After the nightmarish night bus from La Paz to Uyuni... we opted to travel from Uyuni to Potosi in a slightly more civilzed manner, taking the trip during the day.
Potosi is a large mining city so we decided to do a tour of one of the working mines while we were there. This is basically where you spend 3 hours peeing your pants in sheer terror because of the threat of cave-ins, squishing yourself through tunnels built for dwarves, joining the miners in drinking the 96% alcohol they bring with them, and Tim's personal favourite... being able to buy your own dynamite to "blow shit up."
After being kitted out in all the gear - boots, coveralls, helmet and lamp - we headed off to one of the town's refineries to see how they process all the minerals they extract from the mountain. Next was a quick stop via the miner's market so that completely naive tourists could purchase as much dynamite as they could afford (not hard when it cost about $3!) Then it was straight to the mine (I think the only safety tip we got was how to turn your lamp on and off.) After a few minutes of walking through the first tunnel everyone needed to sit and take a rest. The combination of altitude, a lot of dust, darkness, and small spaces had everyone getting a bit nervous.
The second level we went through was probably the worst... having to crawl on your belly for half and trip down some very rickety ladders for the rest. I'm pretty sure Tim got stuck at one point but still won't admit it!
The 3rd and 4th levels down were a bit roomier, but much harder to breathe in. Tim managed to convince one of the miners to let him have a go at hammering one of the mineral lines... I think the miners words were "he hits like a lady." So after spending about 2 hours underground we finally re-surfaced, all in one piece... just in time to set off some dynamite.
Now I realize that the fuse they stick in dynamite lasts long enough so that it can be planted somewhere first, giving enough time to run away. I did not really understand however why the guide felt that there was still enough time for everyone to take their photo with a stick of burning dynamite... and I was not impressed when Tim handed it to me last.
Another highlight to our stay in Potosi was that it was the city's 199th anniversary while we were there... giving us a chance to check out all the local festivities, including never-ending parades and kids lighting off firecrackers. Even the President came for the day.
We've now arrived in Sucre for a couple days of horseriding and mountainbiking...
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
The Salt Plains of Uyuni
From La Paz to Uyuni is a relatively short 8 hour bus journey which by our standards should have been a blast. Unfortunately no one had told the Bolivian government that tourists like roads that are paved, not just mounds of dirt and large rocks to drive over. This resulted in us arriving in Uyuni for our Salt Plain tour in not the best spirits.
Still we got into our jeep for our 3 day tour with mounting excitement, especially as I had bought lots of props for amusing Salt Plain photos (beer bottles, plastic dinosaurs and silly hats.) Our driver seemed to be on a mission to beat the record for shortest tour ever so at every attraction we always seemed a bit rushed arriving at the hotels hours before anyone else. But when given lemons Maura likes to make lemonade so we spent our spare time on extra hikes back to the Salt Plains and the lagoons just to get an extra couple of photos!
The Salt Plains were fantastic and very interesting we even got to visit a cactus island and stay in a salt hotel (a bit of a gimmick if I´m entirely honest). The second day of the tour involved visiting an active volcano, seeing thousands of Flamingo´s (much to photographer Maura´s delight) and seeing some multi coloured lagoons.
The third day we got up early to visit some geysers and some hot springs. Again this was slightly rushed by our guide obviously wanting to get home to his wife! The whole experience was fun as our group got on very well again. Two Swedish girls who talked a lot about their new South American boyfriends who they were trying to import home! And a very nice Canadian couple who terrified us all with conspiracy theories about everything in existence....
Although the Salt Plains tour was slightly spoilt by a poor guide, there were some fantastic things to see and I enjoyed the sights of the Atacama desert I just would have liked to have spent longer at each highlight.
Next we went off to put a large fat man into a small hole.
Still we got into our jeep for our 3 day tour with mounting excitement, especially as I had bought lots of props for amusing Salt Plain photos (beer bottles, plastic dinosaurs and silly hats.) Our driver seemed to be on a mission to beat the record for shortest tour ever so at every attraction we always seemed a bit rushed arriving at the hotels hours before anyone else. But when given lemons Maura likes to make lemonade so we spent our spare time on extra hikes back to the Salt Plains and the lagoons just to get an extra couple of photos!
The Salt Plains were fantastic and very interesting we even got to visit a cactus island and stay in a salt hotel (a bit of a gimmick if I´m entirely honest). The second day of the tour involved visiting an active volcano, seeing thousands of Flamingo´s (much to photographer Maura´s delight) and seeing some multi coloured lagoons.
The third day we got up early to visit some geysers and some hot springs. Again this was slightly rushed by our guide obviously wanting to get home to his wife! The whole experience was fun as our group got on very well again. Two Swedish girls who talked a lot about their new South American boyfriends who they were trying to import home! And a very nice Canadian couple who terrified us all with conspiracy theories about everything in existence....
Although the Salt Plains tour was slightly spoilt by a poor guide, there were some fantastic things to see and I enjoyed the sights of the Atacama desert I just would have liked to have spent longer at each highlight.
Next we went off to put a large fat man into a small hole.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Tarzan & Jane take on the Amazon...
Rurrenabaque is a small town on the Bolivian side of the amazon jungle and where we had booked a 3 day tour of the pampas region (lots of small rivers and wildlife) then a 2 day tour deeper in the jungle to stay under the tree canopy and with LOTS of spiders! Because it's over a 20 hour bus ride from La Paz (almost half of which take place on the world's most dangerous road) we decided to splurge and take one of the small daily flights up there which woudl only take 45 minutes... in theory. In fact, it took us more like 2 days, 45 minutes, multiple trips back & forth from La Paz airport, and a couple extra nights in the hotel before we finally got there. As we would see (and feel!) when we landed in Rurre, is that there is only a very small narrow dirt landing strip in the jungle and when it rains, which it tends to do there, it becomes a massive mud pool and all flights are then postponed until it's drier. In any case, we finally got there, after just a slightly bumpy ride over the Andes.
Once we landed, our tour guide picked us up at the airport (I use that term loosely) in the jeep en route to the boat that would take us to our camp for the first couple night in the pampas. The pampas region is an expansive area of small rivers, wetlands, and with loads of biodiversity. After only a few minutes in our narrow riverboat we had already seen lots of caimans, alligators, turtles, monkeys, too many birds to even name, and capybaras (extremely large "rodent" type animals that love the mud!) We even managed to see a couple fo pink river dolphins before arriving at our camp... which provided the perfect excuse to get in for a swim with them in order to cool off! A lovely sunset and a few cold beers later and we were all tucked up under our mosquito nets and ready for bed.
The next day our guide took the group to look for anacondas in a swamp. I'm pretty sure our effort was a lot better than the rest of the group who all lounged in the shade under a tree for an hour or so as Tim & I mucked through the swamp... intentionally looking for anacondas, and trying our best to avoid the snapping alligators and hidden bees nests. Unfortunately the only thing close to an anaconda that we saw was a dead snake or two floating on top of the water... apparently the weather has been far too hot for much of anything besides the birds to be living in that swamp. That afternoon we jumped back in the boat and headed down to a more secluded part of the river where we were handed some fishing reels and bits of meat in order to try and catch pirañas, on purpose. It took only about 2 seconds before I felt some nibbles on my line, so I quickly pulled it up to see that they had absolutely devoured the meat but not the hook. A few more goes at this and it became very clear that the pirañas had become quite accustomed to boats of tourists feeding them meat. I did however manage to catch a monster which the guide rather harshly called a "sardine." Still, it didn't make it any less delicious that evening when we grilled it up for dinner!
The last day of our pampas tour we took a very early morning boatride out to see the sunrise and enjoy a few moments before the blistering heat and profuse sweating began all over again. Then it was off for another swim with the pink dolphins before heading back to Rurre.
The jungle tour was a little less enjoyable for me as I'd managed to catch my 72nd case of the "south americas" and spent the first day being very ill in the bush. Tim managed to go out on a walk through the forest to see snakes, tarantulas, and some very very old trees. The night walk a little later on was my first chance to see the tarantulas too... in hindsight, probably not the best idea to go searching for large hairy spiders before bedtime!
Our last day in the jungle we went for another walk... this time to go searching for jungle pigs. I'm not quite sure whether we heard or smelled them coming first... but there were loads of them crowding around a wateringhole. Then it was back in the boat for Rurre to catch our plane back to La Paz.
Next adventure on the list is the Salt Plains of Uyuni...
Once we landed, our tour guide picked us up at the airport (I use that term loosely) in the jeep en route to the boat that would take us to our camp for the first couple night in the pampas. The pampas region is an expansive area of small rivers, wetlands, and with loads of biodiversity. After only a few minutes in our narrow riverboat we had already seen lots of caimans, alligators, turtles, monkeys, too many birds to even name, and capybaras (extremely large "rodent" type animals that love the mud!) We even managed to see a couple fo pink river dolphins before arriving at our camp... which provided the perfect excuse to get in for a swim with them in order to cool off! A lovely sunset and a few cold beers later and we were all tucked up under our mosquito nets and ready for bed.
The next day our guide took the group to look for anacondas in a swamp. I'm pretty sure our effort was a lot better than the rest of the group who all lounged in the shade under a tree for an hour or so as Tim & I mucked through the swamp... intentionally looking for anacondas, and trying our best to avoid the snapping alligators and hidden bees nests. Unfortunately the only thing close to an anaconda that we saw was a dead snake or two floating on top of the water... apparently the weather has been far too hot for much of anything besides the birds to be living in that swamp. That afternoon we jumped back in the boat and headed down to a more secluded part of the river where we were handed some fishing reels and bits of meat in order to try and catch pirañas, on purpose. It took only about 2 seconds before I felt some nibbles on my line, so I quickly pulled it up to see that they had absolutely devoured the meat but not the hook. A few more goes at this and it became very clear that the pirañas had become quite accustomed to boats of tourists feeding them meat. I did however manage to catch a monster which the guide rather harshly called a "sardine." Still, it didn't make it any less delicious that evening when we grilled it up for dinner!
The last day of our pampas tour we took a very early morning boatride out to see the sunrise and enjoy a few moments before the blistering heat and profuse sweating began all over again. Then it was off for another swim with the pink dolphins before heading back to Rurre.
The jungle tour was a little less enjoyable for me as I'd managed to catch my 72nd case of the "south americas" and spent the first day being very ill in the bush. Tim managed to go out on a walk through the forest to see snakes, tarantulas, and some very very old trees. The night walk a little later on was my first chance to see the tarantulas too... in hindsight, probably not the best idea to go searching for large hairy spiders before bedtime!
Our last day in the jungle we went for another walk... this time to go searching for jungle pigs. I'm not quite sure whether we heard or smelled them coming first... but there were loads of them crowding around a wateringhole. Then it was back in the boat for Rurre to catch our plane back to La Paz.
Next adventure on the list is the Salt Plains of Uyuni...
The Best Day of Tim's Life (a.k.a High Altitude Golf in La Paz)
Our first stop on the Bolivian leg of our journey was supposed to be a small town just to the northeast of Lake Titicaca called Sorata. The big pull for us going there was that a small tour operator there offered a 5 day mountain bike and riverboat trip to the amazon jungle near Rurrenabaque. It sounded like loads of fun so we showed up at the tour place on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the trip to leave the following Monday... no one there. Well, it is South America after all so we weren't too concerned. Next day... still no one there. Finally at about 9pm the lights go on and we wander over and chat with a guy there who knows the actual guy who runs the trip... but he's not there. He shows up about an hour later and tells us that the trip that was supposed to leave the next day was in fact not going to go until the following Thursday. That was the end of Sorata... the next morning we were on a bus to La Paz.
Arriving in La Paz is really a breathtaking sight. The city practically clings to the walls of a canyon surrounded by snowcapped peaks. We planned to stay for a couple of days so that we could wander around and see the sights... and of course, so Tim could check off number one on his list of things to do in South America - play golf at high altitude. The first test would be to actually find the golf course... after a bus ride, a missed stop, and a cab ride later we were there. The course was beautiful with panaromic views everywhere, making my job as assistant caddy (Tim & a mate Mario had to each hire one separately) that much better. Getting used to hitting at altitude didn't seem to take much time as both of the boys got off to a good start. After the first nine holes and only a few missing balls it was time for a quick cold drink before heading out to finish the last nine. Considering the language barrier between the players and the caddies... I think they did rather well at taking instructions and doing their best to avoid the water hazards. And I'm sure Tim would like me to mention here too just how well he did actually play... riiiight. Seriously though, I don't think I've seen someone so happy to smash a little white ball around for a few hours... the beaming smile wouldn't leave his face for the rest of the day!
Arriving in La Paz is really a breathtaking sight. The city practically clings to the walls of a canyon surrounded by snowcapped peaks. We planned to stay for a couple of days so that we could wander around and see the sights... and of course, so Tim could check off number one on his list of things to do in South America - play golf at high altitude. The first test would be to actually find the golf course... after a bus ride, a missed stop, and a cab ride later we were there. The course was beautiful with panaromic views everywhere, making my job as assistant caddy (Tim & a mate Mario had to each hire one separately) that much better. Getting used to hitting at altitude didn't seem to take much time as both of the boys got off to a good start. After the first nine holes and only a few missing balls it was time for a quick cold drink before heading out to finish the last nine. Considering the language barrier between the players and the caddies... I think they did rather well at taking instructions and doing their best to avoid the water hazards. And I'm sure Tim would like me to mention here too just how well he did actually play... riiiight. Seriously though, I don't think I've seen someone so happy to smash a little white ball around for a few hours... the beaming smile wouldn't leave his face for the rest of the day!
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