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On our last day in Potosi some of the group decided to visit the mines. Potosi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to recognise its tragic history as a silver mining centre. The conditions in the mines are appalling, people still work there today and I have no idea how they do it. It certainly puts any job I have had in to perspective! We met the lady who would guide us in the mines, Sol who was such a character and possibly a little mad. She took us to put on our ever so attractive jumpsuits and hard hats, she then took us to the miners market where we could buy gifts for the miners, which included coca leaves, 96% alchol (!!!) and dynamite. The boy in the group obviously went for the dynamite and the rest of us bought cigarattes and the coca leaves. Coca leaves are pretty big in Bolivia, they are to help with the altitude however are difficult to take outside of South America due to the connection with cocaine. We all decided to try some, definately helped with the altitude and it made our mouths go numb. After we had bought our gifts we took a bus up the winding path to the entrance of the mine. First however we stopped off to blow up the dynamite. Sol showed us how to make the bomb, we all got a little jumpy when she put the detonator in her mouth. Once it was ready she practically threw the thing in my hands, I noticed the rest of the group moved away from me and all seemed to enjoy taking photos of my discomfort. Sol took the dynamite away and with the words asta la vista baby she went running off down the hill to plant it. She seemed to walk back a little too slowly (she definatelyt enjoyed scaring us although we suspected she was sipping the 96% alcohol throughout the day)... we then watched it go off. I have to admit, it was cool.
After this we went in to the mines... like I have said before the conditions are awful. People used to stay in the mines for up to 4 months at a time, I struggled with an hour. The tunnels were small and claustrophobic and Sol kept running off to find some miners for us to meet. We were not unhappy to be back in the daylight again.
After this we took a bus to Uyuni, it was on this bus ride I really started to appreciate the beauty of Bolivia, it really does have some amazing landscape. There is not much to say about Uyuni, its a cute town in the middle of no where, there were quite a few travellers there and it seemed to be a stop for people either on their way to the salt flats or on their way back. After spending a night here we all got in to the 4x4s that were to take us on the salt flat excursion for the next 3 days. We drove through more beautiful scenery, it was pretty much a desert, stopping off to view lagoons, all different colours and one with hundreds of flamingoes bathing in the waters. Saw more llamas than can possibly count and what surprised us the most was the very small villages we passed, it didnt seem like the place to live due to the harsh climate.
Unfortunately for the group this was when most of us decided to get sick. Now I do not get sick, and if I do its quite rare. So my body decides, while we are in the middle of no where that it was time to get sick. Im not sure if it was flu or altitude or a mixute of both but I felt like hell. Out of the 12 of us about 3 people managed to advoid getting sick over the trip and one girl had to have the doctor sent for her it was that bad. The hostel we were staying in was very basic and if there is anything I have learnt while travelling, that is to take toilet paper EVERYWHERE! It is very important especially when your tummy is churning and you are staying in a hut in the middle of a desert. Anyway... we passed the evenings by drinking red wine and beer and playing pub quiz (one of the girls brought a quiz book with her, also a travelling essential). The next day we were up at 5am and driving to see the thermal pools and the geysers, which smelt! But were very nice, we could also see the volcano in the distance smoking which was cool.
On our final day... all still feeling a bit delicate we went to the salt flats. This was incredible!!! Over 12000 square km of blinding white salt and with the blue skies above contrasting against the salt the effect was amazing. All this area used to be under water, there is a random island in the middle of the salt flats which was covered in cacti. From the terrain you could imagine it under water. We of course did the obligatory silly photos with people standing on peoples hands, heads, hats, pringle tubes and got some great pictures!
After the 3 days we headed back to Uyuni where we got a night train to La Paz... definately getting better at sleeping anywhere as slept like a baby on this train. And despite what people have said about the transport in Bolivia not being as nice as the transport in Brazil then I dont know what they travelled on. On this train they gave us blankets and pillows and if we were already alseep the ticket inspector would come and tuck you up - was so cute! Although we did get a bus after this and I have noticed a definate decline in driving ability as we have travelled across South America. Got a bit scary so I went back to sleep. La Paz is a bustling city, set in to the mountains, didnt feel as safe here as I have done and probably wouldnt have walked round by myself but it was a nice city and we did lots of shopping... seriously running out of room in the backpack!
In La Paz there is a road nicknamed Death Road - so called because it is the most dangerous road in the world (not exaggerating). Now some of us in the group had been toying with the idea of cycling this road, a lot of people do it so we decided to go and visit one of the more reputable companies offering this mad adventure. Downhill Madness is definately one of the better and safer companies offering this tour, although a bit more expensive I think you get your moneys worth. The gorgeous American, who happened to be tour leader explained everything we needed to know and assured us we could go at our own pace. So 10 minutes later I found myself signing up to cycling Death Road the next day.
What can I say... it was incredible. Although I was one of the slowest people in the group the experience was brilliant. 64km, and 3345m descent on a road made of gravel, no more than 3m wide and with one of the biggest drops down a cliff to the left of us I was so happy to have done it and proud of us all. We had to cycle to the death road mostly downhill, thankfully (for the uphill bit I got in the van!) we all had great mountain bikes, helmets a lot like motor cross helmets and "flattering" orange and black suits. When we reached the top of Death Road the cloud had come over thick and fast and we couldnt see over the edge. Not sure if this was a good thing or not... the effect was quite eerie. All very silent we listened to the instructions and then set off on our way. One girl, who Im travelling with fell off her bike 10 minutes before the end. Shaken and bruised she still managed to finish, one guy went over the edge and managed to hold on, I missed this but heard that a huge lorry coming up the road nearly knocked him off. Apparantly he was pretty freaked out but still carried on and other than that there were no more injuries or accidents. All the deaths that do occur on the road are either from driving and most of the traffic on the road has been stopped now or from people misjudging distance and going too fast. It was terrifying in some places, a great experience and if a wimp like me with little cycling experience can do it then anyone can!
In La Paz we had our goodbye dinner as the second stage of the tour was starting. It was sad saying goodbye to some of the girls, there is just 6 of us left now and we also have a new tour leader who seems great. He comes from Peru and knows alot about the places we are visiting, he seems very serious when you first meet him but has revealed a cheeky side. From La Paz the 6 of us and the new guide headed in to Peru.
The Peruvian border was very different to the Bolivian one, this one was lively and fun with music and dancing and stalls selling lots of different things. We all got in to Peru with no problems and headed on our way to Puno. Puno is a sweet town with not much to do other than one street with shops and internet plus a few walks. Its very hilly here as we are still up pretty high, 3830m above sea level to be precise. On our first night here, having finally gotten my appetite back we all went for a lovely meal and then the next day started our excursion to Lake Titicaca.
Now I knew Lake Titicaca was big but I didnt quite imagine it to be this big. Standing on land, you look out over the water and you could be standing by the sea, you cant see land on the other side of the water. We took a Tuk-Tuk (like a rickshaw) to the boat where we then had a 3 hour journey to Taquile, an island in Lake Titicaca. There were mixed opinions about this island, it is very beautiful and the people very friendly but it did seem a bit too made up, as though its purpose was for tourists. We had lunch here which was lovely and then took another boat to Amantan Island where we would be staying with local families.
Amantan Island was lovely, me and two other girls went on a hike to the top of the island. The moon was out in the blue sky and you could see out over Lake Titicaca, as it got colder we stayed for the sunset and made our way back down to our families. The people we stayed with were really nice, I stayed with a lady named Victoria, she lived on a farm on her own and had built it herself. It seemed to be made out of mud, with a tiny courtyard in the middle. She owned sheep, chickens and guinea pigs, had a tiny kitchen and an outside toilet which you had to flush by pouring water down it and comfortable bedrooms. The house was beautiful and it made me feel privileged and a little guilty about what is waiting for me at home. There is a real sense of community on this island, everyone knows and helps each other. Victoria cooked a lovely dinner then helped me and a friend in to the traditional dress of the ladies of Peru and we all went to a dance. It was so much fun, we all looked so different in our outfits and they taught us to dance their dances. We went to bed that night exhausted.
The next day we got up early, ate breakfast with Victoria and then met up with the rest of the group to take a boat ride to the floating islands of the Uros people. This was unbelievable - the Uros people live on islands made of reeds. Their houses are made of reeds, their beds are made of reeds and their boats are made of reeds. There are 45 islands in total and around 2000 people live on them. They were all very nice people and very welcoming, they dressed us in more traditional clothes and took us on a boat ride round the islands.
We are now back in Puno, tomorrow we head to Cuzco and then the next day I leave my group for 3 days and head in to the Amazon.
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