I don´t really feel like writing anything, though after nearly 2 weeks in Bolivia there is much that I could say about this country. In brief, it is VERY different from Chile & Argentina, another world really in terms of culture and infrastructure. However, it is not at all what I was expecting after hearing other travelers talk about how terrible it was in terms of transportation, cheapness, and bathrooms. Though the amenities are no where near the level found in Chile & Argentina they aren´t at all as bad as I´d prepared myself for. In fact, because Bolivia is so cheap its possible to "splurge" and eat amazingly delicious food in fancy tourist restaurants for the price of a cheap meal in Argentina and stay in private rooms rather than dorms room. The buses mostly appear to retired buses from the surrounding countries, so while they are no longer clean or quiet or ride smooth they still beat the old retired American school buses of Central America (though the distances here are also much longer, so better buses are appreciated). I wonder if the people who talked about how awful Bolivia was had ever been to other third world countries. I will say, though, that I´ve seen enough people pissing in the streets in just the last two days to last me a lifetime (I´m sure I´ll see more though) and even though I haven´t gotten sick (other than some mild difficulty adjusting to being at 4,500 meters in altitude) my digestive system is very clearly a little disturbed by the food here.
Since I last wrote I´ve taken a 4 day jeep tour from Tupiza through the desert to Uyuni and its salt flats. I then took an overnight bus from Uyuni to Sucre with three Israelis I did the jeep tour with (one of them, Shani, and I hung out in Salta for a few days and reconnected in Tupiza). I´ve been in Sucre, a beautiful colonial town, for 4 days and tonight I am taking a night bus to La Paz. To give you a price comparison it cost me nearly $100 to go from Mendoza to Salta (a trip of about 12 hours) in a semi-cama seat, it is costing me less than $20 to go about 11 hours in a cama (aka step up from semi-cama) seat.
Since I don´t feel like writing anymore and I think this internet is good enough for pictures you are finally going to get some. These are all from the trip that I took from Tupiza, Bolivia to Uyuni, Bolivia. The gaps between the lasts photos posted and these ones will probably not be filled in until I´m back in the States. Sorry. and Enjoy!
 |
| View outside of Tupiza |
 |
| Bolivian Llama |
 |
| Adorable Bolivian Children |
 |
| Hot Springs on Jeep Tour |
 |
| Me and Juan (the stuffed tiger) at the Dali Desert (if you zoom in the rock shapes behind us look like they belong in some of Dali´s paintings) |
 |
| Laguna Colorado |
 |
| Sunrise on the Salar (this is me and all the folks from my jeep) |
On the salt flat you can play with perspective, so a tour of the salt flat is pretty much an excuse to play with photos. None of these have been photoshopped, they come straight from the camera.
 |
| Daniel squahes Andrea |
 |
| Andrea, Adva, and Daniel jump on Shani |
 |
| Andrea is so strong she can lift me! |
 |
| I feed Adva a large cookie |
 |
| We try to escape from Daniel´s hat! (there is another photo like this only its us escaping from a bag of coca leaves. Coca leaves are a god send at altitude. I agree with the Bolivian slogan: "Las hojas de coca no son una droga/Coca leaves are not a drug") |
No comments:
Post a Comment