relatively short drive. Arrived at 13.00 or so. Visited the silver mines up there.... bit of a let down. Very touristic and you did not really see the working circumstances of the miners. We looked ridiculous though...

Felt bad afterwards due to heavy food, high altitude, oxygen depletion in the confined spaces of the mines and too much sweet soda...
So, went to bed at 18.00 (!!!), woke up at 20.00 threw up, and slept another 12 hours...


2/12

Woke up at 7.30, still feeling sick, but not as bad as yesterday. Didn't dear to breakfast though.
Short drive to Sucre, where we will stay for 3 nights. Arrived at 13.00 and ... fell asleep again in the afternoon.

Did a short walk to the center of town, ate a sandwich, back to our hostel. Sipping a glass of wine now (is that smart?) with Bob, Linda and Glyn. Going to sleep soon again. Laterz...

A last chat with Glyn and of to bed... or so i thought...
Found a guitar here and one of the workers up here plays a very nice bluesharp (mouth harmonica) and so... blues it was. Loved it. Beautiful end of the day.


3/12

Rose at 8.30 or so, made and bought breakfast in the hostel and did the media. Played some guitar (there is one at the hostel).
Went to town for a walk. It was said there would not be any activity, because it was election day. Well ... the streets were packed! So, nice to hang around, ate a bite and drank a coke. It's a very nice town. Old colonial styled...

Back at the hostel, i slept! Old dude!
Spend the rest of the evening playing music and chatting until .... very late. The bbq was eaten at 10.00 pm. I was not hungry anymore, so i just had a small bite. Expensive bite!
Ok, to cut it short ... we all drank a lot, sang songs, argued (a bit) and at 11.30 (i think) i went to bed. Still could not sleep... don't know why.


4/12

Woke up at 7.00, but with a hangover. Chatted with friends, read the news (all still in bed). Took a shower and shaved at 11.00. Eating yesterdays breakfast now at the table in the hostel with Ally, Norm and Richard.

It's down pouring, so... no time to go to town yet. Laterz...


Went to town anyway... to an ATM and have a cafe con leche... on the way back the rain stopped.
Back at the hostel i slept for another hour.
Now back to town to get some food and buy tomorrows breakfast. Laterz...

Nice hostel we had... and very hospitable people ...

Made some last pictures of the central plaza, by night, already dressed up for xmas....

Tomorrow we leave Sucre. On our way to the Argentinean border. First a wild camp however, so....

See you al next week.