The stark contrast between the southern South American countries and Bolivia was immediately noticeable when we reached the Bolivian border crossing ,which was literally a hut in the middle of nowhere.
Asphalt roads turned to dirt tracks and it quickly became evident why a 4x4 is needed to travel up through the National Park to Uyuni. On the first day of our tour we visited some stunning lagoons and a thermal bath and we stayed the night in a surprisingly comfortable refuge in the middle of the desert. Our Bolivian driver, the lovely Lesmes, prepared our meals. He was 21 and had been a driver on that route for 1 year which he told us was a great job in Bolivia... It quickly became clear why.
When we reached the Salar de Uyuni - The biggest salt flat in the World, it felt like landing on an alien planet with expanses of white as far as the slightly blinded eye could see. The workers on the salt flat work 12 hour days piling wet salt into pyramids to allow them to dry for extraction. The work is monotonous, tiring and punishing with the scorching sun being reflected at every angle. As tourists however we were lucky enough to be able to appreciate and enjoy the salt flat for its surreal beauty and a visit to the salt museum where the walls, tables, chairs and sculptures are made entirely of salt, was a worthwhile curiosity. It's hard to describe the varied landscapes of the national park so I've posted quite a few photos to give the general idea, from the flamingo filled coloured lagoons to the lifeless rock formations shaped by the harsh (and bloody cold!) winds. Uyuni itself is nothing to write home about. It's certainly not a beautiful town by any stretch of the imagination and the surrounding area was a wasteland scattered with tons of rubbish. It did however give us the chance to try a llama steak at one of the restaurants and I can confirm that llamas have a cute to tasty ratio of 1:1... It tastes a lot like beef but I am told it is healthier as the meat is leaner.
After Uyuni we took the bus to Potosí, which is a sprawling mining city of 570,000 people - it is the highest city in the World at a literally dizzying 4100m above sea level. Thankfully Cata and I managed to escape severe altitude sickness but the toll that it took on our breathing was very evident. Tying a shoelace alone was more than enough to rob me of my breath, so naturally the first thing we did is sign up for a mining tour... Because nothing gets you to adjust better to the thin air than crawling down a mine shaft and climbing up steep tunnels and ladders in the middle of a dust filled mountain... The first 5 minutes of the tour were frankly horrifying as I tried to block the claustrophobic thoughts from my mind, but once I managed to take a few deep breaths and take control of my panic I felt more or less fine. We spent 2 hours crawling through the mines and got an opportunity to speak to a few of the workers while we were there. Some of them have worked in the mines for over 20 years in toxic and hellish conditions where temperatures can climb up to 40 degrees Celsius. The miners believe that they are in the domain of the devil, 'Tío', and so they build idols where they leave gifts of alcohol and tobacco. The alcohol they drink, 'Whisky Boliviano', is 96% proof and we shared a couple of swigs (mixed with orange soda!) with them, pouring two drops on to the ground before every mouthful - one for the devil, Tío and one for Mother Earth, Pachamama. Most of the Bolivians we met spoke Quechua as well as Spanish so we thanked them with a 'pachis' (Not sure of the spelling but it means thank you in Quechua) and gifts of alcohol and coca leaves that we had bought before heading in. I know I said This post would be less educational - but I lied. Potosí's history is a tragic one. The mountain which has been mined for over 500 years has been depleted of the pure silver that was once found there and the miners of today work in their underground hell for up to 24 hours a day as what they earn is relative to what they extract (they themselves sell the minerals on) and the silver left in the mines is now all unpure and not worth all that much considering the work that goes into it. The mines are a dangerous place to work and, once we had come out of them (!), we were told that accidents are incredibly common and if a miner gets caught in a rock fall the spot in which he falls instantly becomes his grave. It is not surprising then that the miners are very superstitious and amongst their beliefs is that negativity attracts accidents so if they are having personal problems they will often not even enter the mines for fear of causing an accident - it is also why tourists have to put on a brave face when visiting the mines but thankfully their good sense of humour makes it easy to smile during visits.
In colonial times the Spanish would force the indigenous Incas and also African slaves to work the mines for its pure silver and the number of those who died is in the millions. Now a days it is recognised as genocide and likened to ethnic cleansing; It is said that the red hue of the mountain comes from the blood of the many whose lives it has claimed.
There is a sad irony in Bolivia as the South American country that is richest in minerals but with a very noticeably poor economy. The poverty here, where people seem to work so incredibly hard, is almost tangible and though my bank account is far happier for the cheap cost of living, my conscience has suffered some what for the comforts that we are lucky enough to enjoy.
Key info, Uyuni:
How we got here - 3 day 4x4 tour from San Pedro through the national park with highly recommended company, World White Travel.
Accommodation: Arranged as part of the tour. A refuge in the middle of nowhere and our second night in the questionable Hotel Inti which had the best possible artwork (see the muscular indigenous couple below).
Key info, Potosí:
How we got here - 4 hour bus from Uyuni
Hostel - La Casona. Nice first impressions until you realise that the building is literally falling apart and there is a construction site right outside your room.
Highlight: the mining tour arranged by our hostel. Not for the faint hearted and definitely not for the claustrophobic. During the tour, we lost 3 people of our group of 9 to the outside World but the persistence of the others was well worth it in the end. (Having said all that, we did the Spanish speaking tour and were told that the English speaking tour was not great due to the limited English of the tour guide and the miners.)
