We have been overdue for a posting for a while so there is a lot to tell! Last time we wrote we had just returned from the jungle and were headed to Sucre. Sucre was by far the nicest city in Bolivia. It is the judicial capital and home to the country's supreme court, as well as several nice parks, colonial buildings and architecture. We spent 3 days in Sucre (which was one more than planned due to road blocks created by political protesters - the norm in Bolivia - that prevented us from leaving when we wanted to) exploring and enjoying the more pleasant side of Bolivia. A highlight was our walk up to the city's mirador (lookout) where there was a great view and a cafe that had a quinoa beer! So Shaina was able to have her first beer in 5 months!
Marsh at the lookout in Sucre
Shaina with a bottle of Lipena - a beer made from Quinoa which was surprisingly good!
We left Sucre and took the bus to Potosi, which is a city famous for its mining history. The mines in the mountain overlooking the city were said to have funded the Spanish empire with their vast amount of silver. The mines are still active today and are home to some of the worst working conditions on earth. They are hot, there is little to no technology used, the air is full of asbestos and silica and the miners are very likely to die of silicosis after just 15 years of working! However, there are over 15,000 people in Potosi that head to the mines every day to make a living. There are also several tour operators in the city that bring tourists into the mines to catch a glimpse of the every day lives of the locals. We took a tour and were in shock/awe at the miners willingness to work in such harsh conditions every day for such long hours! The miners were very friendly and seemed to appreciate our presence. This was likely due to the fact we brought them presents in the form of juice and coca leaves....
Shaina in her mining attire
Literally crawling through the mines down to the third level!
Miners with a trolley full of rocks
Marsh doing some work in the mine (and sweating profusely from the heat)
After the mine tour we also toured a museum that used to be the home to the national mint. The silver did not used to travel far before it was converted into currency....
The next day, we headed further south to the town of Tupiza, from where we wanted to take a tour of the famous Salar de Uyuni (the worlds largest salt flat). We had a great group - two girls (an American and an Italian) and a guy from Switzerland. The tour is normally 4 days but we extended ours to 5 days as the group wanted to try to summit the Licancabur Volcano (more on that later).
On day 1 we headed out of Tupiza with our group of 5, our driver/guide, and our cook. We quickly climbed from 2300 masl to 4200 masl and had some spectacular scenery along the way!
Overlooking a valley with some drastically eroded rocks
The town where we spent the first night
Day 2 we headed into the National Park and made several stops to see the native wildlife, some beautiful lagoons, and some spectacular natural hot springs. We stopped for the night at the base of the Licancabur Volcano, which we would attempt to summit in the early hours the next morning.
Wild ostrich roam the grasslands
Flamingos taking flight in one of the many lagoons where they spend the summer months
Soaking in natural hot springs with a view that's hard to beat!
Us at the Laguna Verde and Licancabur Volcano in the background
We woke up on day 3 at 1:30am in order to get an early start up the volcano (if you start later it gets very windy and therefore more dangerous). We got out of the jeep at 4600 masl and hoped to make the summit at a mindblowing 5960 masl in around 6 hours! The summit would be by far the highest we have climbed but we were hopeful that spending most of our time in Bolivia at high elevations would have us well prepared. We started the ascent in the dark at around 3am with amazing views of the stars. We climbed in the cold night for what seemed like forever but when the sun came up the views were fantastic!
The day's first light with a star-studded sky. (photo taken by Elia in our group)
The view from 5300 masl just after the sun had come up!
Shaina and the other girls climbing with the laguna verde and laguna blanca in the background
We continued climbing and could feel the thin air the higher we got. After 5,500 masl it was tough to breathe and you could feel your head pounding. However, we pressed on and amazingly, our entire group was able to make the summit! (normally about 50% of the people who attempt the climb cannot make the summit) From the top we had a 360 degree view and could see all the way into Chile!
Us at the top of the volcano! By far the highest we have ever climbed at 5960 masl!
Thousands of Flamingos in Laguna Colorada
Day 4 was mostly in the Jeep making our way North towards the salt flats. We saw some very cool rock formations that resembled everything from camels, lions, mushrooms, Fallopian tubes, and the world cup of soccer trophy. We spent the night in a hostel made from salt! The bricks, furniture, and floor were all made of salt!
The group "riding" the camel rock on day 4
Day 5 had us up early again and we arrived at the Salar de Uyuni in time for sunrise! Driving through the salt flats was like being in another world with white as far as the eye can see. We made stops at an "island" with some giant cacti (over 8m tall and thousands of years old), a lookout halfway up another volcano, and had some fun taking pics before the long jeep ride back to Tupiza.
Marsh watching the sunrise over the Salar (photo taken by Vittoria in our group)
Isla Incahuasi in the middle of the Salar
Shaina blowing a "shrunken" Marsh off her hand.....
The group in the Salar
The view of the valley just outside Tupiza
The tour was an amazing experience, unlike anything we had seen before, and a highlight of the trip! The next day, we left Bolivia behind and eagerly crossed the border into Argentina. We stopped for 2 days in the small town of Tilcara before heading further south to the city of Salta. After arriving in Salta, we are suffering from a bit of culture shock! It's like we left South America behind and are now in Europe! That being said, we are loving Argentina so far and have taken in a Pena (local folk music concert over dinner) and had our first "asado". The asado is an Argentine tradition where they barbecue various cuts of their world famous beef over a coal fire. Our group of 10 polished off 5 kg beef and 4.5 L of wine last night and it was delish!
Mmmmmm meat!
Tomorrow we are planning to head to Cafayate, a small town renowned for its wine and gorgeous scenery, for a couple of days before coming back to Salta to catch a bus into Chile.
Hope everyone is well at home and is enjoying the upcoming holiday season!
Love Marsh & Shaina
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete