Last days in Bolivia...I think

After Potosi I headed to a little town called Uyuni to spend a night. It is a stop for most tourists in Bolivia. It was a 6 hour bus ride from Potosi to Uyuni. Nothing really to do in Uyuni. The exciting stuff is outside of it. It is the launching point to visiting a whole bunch of natural wonders. The most impressive is the Salar de Uyuni-Salt Flat. The worlds largest salt flat. I took a tour with some Australians, Irish ladies, and a French woman. Everyone must take a 4 by 4 to get there. All Toyota Land Cruisers I think...whatever they are called. So our Bolivian driver drove us across the salt flat, which was covered in water due to the current rain. At other times of the year it is completely dry. So we were driving over the salt that was covered with up to a foot of water at times. The sky was blue with scattered white clouds and we could see mountains in the distance surrounding the flat. And it really is completely flat. We could not tell where the horizon was which made for some great views and really cool pictures. In the middle of the salt flat is the Salt Hotel, which is completely made of salt. Inside people can stay and there is a salt museum with salt animal figures, tables, etc. I walked around the salt flat in my bare feet so I would not get my shoes wet. Well at first it was okay, but after walking a little the salt really hurts your feet! Regardless it was amazing and I am so glad I went to see it.

So then the transport fiasco began from Uyuni. After Uyuni I wanted to head to La Paz so I could get closer to Peru. Well there was a huge transportation strike in La Paz so there were no buses going there. I sure did not want to stay in little Uyuni another night so I took a bus to a city in the direction of La Paz to a city called Ururo. Never had heard of it before. Well thankfully I met a couple ladies from Argentina doing the same thing. So arriving to Ururo at 4am we all found a hostel to stay for the night. We were told that they may be buses the next day for La Paz. The first thing the next day we try to find out if there are buses. Well nobody knows anything and tells us to go to the bus terminal at 6pm to find out. So we spend the day exploring a pretty, but not a very touristic city. We went to the bus terminal a little before 6pm and found out it was closed. We still had no idea if we could get to La Paz. We started asking people what was going on. We heard there were taxis and vans going to La Paz. So we thought that was the only option. The first taxi there offered us $100 for the trip, which is a huge rip off in Bolivia. Awhile later we hear some guy saying that the strike is going to be suspended until 7am, and they are some buses going to La Paz and that there is already a line for tickets on the next block. We run over to the next block and get in line. People are stressed and some trying to cut. Thankfully, we get to the front of the line and buy our tickets for 20 Bolivianos. 1 dollar = 7 bolivianos. So we are all relieved and wait to board our bus. We get on the bus half an hour before we are supposed to leave (at 7pm). Well at 7pm some guy at the front of the bus announces...¨Bad news everyone. The road to La Paz is being blocked by angry miners who are drinking and blowing things up.¨ We were crushed! Everyone had to get their refund then get off of the bus. The bus drives off. So then we are standing on the sidewalk not knowing what to do. Then some other people gathered around us saying that if we got enough people we could all get a private bus that could go another route to the Paz. We all stand there trying to figure things out for awhile then suddenly the bus shows up again. Someone announces that now we can go to La Paz. So everyone is screaming and running towards the buses. It was a mad rush of people running to the bus doors. We ran on the bus and grabbed some seats. This time we waited another half hour or so before we left. People were on the bus clapping and cheering when we left. Eventually we arrived in La Paz at midnight. I don´t think I want to take a bus in Bolivia again for a long time.

So here I am in La Paz until tomorrow. I am heading back to Cusco. Today I visited some of La Paz including the Witches´ Market, San Francisco Church/Museum and the Coca Museum.

Dinos and Mines

On my last day in Sucre I took the Dinotruck to a dinosaur reserve and museum. Ok there were no real dinosaurs. However, I got to see the largest collection of preserved dinosaur footprints in existence, which was pretty cool. Supposedly, the footprints were formed around 40-60 million years ago in what used to be a lake. Eventually the lake dried out and through a geological process (which I will not attempt to explain here) the footprints were preserved. There are footprints for over 250 species of dinosaurs. It was surreal to witness. The rest of the park was pretty goofy with fake dinosaur statues and sounds. Definitely a far cry from Jurassic Park, nevertheless, it was amusing.

Yesterday I left Sucre for Potosi. A mining city that was once one of the largest cities in the world during the height of its mining success. Now a little less than 200,000 people live here.
It was a city divided between two cultures-the Spanish and the Indigenous people. A river literally separated the two. The Spanish side being the rich side. The Spanish used the indigenous people as slaves in the mines. The mines are still active today. However, nowadays each miner works independently and sells his or her minerals to the processing companies. Everyday between 7000 and 20,000 miners go to work. Today I took a half day tour of the mines. It was incredible. Before heading to the mountain, my tour group and I had to gear up. Put on proper clothes for the mines including a hard hat with a light. Once at the mines, we needed to buy the miners items to thank them for our visit. Some of the gifts we bought for them were coca leaves, dynamite, crackers, cigarettes, and soda. I am not kidding. The miners chew the coca leaves all day. They say it helps keep the dust out of their lungs and gives them energy. They also believe that the devil is the god of production so they present gifts to statues of him asking for him to bless them with many precious minerals. They give the devil statue alcohol, cigarrettes, and coca leaves. Inside the mine, we heard explosiones and watched the miners work so hard. Then we blew up a piece of dynamite outside of the mine. It was crazy.

Sucre, Bolivia

Arrived in Sucre, Bolivia yesterday. This is my second visit to Bolivia. But the first time was just on the border.

Sucre is the named capital of Bolivia although the government is in La Paz. Sucre is near Potosi-a very old silver mining town. Back in the day, the rich mine owners lived in Sucre and worked in Potosi. It was the Paris of South America for a while. That has changed, but it is still a beautiful city-the city of white. Most of the buildings are white, which is precious against the mountains that surround it.

Today was a museum day. I visited some of the best museums in Sucre. All have one highlighting feature that makes them unique and worthwhile to visit. First I went to the Museum of Textile Art. It is truly one of a kind. It contains hand woven art from various local cultures and you can watch women weave gorgeous patterns with wool. It was fascinating. The talent to make this type of art is unbelievable and boggles my mind. Later I visited the Museo Charcas-University Museum Colonial and Anthropological which is inside a 17th century mansion. It holds a huge collection of Bolivian and European art and also has a comtemporary art section. The most impressive piece of art is by the half-indigenous Melchor Perez Holguin in his work San Juan de Dios where he painted an almost perfect depiction of human hands. Lastly I headed to the Museo de la Catedral which is filled with more colonial art. But the best part is the Chapel of the Virgin Guadalupe. There lies a painting of Virgen de Guadalupde from the 1600´s who is adorned with thousands of pounds of jewelry that the faithful have offered her over the years. I was not allowed to take a photo so here is one I found on google!

Tomorrow...dinosaurs!!!! I´ll explain later.

Iguazuuuuu

Just got back to Buenos Aires after a couple nights in Iguazu. Iguazu is in Northern Argentina and borders Brazil and Paraguay. I did not cross any borders there however. I would have liked to have gone to Brazil, but U.S. citizens need a visa to enter. Oh well.

Anyways, the whole point in visiting Iguazu was to see the magestic Iguazu Falls. And oh yes they are incredible. I cannot really begin to describe them so I will post a picture. The falls are nestled in the jungle. And boy is it humid. I was dripping wet from the humidity and the falls. Part of the seeing the falls experience is getting wet by them and I loved it! I spent around 5-6 hours walking around the falls. Butterflies fill the park and are constantly landing on you! Anteaters also come around begging for your food. There are two trails to view the falls-the lower trail and the upper trail. I took both of them. Absolutely amazing.

Tomorrow I am off to Sucre, Bolivia. The traveling continues!!!

La Capital-Buenos Aires

Now I am in Argentina! What a flight to get here. It was supposed to take 2 hours from Santiago. However, there was a huge storm in Buenos Aires so my flight was re-routed to Montevideo. We were there for 3ish hours then finally we headed to Buenos Aires. I landed and then found out that it was a 2 hour wait for a taxi due to the weather. So I took a bus instead, which was still a long wait.

Buenos Aires is very humid; muggy. Today I took a city tour in the rain. I saw most of the cities neighborhoods. One of the best was "La Boca"-an old immigrant neighborhood near the port. The houses were constructed from makeshift items and painted with left over paint colors found by the port. The result today is a very artsy neighborhood (also very touristy) and a place for people to dance tango in the streets. This neighborhood inspired the first tango song-Caminito-The Little Street. According to my tour guide, tango was first a type of music then became a type of dance that evolved over time.

We also visited Recoleto Cemetary, which was fascinating. The people are buried in little tomb houses above the ground. You have to pay a huge amount of money to be buried there. So most of the people buried there are rich or famous. The most famous person buried there is Argentinas beloved Evita. It literally is a small city for the dead. You can look right into some of the tombs and a coffin or coffins sit there. Also, a fee needs to be paid every year to keep the tomb. If the fee is not paid within five years then the tomb goes back on the market for another dead person/family. Fascinating place!

The Coast and The Chascona

Back in Santiago, I spent the last couple days on the coast. It is known as the Italian Rivera of Chile. Or something like that. My Dad was great and got me a free night at the Shereton. A whole bunch of Latin Stars were staying at my hotel for an annual summer festival. It was really cool. I could look outside and see a television show being filmed and turn on the TV and see the same thing. Unfortunately, it was foggy the whole time I was there so I did not get to sunbathe. Better for my skin I guess.

Today I hiked El Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago. It is a hill that contains one of the cities largest recretional parks. At the top of the hill is a statue of the Virgen Mary along with a fantastic view of Santiago. The city is a juxtaposition of tall modern skyscrapers amoung the historial foundations of Santiago´s Spanish and French arquitecture.

Then in the afternoon I headed to the artsy, hip, bohemian neighborhood of Bellavista. It is filled with youthful bars, restaurants, clubs, shops, and boutiques all painted in various vibrant colors. Murals can be found at most corners. In this neighborhood is the home of the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Pablo Neruda named the house after his lover Matilde. He called it ¨Chascona,¨ which means one with the wild hair in Quechua-language of the Incas. She had curly red hair! Like me! Anyways he was obsessed with the sea and built his house like a ship and a lighthouse. It was like a dollhouse. I saw the actual nobel prize he won for literature.

Adios Peru...Hello Chile!

Yesterday I crossed the Peru-Chile border. I took a combi from Tacna, Peru to Arica, Chile. Then boarded a plane some hours later and landed in Santiago, Chile! Today was my first day in Santiago. I visited the Plaza de Armas-Main Cathedral-caught part of the Sunday mass. Then I walked around the center to get a feeling for the city. I headed to the Central Market. They sell a ton of fish there. It was the most fishy place I have ever been in! The workers were trying to help me and I was like I don´t want to buy anything I just want to see it! Later I went to an old colonial building called the ¨Casa Colorada.¨ It contains the official Santiago Museum. In the afternoon, I visited the Pre-Colombian Art Museum-really awesome. They had artifacts from all of the ancient cultures that lived in the Americas-starting from Mexico all the way down to Chile-including a special exhibit for the Incas. I think I will spend another day or so exploring Santiago then I will head to the coast of Chile-Vina del Mar and Valparaiso.

Side note, I spent two nights in Tacna with the flu. I feel a lot better, but I am not 100 percent back to my normal self so I am trying to relax a little more; not be so ambitious.