Hello again, I hope all is well with everyone as the summer begins to wind down.
As my first since his passing, I would like to dedicate this post to the memory of Jack Layton, whose perpetual courage and passion were as inspirational and unique to me as the experiences I have had and continue to have on this adventure.
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Setting off early from Sucre last week, Dominic (a jolly Quebecer and fellow Condortrekkers volunteer) and I set out for Potosi, the highest city in the world, and one of the most important cities in the Colonial Spanish Empire. From there we headed west to tour the legendary Southwest Circuit, one of South America's gems. The landscapes we traveled through were absolutely incredible, and my goal for this blog is to let the pictures do the talking, and muck things up with my descriptions as little as possible.
It felt good to get moving again, for the first time since the Man Vs Bus saga of late July. It had been a while since I'd been on the road, and even longer since I'd traveled with a partner. At 6"5, Dominic is definitely a little more complicated to travel with than Lis, who could, when necessary, ride buses for hours on my lap, on a pile of parcels, in the overhead compartment, etc. (just kidding about the overhead compartment).
We arrived in Potosi mid-morning, and spent the day just farting (I mean that literally - the altitude makes your bowels do horrible, unforgivable things) around the city. Potosi is built next to one of the largest silver deposits in the world. The silver from the Cerro Rico was processed in Potosi's own mint, which was the source of currency for the entire Spanish Empire for several hundred years.
The most famous tourist attraction is the mining tour: people enter the mines with guides and see men toiling in the worst working conditions that exist on earth today. The experience is touted as powerful and life changing, but we opted against it. Every miner who works under the Cerro Rico dies within 15 years of starting, and after some of the poverty and hardship I have seen in the past months, I couldn't bring myself to go and see that many dying men. Fortunately Potosi is a pleasant city to explore on foot, stopping often of course, to catch your breath.
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| Pleasant Potosi, sitting at the foot of the Cerro Rico |
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| Potosi's rooftops and the mountains beyond |
We did pay (pun fully intended) a visit to the Casa de Moneda - the mint - which has been inactive for the last few decades and is now a museum. The museum was one of the neatest I have visited on this trip, filled with exhibits and information on the history of the mines and the mint in particular, and on Spanish colonialism and indigenous oppression in general.
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| A serious coin |
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| Silver pressing contraptions |
The old minting machinery was especially cool - my Grandfather would have been in absolute heaven.
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| More minting equipment |
After a relaxing afternoon and my first llama dinner (and probably my last, by the way) we caught the night bus west, to tranquil and beautiful Tupiza.
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| Tupiza from the Mirador |
Tupiza, the gate to the Southwest Circuit, is known as Bolivia's wild west (wicky wicky wild wild west - that's for you, Gary) for it's cowboy swagger and rugged, dusty surroundings. In fact, the area just outside Tupiza was the site of filming for the cowboy classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Naturally, a horseback ride - the second of the trip, and my life - was in order.
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| The Sundance Kid himself |
The ride was really great, I did feel like a bit of a cowboy. The highlight (lowlight?) occured when a pack of eight stray dogs charged us from out of nowhere. My horse reared, but I somehow avoided a heart attack and stayed in the saddle. Next, the horses jumped clear over gnashing teeth and ran off through the riverbed at what can only be described as a breakneck sprint. Aside from being scared out of my mind, I found myself laughing, and even managed to keep my feet in the stirrups. Just like in the movies, the good guys got away, and we actually rode off into the sunset (for real).
We'd booked our four-day tour pre-horse adventure, and so had a relaxing evening and an early night. The next day we were up early, and out on the first leg of our tour. At this point I'm really going to hand it over to the pictures, which don't do this experience full justice, but do a better job than I can.
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| Gravity-defying rock pillars, just outside Tupiza |
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| Eroded spikes gathered together and stretching for kilometers |
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| The elusive and skiddish Vicuna (wild llamas) |
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| Chiuasca, the biggest, busiest town we saw for 4 days |
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| ¿Como te llamas? |
A full day of driving brought us to our tiny, rustic accommodation in a small llama-raising village. Our guide and cook were excellent, the jeep was comfortable, and the power of the Andes was starting to sink in. Pretty worn out, our evening was limited to dinner, tea, and trying not to freeze to death.
The next day we were up early, and off north, into even more dramatic landscapes.
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| Classic Andes |
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| Flamingos doing their thing at 4300 meters |
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| Laguna Verde calmly producing baking soda like its getting paid for it |
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| El Desierto de Salvador Dali |
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| Geysers, 5000 meters above sea level, 200 degrees Celsius: extreme |
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| The second night's accomodations (muy naturale amigos) |
The second night we slept at 4400 (14,500 feet for Dad and other cavemen who still use imperial) and were thoroughly cold. Six heavy wool blankets barely kept me warm, and I drank hot tea pretty much non-stop for hours.
After another early rise and a short drive we soaked up the morning sun at the unreal Laguna Colorado.
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Laguna Colorado, absolutely surreal, coloured brilliant pink/red by powerful algae
(and probably blood and witchcraft too) |
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| Pink flamingos on a pink lake - Barbie would be most pleased |
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| The weird rock tree |
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| The cordillera across the plains |
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| Laguna Amarillo, one of dozens of Borax producing lakes (what's Borax for again?) |
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| The flamingos seem fond of it, whatever it is |
We stopped for lunch on the edge of one of the day's many deserts, and Dominic and I leapt at the chance to stretch our Jeep-cramped legs (sympathize with him more than me) with a climb up rocky hill.
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| I look a bit too cool for my liking in this picture, bit it's a good one of the mountains |
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| One of our four polite lunch guests |
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| Petrified lava and a semi-active volcano |
By the end of the day we'd reached the edge of the Salaar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat and the grand finale of the Southwest Circuit. We stayed in a salt hotel (rustic as the rest though, don't be mistaken) and watched the sunset over the desert.
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| Our salty accommodations, on the edge of the Salaar |
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I'm quite excited, my room is made of salt!
The next morning we rose well before dawn to catch first light in the middle of the desert. |
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| Stunning sunrise over the Salaar |
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| Absolute emptiness |
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| Cactus on Isla Inca Huasi |
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| Wandering about |
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| Ninja encounter |
Due to its empty, flat endlessness, Salaar de Uyuni has become quite well known for its silly relation/perspective pictures. Obviously, I felt a strong need to partake in these sorts of shenanigans.
Without further adeu:
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| Which came first, the Torrance or the egg? |
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| Snack time |
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| Uyuni has a serious giant problem, a real hassle |
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| Decepticons everyone! |
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| A rare Bilbo Baggins sighting |
We monkeyed around and enjoyed the hot sun, the white floor, and the blue, blue sky for several hours, before piling into the jeep one last time and heading out of the Salaar.
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| The team |
We had lunch on the edge of the salt flats, then headed into Uyuni, where the tour ended. I am now back at my temporary home in Sucre, and am itching to get out on a trek. This road trip was a great little side-trip during my volunteer stint, and I am happy to have gotten out and seen more of Bolivia. I hope to get really involved here in the next few weeks, and contribute as much as I can to the community here in Sucre.
I hope you´ve all enjoyed this post: many of the things I see and experience are hard to describe, but, as always, I do my best.
Take care, and send your best wishes to Lisa, who starts her Masters at UBC in a matter of weeks!
Until next time, thanks for reading!
Tor
