Climbing Huyana Potosi - La Paz

My preparation to climb Huyana Potosi at 6088m had been pretty reasonable with plenty of time above 3500m. In fact, over the past few weeks in Bolivia I dont think I dropped below 3500m and had been as high as 5535m or so at Chacaltaya a few days earlier. My short bout of food poisoning soon after arriving in La Paz had completely passed and I was feeling strong to tackle the mountain!

I met up with Ryan Stirling, one of the Aussie chaps I met on the Death Road to discuss options for the trip as he too was dead keen. We met at the hostel and did a bit of a walk around, mainly me showing him the options I had investigated the night before. One of the options I had preferred was not open, which was a shame. However, we found a small operator that offered the same trip for the same price, with the benefit of being able to meet the guide, see all the equipment and run through all the options. The outfit also appeared to be more specialised and not just a tour operator running mountaineering trips. Ryan had another Australian friend who was keen to come along too, which would make a group of three with 2 guides, which is perfect given many girls fail to make it so her pulling out would not prevent Ryan and I heading up with the other guide.

We settled on the operator (NAME) and brought Kym back later that afternoon for the final approval. She was relaxed about everything and just happy to go alone. We paid the price, 140USD, after managing to negotiate the 2 nights accommodation included in the package, which was somehow slipped in in the last minute, much to our surprise. Everything sorted and everyone happy, we set off to get the last bits of gear before our 9am departure the following morning. Ryan and I both needed a pair of socks and some thermals, which proved to be rather hard to find. After walking up a steep hill of markets that absolutely reeked of piss, we checked out the electronics zone, which was near by. We also got a massive banana and mango juice with milk, my new favourite.

After some awesome Chinese and chifa ping restaurant, Ryan and I split and I headed for the markets to buy a thermal top. I finally found one for 15BLV, which basically was a super tight gay mid-rift exposing number made from the same material as ladies stockings, but it will have to do and probably better than nothing. I packed all my surplus gear into my trusty blue sack from Uyuni and hit the hay for an earlyish start.

Arriving at the company office in the morning, trying on my plastic boots with socks to get a proper idea of what they are like....pretty good really! Pretty exciting really, as large gear bags were being packed from the storage room and checklists ticked! I had all my gear with me and just needed the boots and pants, which I would take along anyway despite having my own, which I would likely use on the final day. The others showed up and we were underway. We jumped in the guides car and headed up the hill to Al Alto for a spot of breakfast before making our way towards Huyana Potosi up the same road I had travelled several days earlier to Chakatalya, although this time fortunately there was no road block!

The drive in to the first nights refugio was interesting enough, Kym sleeping her hangover off for most of the journey while Ryan and I yarned abit about the trip to come. The first refugio was nice enough, with a large entrance area for all our gear, a dining area and the sleeping quarters up stairs. We settled into a basic but nice lunch of cheese and ham sammies, with lots of cucumber and sauce. It was the firts time I had had sliced bread since being in south America so that was a bit of a taste of home haha. After lunch we got our gear ready for a session on the glacier practising ice work with crampons and ice axes. Ryan had the same top as me, so we sported those together for Kyms pleasure before suiting up heading out the door ready for an expedition. The 20 minute walk to the glacier was pretty spectacular, weaving our way through the lake at the head of the glacier to an area suitable for our afternoon session. While the practise was a good brush up on what I had done several years earlier on Ruapehu, I was surprised that there was no emphasis on self arresting and a lot on some technical ice climbing, which would not be part of the actual walk.

It became obvious that our second guide was a bit of a novas. First, he was unable to explain how to put my harness on properly, then he basically dropped our main guide from to top of the ice climbing section. The guide had climbed up with no protection but on they way down he must have just looped the rope around a bit of ice then down climbed, however the junior guide was pretty average and belaying, and lost control of the feeding and the guide ran backwards down the wall at an uncontrolled pace, the younger chap grabbing the rope at the last minute only to be thrown into the water at the foot of the wall, which did stop the guides fall haha. Another group from Huyana Potosi expeditions had arrived and were walking around waiting for the guide to set up. We heard a crash, and when we looked around the corner, one of the guys was brushing himself off after narrowly avoiding being hit by a huge bit of rock/ice that had fallen from the top of the wall! Lucky chap!

It had started to snow while were were climbing so it was a bit of a relief to head back to the hostel for a nice afternoon of reading and hot tea before an early dinner. We only had a few hours walk the following day, although our wake up time was still pretty early. After our soup, we were served a nice meal of rice and lomo and hot drinks. Perfect!

The second day would involve a 2 or 3 hour walk up to our high camp on the hill at around 5100m. Not a long walk but it would be pretty tough carrying all our gear, including our plastics in our packs, as well as crampons and ice axes. After about an hour, it was obvious that Kym was struggling. She announced that she had vomited and her head was spinning, and we hadn't even begun the significant climb up the hill! Not cool, but at least he had made the right call to get two guides. I suppose that is a risk of going with people one is complete unfamiliar with. About half way up the final steep section, Kym through in the towel...however the guides offered to carry her gear up the hill for 70BLV, which basically meant the junior chap strapping her pack onto the back of his! It looked pretty darn heavy but he managed well. Kym made it to the top just fine with no pack and contemplated making and attempt the next morning with the junior guide.

We arrived at the rock refugio, slightly below another refugio perched atop the glacier. It certainly was a dramatic setting and we enjoyed soaking up the views of the valley below and what lay ahead of us above. The weather wasn't perfectly clear so we wouldn't get to see the top of the mountain until early the next morning but we enjoyed the views none the less. We had plenty of time to kill given the walk was short as, so I tucked myself into bed and got stuck into my book, John Grishams Innocent man, which I basically finished just before dinner time around 630. Given our 130 breakfast time, we were all pretty anxious to get into bed and to sleep. We were joined in the refugio by a Belgium gal and a Dutch chap, both on their own with a guide heading to the top, although they would not actually make it...The Belgium chick had a falling out with her guide and basically stormed back down the mountain with him in pursuit haha.

I didnt get much sleep at all, probably due to a combination of anticipation and altitude at 5135m. The Belgium gal was a bit pissed because the headlamp she had been given by her guide didnt work, leaving her with just a hand torch. I would end up giving her my head torch and borrowing Kyms, as she had a spare. We awoke at 1am and made our way down stairs to the kitchen for some breakfast around 130, ahead our our guides haha. It was a simple breakfast of buns and jam with warm tea, nothing too heavy. I gave my headlamp to the Belgium gal and we all kitted up and took a few photos before making out way out into the darkness. It was snowing slightly as we made our way over the rocks to a point where we could don the crampons and make our way up the face of the glacier.

It was a slightly more challenging walk than I had expected, in some ways at least. It was incredible walking under just the light of the moon, looking back into the dark valley to see headlamps following us up the mountain...just like a real expedition haha. We had to jump crevasses many meters deep and cross very steep sections of compacted snow and ice. At one point I slipped and had to self arrest. As I was roped in at the back I pulled the rope tight in front, pulling the guide and Ryan to the ground. I was so exhausted I didnt call falling or anything but was lucky enough to have the ability to self arrest and climb back up, something I had picked up from the Ruapehu course. We plodded on as the morning grew lighter under thick clouds, although we did see the summit in the distance with some headlamps on the top.

As we approached the final hour and the final section to the summit, things started to get more technical. Lots of crevasses to jump and many steep sections of loose rock and ice to climb. We passed the group coming down, who looked absolutely wrecked!! It was like a scene from an Everest climbing movie where climbers coming down from the top plod down like automaton, totally spent of all energy. It was a weird sight indeed. We plodded on up and the weather began to clear as we reached the final few metres approaching the summit. I felt a bit sorry for the other group who were sitting atop the mountain in darkness with their headlamps and no sunrise, but at the same time was totally stoked that we were up there with good views towards the west and lake Titakaka. It was an awesome feeling and totally worth the effort. We sat around a bit, perched on the narrow knife-edge summit ridge while we snapped photos of each other and the surrounding area! We left around 640, which meant we only took around 4 hours to get up, which is pretty darn good as the initial estimates were 5 to 6 hours.

After a few minutes we headed down. I went to put my gloves in my bag, only to find that the entire zip and top section of the bag had frozen solid and I had to beat it open and struggle with the stiff ice covered zips. We eventually started to head down, this time I was in the lead the guide and Ryan behind. It was a bit un-nerving leading the way down the steep section, with tension on the rope from behind making things even more difficult. Winding down several cut back corners down the steep section, changing the hand on the ice axe with each turn to ensure it remained on the uphill side ready to arrest a fall. If walking up the rock faces with crampons was difficult, the trudge down was slightly harrowing! Getting to the bottom of the steep section brought relief and several needed breaks for photos and some snacks. Amazing ice fields lay before us, as did crevasses and icicles on the overhanging snow slopes. Wow!

We plodded on, with the fresh falling snow making walking very difficult as it balled up on crampons, necessitating a solid whack with the axe every few metres. We reached a steep section to cross, possibly where I fell earlier that morning, at which point the guide set up a belay point to catch us should either one of us slip sideways down hill! We didn´t need it luckily but it was good to know it was there and the guide identified the risk.

The walk back was incredibly tiring, with a great deal of sliding around with the sticky snow on the crampons. At one stage I felt like I was walking with large clogs or platform shoes. We eventually made it back to the refugio in around 2 and bit hours, stripping off the gear and hitting the bed straight away, giving Kym a bit of slide show of the trip. Kym had made it part way up before turing back. She told us that her guide was definately an amature (we found at later he was actually a cook trying to get experience) and had ended up to his arm pits in a cravase at one point haha. We only had around 30 minutes to get all our gear packed, have a cup of tea and biscuits and commence the down hill plod back to the base camp refugio. Still feeling pretty wrecked, I got my stuff together and began downhill section at a slow pace. It was only an hour or so down but, as is often the case, the last section dragged on a bit.

What an amazing trip! With only tiredness and a few crampon cuts in my over pants I was feeling pretty good. Back in La Paz the three of us enjoyed a Cuban lunch at a restaurant next to the tour office and made plans to meet up later to exchange photos. Ryan and I met up later that evening for dinner at the Chifa Ping before heading to James Bond...although I had underestimated my tiredness and fell asleep at parts!

Now to start planning the next climb near Arequipa

Death Road - The Worlds Most Dangerous Road

I decided to book the mountain bike ride of the World´s Most Dangerous Road through our hostel given they are 300 blv cheaper than the likes of gravity etc, despite Brendan Wrights´s warnings of them being a micky mouse outfit.

Things started well at breakfast, an aussie guy from the hostel joined me and another aussie staying at Loki was in the mix with a Swiss couple. A pretty standard breakfast although we did get ham and cheese toasted sandwiches, a first! We got all our gear and headed over the road to get into the van. No fancy sign writing for this outfit, just the hilux van with bikes on the room, an chillie bin of food and drink in the back and no first aid kit or rescue gear to be seen.

We headed out towards the start of the ride, only to be stopped the border check point by a cop who wanted money because of some minor indiscrepancy with the van´s rego. That issue resolved we pulled up in a gravel parking area a few hundred metres past the gravity and downhill madness crews setting up. The first 35 km are on the sealed road through amazing gorges and mountains, ending in a small town where an uphill section necessitates a short ride in the van to the downhill. Without incident and at speeds around 65km per hour we headed to where the old road, i.e, the Death Road, drops off. When we first saw it we even wondered if it was a road, resembling more of a metal driveway we get back home. Anyway, we jumped on the bikes for our 35km ish decent of the road, with drops as high as 800m or more at parts. Although most of the traffic takes the new road, we still had to be careful for oncoming cars. We passed a few other groups, demonstrating that anyone can do it as long as one goes slowing, their guide was in despair just with one hand on the bar just cruising. No major mishaps at all, just a tough ride on a road that doesn´t get my repair work and a bike which may as well not have had front suspension.

There were many crosses along they way showing where cars and buses had failed to take corners or simply had not enough room to get by each other... We only encountered several cars which meant we were able to make a pretty speedy decent.

We ended our ride at a odd little hostel tucked away in the bus, with a pool and a large buffet lunch with chicken, meat, corn and all the works. We were even provided with towels, soap and shampoo for a great hot shower, before good dip in a rather green pool and relaxing in sun loungers with a beer. Not a bad way to end what was actually a pretty scenic and tranquil ride.

We jumped back in the van and headed back towards they way we had just ridden. We all exchanged looks and wondered what was going on....were surely weren´t taking the death road when a new road had been built. The answer...yes, its a bit quicker haahah. One of the Aussie guys was packing himself, polling the rest of us how we felt. The Swiss simply said yeah, its more interesting this way hha. He nervously sat on the edge of his seat and crossed himself at every cross. We got some awesome video footage of the van scooting along the edge of the cliff and passing oncoming buses etc! It was probably more harrowing that the bike ride down, as we had no control over what was going on and had to just hold on for dear life!

The traffic in la paz was terrible. The hostel road was blocked by a car, and after tooting the van went around it only to discover the man in the drivers seat was totally boozed and had just comered out on the steering wheel. Classic bolivian styles!

With one of my planned La Paz tours out the way, it was time to relax for a day or two and organise a trek to Huyana Potosi.

La Paz - November 6th

What a difference La Paz is to the other more tranquil places I have been of late! It is the first major city since Buenos Aires and it certainly is a lot more hectic and on your toes! I got a taxi to the hostel with the girls from the Sucre Joy Rider. They had a hotel in mind but I had been recommended Hostel El Solario by a few chaps in Sucre, which turned out to be pretty reasonable. I decided to go for a single room for 35 blv rather than a dorm for 25, as 35 is still only about 9 kiwi and I get to lock all my stuff away and throw stuff around, as I plan to use La La Paz as a bit of a base.

I joined the girls at their hotel for a bit of a walk around and some breakfast at a spot they knew. It turned out to be pretty interesting and in the heart of the market area so it was a good introduction to La Paz markets. I left the girls to go and get air tickets to the jungle and went to investigate Huyani Potosi climbing prices for a few days times. It seems liked the price is around 125USD and many operators offering the same stuff but talking it up...enough wasting time so off to the city.

It was clear from the start that I was going to like the place, with lots of street food, Internet cafes and easy to talk around, although pretty darn busy. I walk the main road, 9 De Julio for a bit, stopping in on Gravity Bikes to see their Death Road prices, a whopping 600 blv but I guess they offer safety and the whole reputation deal. I had found a little city info book from the Loki Hostel which indicated that some great markets were on at Al Alto, which is up on the hill and affords great views of the city. I was putting it off given it seemed pretty hard to get to by collectivo (i had some random address written down from the hostel and an Internet cafe). As i was walking along some english chap was sticking his head into a taxi asking to go to Al Alto, but the drive refused. I approached the guy and said we could grab a collectivo and head up together, which suited us both. Simon, who looked like a cross between james blunt and chris martin, was a bit sketched out by the bus but it was a fun experience. It seemed to take ages, and a particular chap who looked pretty professionally dressed with a blazer over his arm had a pretty good go to get into both Simon and my pockets, which was interesting. I chatted to some locals and managed to get the right stop for us to get off.

Al Alto markets were pretty interesting, with a heap of people around and markets that seemed to go on for ever. At an orange stand, we got chatting to a local who was friendly enough, and told us both that the markets are muy peligoros (very dangerous) and making all sorts of stabbing and strangling gestures ahaha. Right, leave before dark! We strolled around for a few hours soaking up the huge number of shops and different distinct areas selling everything from car parts and whole cars, doors and windows, homewares, food and everything else you can imagine. Simon bought some bananas, leaving one in his back pocket, which didnt´last long haha. We got a huge bag of giant honey puff type things, an ice cream and a few other bits while walking around and taking photos of the view looking down to the city. When we decided to head off, we went to the main road and waited for a collectivo, which took ages to come. A chap at a small stand tried to flag some down but the little vans and mini buses were very full, despite some people managing to cram about 10 people into a small Mike Perkins size van (personal joke) with the sliding door still open! We started to walk down the hill through a sketch neighbourhood, but the guy called us back when a bus arrived...perfect!

That night I chilled out in front of the TV...getting up several times to vomit and crap due to bad food and perhaps altitude..not flash. I had a super early night and wrote the next day off as a simple sight seeing day. It was pretty decent really...heading around the commercial area, constitutional palace and courts and generally soaking up a different part of the city. Fried chicken for lunch for the first (and not last!) time and a bit of reading. I tried to find a climbing agency but didn´t get very far! Pretty low key night at the hostel really watching a movie and yarning to some kiwis and aussies.

The next morning I woke feeling pretty good so ran downstairs to see if I had enough time go get on a tour leaving in 30 minutes to Chacaltaya and Valle de Luna. I did, so paid my money and ran out the door to get some bread and jam for lunch. What a classic adventure of a day! We picked up the full van load of people and back up the hill to Al Alto, driving around for ages trying to find gasoline, driving past the same shops 3 times. We eventually found it an on the rush back to get to the mountain we had a crash, t-boning a taxi. Not much damage done but it did draw quite a crowd. We drove on some terrible road, arriving at a junction to Hyuani Potosi and Chacaltaya, where there was a political blockade, which rendered us helpless for around 2 hours. At times the convoy would move, only to be stopped again. The old German couple were having problems, the man was feeling pretty ill and was put in an ambulance at the border blockade, to return just as we were heading off, which surprised us given we though he was heading down. Eventually, after some music, dancing,watching llamas and watching an agreement being signed we headed off towards the mountain at a cracking pace.

The roads were terrible, steep drop offs and in poor condition even for a 4wd, let along a crappy little van. At 5435m, Chacaltaya is the 5th highest mountain in the world has the highest commercial ski field in the world, and we could feel the lack of oxygen. We got our jackets etc and headed on up to the top, which was 5545m, the second highest I have been after Nepal. We had some great views of Hyuani Potosi and other mountains before heading down. We met the German couple at the van as they did not go up. They looked absolutely awful! The lady was moaning and holding her head and had a spew bag ready to go. Half way down they chap couldn´t find his wallet so that caused more anguish for them. I got the feeling that this was the dya from hell and in the little van bumping down for several hours it was a big ask on their first day of travel.

I booked my down hill ride that evening, opting for the budget company at the hostel to save 300blv, as people had said you didn´t need all that flash gear that Gravity offer so that suited me. Brendan Wright had done the trip a year earlier and said it was pretty micky mouse so I made a point of actually selecting my bike that night so I didn´t get a total dud. I went up town and got a massive serving of chicken and chips from a food outlet. Bolivia is big on massive rotisserie stands with 20 odd chickens in them...you simply order how much you want and they cut it up with scissors and dump it in a bag, classic! It was so yummy and totally going to be my diet for the next week or so!

Sucre: 03-05 November

Back to the bus station in Potosi to board our bus destined for Sucre. The road between Potosi and Sucre was entirely sealed and in great conditions so the ride was comfortable and seemed to go pretty quickly. We were entertained by a chap selling little pottles of some magical cream similar to tiger balm, with all sorts of Spanish superlatives used to describe the little tub of goodness. He actually did pretty well from it too! We stopped at some border control and people thrust themselves out the window to buy bags of juice and other goods from the children below. New Zealand really could learn something from such commerical activism!

We had a little pamphlet for a hotel in Sucre associated with the Potosi hostel so we jumped in a taxi and trundled off there some 4 km away. Ben was looking into Spanish lessons and a homestay so I checked into a dorm while Ben left his stuff there so he could head off to his possible homestay place to check it out. We took a wander around the central plaza, dotted with buildings which all explain the UNESCO World Heritage Site status. We found a small cafe with an almuerzo, lunch of the day three course cheap option. It was surprisingly good value with soup, meat and rice and some yoghurt to finish. After lunch Ben headed off and I returned to the hostel to kill time on a horribly wet afternoon, action packed with perhaps the loudest thunder storm I had heard.

Sitting around the hostel wasn´t exactly exciting but I did get my photos updated and backed up to my hard drive so that was a bit of a bonus. I decided to head into town for a coffee at a renowned cafe, the Joy Rider, which is a Spanish/German setup which also runs mtb tours around the area. I pulled up a chair on a table on the mezzanine floor and got into my Spanish book. There were a few people on the table next to me having a few drinks and playing a dice game, which looked pretty fun. After a while, they invited me to join them, which I did in an instant. The game was actually pretty fun, combining luck and bluffing and a form of punishment for the looser at the end of the round. Their punishment was a decent smearing of sunscreen which they had bought and all disliked because of the smell, but it soon turned into finishing half ones drink!

We played the dice game for several hours and ordered some dinner. We also invited a girl who now occupied my old table to join us. Emily, from San Fransisco, was a photographer carrying around a 5D and 24-70 f2.8 as well as a power book; all pretty serious but her photos are pretty amazing. www.emilypolar.com My big steak never arrived and after I said to the waitress ´2 minutes or I don´t want it´ i headed down and cancelled it for good. I kept the side of fries and did not have to pay for them so it saved me 40 bolivianos, which is probably a good thing anyway!

I organised to meet Emily at following day for a trip around the nearby areas. After some talk we decided to jump a bus out to the seven cascades a bit out of town. It was a great little ride with all sorts of people getting on and off, some carrying live chicken and so on. We got off at the last stop in some small dirt road village and asked locals how to get to the cascades. They all just pointed into the valley which seemed to make sense. After quite a bit of descending and climbing rocks etc, it became apparent that were were probably in the wrong area. (Looking at a map a girl had in the hostel the following morning confirmed we did in fact have the wrong area.) Not to worry, it was a good little day out of the city and pretty enough.

We headed back into town and made our way towards the mirador in Recolleta, which is meant to afford great views of the city. We found a lovely cafe at the end of the strip of tourist stands and pulled up a sun lounger and our books. I flicked through Emily´s photos and finished a decent chunk of my book, as well as drinking one of the best iced cappachinos I have ever had! I vowed to return the next day for another, which I did!

That evening I caught up with Ben for a meal, which turned out to be at the local casino, but it was relatively cheap and pretty decent actually so we left happy. We decided to head back to the Joy Rider for a few drinks and to see who was there from the hostel. We ended up bumping into the same group from the night before, so we yarned with them for a few hours (until we were kicked out at closing time around 2am) and played a few more rounds of the dice game. We said our goodbyes and headed off to our respective hostels, tentatively arranging to meet the next day on the bus to La Paz.

The following morning I felt like doing pretty much nothing, so bought by bus ticket to La Paz from the bus station, did a few laps of the market streets and headed back up to the mirador for another iced coffee and a chunk of John Grisham. I met an Australian couple up there who had followed my recommendations to make the trip up. I headed back down to catch up with Ben, although he never showed so probably got held up somewhere. I finished off my city tour by heading to the supreme court and lovely parks nearby. Off to the bus station by taxi to get on my first long distance ride in Bolivia so not sure what to expect. Pretty sad to leave Sucre to be honest, as I could have spent another day or two just relaxing and chilling out. It has a great feel to the place and many good options for eating and drinking.

I had a pretty average bus waiting for me so I got my luggage on board by carrying it up several flights of stairs to the ticket office, where they weighed and tagged it before lowering it back down to the bus by a simple pully system. I met the girls from the previous two nights and boarded the bus. The heaters were already cranking and because I had the window seat the vent was right up my right leg, combined with the open window I would be in a state of hot/cold sweets the whole night!

We stopped at some random little truck stop setup for dinner and refreshments, although I had already packed a few empanadas etc. I did get a hamburger and cold chips though, which wasn´t that great but helped fill a gap. I managed to get some pretty decent sleep and nothing from my bag nicked so a pretty good night really. Bring on La Paz!!

Uyuni to Potosi: 01-03 November

Well, Ben and I had a good night chilling out in Uyuni and kicked the day off with a breakfast at the Cactus Hostel cafe. Earlier we has visited the bus stop to get a ticket to Potosi. We bumped into Angry Ross the Irishman, who had raved about a particular bus company and how well he had done to get a ticket to Sucre, 2 hours beyond Potosi, for 65 bolivianos. We thought this was pretty classic given we got our tickets to Potosi for 20 and a ticket from Potosi would likely only cost about 20 at the most, but he thought the bus was 'fucking grand' so he was happy.

The journey did not start well for me, with several ominous signs of a rough ride ahead. My tummy hadn't been feeling that good since waking up, and at the ATM a small fart provided more than I bargained for...so back to the hostel to sort myself out and unpack my diastop pills for a 6 hour bus ride ahead! The actual bus journey was pretty nice, with a surprisingly comfortable bus and great views of the country side as we made our way towards the world´s highest city.. About 3 hours in my stomach started to get pretty knarly with hard core cramps and lots of butt clenching going on to stop a disaster. The bus broke down at one point leaving us on a bridge yarning to a engineer on his way to Potosi for work, which gave us insights into all sorts of things like wages, cost of houses in Potosi and La Paz and all sorts. He gave us his phone number and invited us to come over for dinner (alhtough we later could not get in touch with him).. Angry Ross was classic, just looking at the bus saying 'what a fucking disaster' and when I said it was probably just a typical occurrence and would be fixed soon he just kept saying 'if it was simple it would be fixed, what a total disaster'. He had no water, no food or no medication for altitude and I resisted giving mine up because I can't stand unprepared people who just expect others to carry everything.

Nearing Potosi I was seriously considering getting the chap to pull over for a dump but Potosi was only half an hour away so I held on. Ben offered to get my bags from the roof upon arriving at the bus terminal (something I had already considered) so that I could run or at least hobble to the public toilet, assuming there was one. Getting off the bus I asked the engineer chap for directions to the toilets and gave my empanads to Ross, who was still asking for food but I wasn't exactly going to eat it! I grabbed a full roll of loo paper and made my way briskly over to the loo, paying my 50 cvts to the lady at the far end. It was a basic setup with small cubicles separated by rough wooden sides and doors. The first two doors I opened were occupied, nasty sight that, but the thrid was ready to go. No toilet seat, great, but I didn't have the energy to squat so just sat on the rim, nasty! I was reminded about a scene from an American Pie movie when the character Shit-Break had been given lots of laxative and had to run to the girls toilet, unleashing such fury that all the other occupants left in a hurry screaming. It wasn't the best 15 minutes of my life but with half a roll of paper used up and much Purell sanitation gel used on hands etc I was ready to go...but hang on, no flusher.....I had to leave the toilet in a horrile state and walk over to a barrel of water to get a bucket to flush the goods away . I did so, hoping that no one would go in while I was fetching the water haha.

Potosi was hustle and bustle, with lots of traffic, street vendors and general commotion. We got a taxi to the main square, from where we would find a hostel nearby. We asked the taxi driver and some tourists for recommendations and found a fantastic places in and old magestic building around the corner. It was odd to see that the streets surrounding the central square were fall of abogados, or lawyers, there literally must have been 40 or so just on the way to the hostel 2 blocks away. Sucre, which is only 2 hours away, is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and retains the highest court in the land, so I suppose there will be plenty of lawyers there also.

Upon checking in, a double was not much more than a dorm so we went for that and headed onto the streets to find stuff to do. The streets are narrow, barely wide enough for two cars and winding around the hillside. With views of Cerro Rico as the backdrop to the town, we pottered around found some tour agencies and generally got our bearings. I had to return to the hostel to have another episode, leaving Ben to explore. Ben would join me shortly to watch the Devils Miner, a docco about the history of the mine and a 14 year old who had been working in there for a few years. Such a horrible existence for such a small kid supporting the entire family which put me off going to the mines on a tour. The tours weren't going to be operated for several more days due to a local fiesta and bank holiday, but after watching the film I was less inclined to hang around and be a tourist in a mine that has killed 8 million people over the years.

Ben and I made our way around Potosi for a couple of days, heading up a mirador for a great view of the city and visiting markets for fresh fruit and roast chicken and chips. Our second night we watched the Motorcycle Dairies, which was a great film about Che Guevara and their adventures along Routa 40 in Argentina up to central america. We decided to head to Sucre on a night bus given we were both not keen on a mine tour and wanted to keep moving. We packed our bags and headed to the bus station. We got out of the taxi only to realise that there is a different terminal servicing the long distance routes, so we had to walk for quite a while. After all that we were unable to get tickets to Sucre until the following morning, which we booked and headed back out onto the road for a taxi or collectivo back to the hostel. We settled on a little collectivo bus which was soon full to the brim winding its way around the streets, seemingly further and further away from where we wanted to go. We managed to get off with our large packs through the 20 odd people crammed into the van and started to walk, asking for directions every now and again. We actually met some interesting characters on the way and got a good feeling for the city at night so it was quite a little adventure.

Upon checking back into the hostel we made a beeline into town for some cheap street food at hamburger stands and a small restaurant while meat on skewers with boiled spud etc, which was awesome. We again watched another movie and got an early night ready for our 9am bus the next day to Sucre.

Salar de Uyuni 3 day tour - October 29 to 31

We arrived in Uyuni late afternoon and made our way around several tour operators, one of whom gave us a ride from the bus stop to a hotel. I had a few names in my head of agencies that people had recommended by travellers. The hotel was nice enough with double rooms and showers etc. We settled on the agency attached to the hotel as it was a reasonable price of 525 bolivianos for the 3 days including sleeping bags and a nights accommodation in Uyuni, which was several hundred cheaper than that paid by people booking through Loci in La Paz haha.

We had an amazing bbq Asado meal of llama and creamed cheesy rice for dinner and did a bit of Internet. For some reason no Internet cafes allow usb connections and most are pretty slow. I walked out after a minute or two at one cafe and the guy fired up and wanted me to pay, it was pretty funny how angry he got. We purchased some sacks from the market to transfer some gear around as we had to share a large pack between two on the tour.

The next morning we all headed into the plaza for breakfast and a bit of shopping for supplementary food for the trip. We met Sarah at the tour office when we dropped our bags off; Sarah has arrived from La Paz and would be joining our group. Apparently the other 6 people to join us and another jeep were staying behind due to illness of one party member so we had a jeep for just the 5 of us which would prove to work out really well.

We set off with all the gear on the roof and us squeezed inside, making the first stop at the driver´s house to collect his wife and baby who would be with us for the trip as our cook. We were told that the jeep had an ipod adapter but the driver knew nothing about it so after we kicked up a fuss and told him to turn around he said we would go to the first stop, the cemetery of trains, we would make a short return trip to Uyuni to get the much needed cassette adapter for the stereo. With over 1200km of driving ahead, we certainly would need our own tunes! With the ipod adapter plugged in and tunes blaring, we headed toward the salar along with a convoy of other jeeps at full pace. Our first stop on the salar would be a museum and salt processing factory at Colchani where workers continue to take truck loads of salt into the processing rooms. Following the wet season in Jan and Feb, where the salar is 20 to 30cm in water, the evaporation of the water forms a layer of salt which is collected. The small town was pretty touristy but I did get a small salt rock crystal to help their cause.

We set off again for another 20 minutes or so onto the salar proper, where we would stop for our first attempt at a few tricky photos where one can make interesting effects with distance illusions, such as people holding other people in their hands, standing on coke cans and all that jazz. In the middle of the salar is the original salt hotel, which has now been closed for environmental reasons but still serves as a museum and lunch stop for some groups. We took a few photos and pushed on towards the Isla de los Pescados, or island of fish, which is a island in the middle of the salar covered in cacti as old as 1200 years and 12m high! All pretty interesting and incredibly scenic and odd to have and island covered in cacti and coral. We had lunch here and took more photos, some rather funny with Gary taking the lead with a bare ass shot and someone appearing to be defecated out much to the amusement of the other groups who were doing the standard shots. So far it had been an awesome day and we were all excited about heading off to our salt hotel for the night. We went via a cave which we could really have missed and saved the 10 bolivianos but it afford some nice views of the area.

The salt hotel was awesome and we were the only group to be staying there. We sorted out our beds and headed off towards the cliffs to get a better view of the sunset over the salar. We had a few beers as the sunset turned the sky a pretty red and yellow before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Being in Bolivia and the salar one easily looses track of the altitude, although I soon found out the hard way....(although it could have been bad food...). Drinking a few beers at 3800m is not the best way to acclimatise to a new height and I was pretty sick most of the night and was unable to hold down any food the next day. My lunch only lasted 30 seconds!

The second day involved quite a lot more driving but we saw some pretty interesting sights. From the salt hotel we would travel far south almost to the board or Chile near Lago Colorada. En route to Lago Colorada we would stop at Laguna Hedionda to see flamingos and to have lunch, before moving along to see the Arbol de Piedra, which is a rock tree (or the shape of a tree at least). I was feeling better that night and enjoyed a big plate of roast chicken after a long and very cold walk. I had perhaps the best sleep of the trip so far, all the way through to 430am when we were awaken for the final long day.

Day three is always regarded as the worst for the round trips from Uyuni as the jeep has to cover all the ground from the previous two days, which is some 12 hours in total. We started the day with a nice breakfast of pancakes and a swim at Termas de Polques hot spings after visiting the Solar de Manaña geyser basin. The geyser was a joke, not even a geyser as I know it from New Zealand, simply a pipe in the ground venting steam all the time without any other form of discharge! It was at 4850m and at 530 in the morning it was pretty cold. The hot springs were awesome, touristy as hell but a great dip before breakfast. After the hot pools we basically only had one more stop before a solid 8 hours drive to Uyuni, which was the Laguna Verde with Licancabur Volcano behind, which was pretty impressive. To this point we had followed an Asian chap around who had the full suit of cannon dslr gear (only a 20D but!) and a huge tripod which is girlfriend carried most of the time which was funny to most of us around. They didn´t swim or anything but looked like they were having fun with their photos all the same.

The drive back was boring but we had music and a few stops along the way and lunch inside a dairy in a small village, which was kinda weird. At our lunch spot we got talking to a german couple who had rented a brand new KTM 990 motorbike in Santiago who were touring around the Salar and Southern Bolivia, which was kinda interesting. They were certainly all kitted out and having a great time. We would later spot them at a small village along the road and toot to them. All and all a decent trip for a decent price. We all hung around Uyuni that night for trains and buses. Ben and I decided to stay on and get a bus to Potosi the next morning while Sarah boarded a night train to Villazon and Silvar and Gary both headed off to La Paz on the bus. We visited the bbq llama place again, although it got food poisoning and ended up pissing out my backside for the next day...see the next post.

Into Bolivia - 26 October

Later today we would be in Bolivia! We started the morning by heading back to the markets to see it in full swing, selling and bartering pottery, ceramics, wood and food stuffs. It was a very local market, with no other tourists there so it was interesting to see how the locals bargain for stuff. We were a bit early for all the serious meat but we did have some empanadas and fruit. After checking out, we headed towards the Bolivian boarder. The girls were looking forward to walking over the border bridge but were a bit disappointed to find that the bridge was not quite as romantic as they originally thought. We waited in line for ages until Ruth decided to approach an official to hurry the process along, and apparently he didn´t take his eyes off her breasts the whole time but it got us out of the line. I stood smugly in the line with three bags while people kept pushing in, but didn´t make a bit deal about it given shortly ruth would be back with the exit stamps and we would fly past them all! The Bolivian entry office was basic and easy. Ruth got told by the man the he loved her, classic! We headed up to the bus station to sort out our tickets to Tupiza, which is a few hours north and about half way to Uyuni. The bus station was nothing like I had experienced in South America so far, with crappy offices, painted signs and people shouting out destinations. The floors were covered in all sorts of cargo and other rubbish, no doubt destined for a bus like ours. The prices are so much cheaper than Argentina, costing only about $6 for a four hour trip. We settled on a bus and headed into town to kill a few hours. The food prices are so cheap, eating off the street for only a few dollars for empanadas, fruit and other good stuff. I also got by beard trimmed for a dollar or two which made my face a bit cooler. After a lot of tourist window shopping and several ice creams later, we boarded our crappy bus with just as many people standing as sitting.

The best way I can describe the ride was like sitting on a commercial washing machine full of rocks on spin cycle! It was so incredibly bumpy, noisy, and very hot! No doubt this will the first first of many of such trips. Surprisingly after a few hours it was fine, I even managed to get a bit of sleep at one stage. As we approached Tupiza the road became less of a road and more of a river bed, following, and crossing, the river several times over the course of an hour or so. The terrain as we entered Tupiza was mountainous and craggy, with huge red cliffs on all sides as we entered the basin. I had heard Tupiza was nestled in an amazing spot and was not disappointed.

After looking at various salt flat options and deciding not to get a tour from Tupiza because of the price, the girls decided to book their tickets for the next day to Potosi, as their time frame had also become a little pushed. We headed into town for a walk around at sunset, stumbling upon some dance performance at a school which was very entertaining. We found a chicken and chips joint for only 6 bolivianios, which is 1.50 NZ! I got a second plate cause I was so hungry and it was well cheap. I bumped into a chap, Ben, who I had randomly chatted to in a supermarket in Salta, who invited us up to his hostel to watch the Butch Cassady and the Sundance Kid. It seemed appropriate given these characters met their makers in the hills outside the Tupiza.

The next morning the girls and I visited the fruit market and then off to the bus station. I booked another night at the hostel and headed out to some canyons outside of town. I was going to walk but instead, after yarning to a lady at a fruit stand, jumped in a mini van for a single boliviano for the 6 km journey. I walked around a bit in the heat and headed back, stopping at a few other villages on the way. That afternoon I had organised with Ben and a few others to go horse riding around the canyons to the south of the town. We had a superb 3 hours around the canyons at sunset, for only 15 NZDs! After returning to Tupiza, I led the charge to an Asado, which served up a HUGE piece of steak and chirizo for only $6nzd. I had been saving my meat experiences to Bolivia where it is considerably cheaper than Argentina, and I was not disappointed. Whilst walking to the Internet cafe, I was accosted by the friendly ladies from the HI Hostel over the road where Ben and his mates were staying, and they convinced me to meet them in the plaza later to celebrate the girls birthday. Instead of going to the discotec, we headed up near the Christ statue for a bottle of pisco and lemonade, apparently away from the eys of the police. We drank for a few hours and tried to communicate in Spanish with some luck. It was very entertaining, especially with the cultural differences with Bolivian women drinking with men etc....

Because I didn't get all the photos of the amazing scenery at sunrise, I headed off to canyons again on foot in the morning sun. I had an awesome walk and covered some decent ground up and over the hills before my bus at 1030.

Ben, his mate Gary, and I jumped on the bus, along with a French chap Sylvain. The ride was incredible with views along numerous rivers, villages and mountains, at time reaching around 4200m. We stopped for lunch in a small local village where we got some strange meet, corn and potato, followed by and ice cream and then jelly and cream haha. The ride was some 6 hours all up into Uyuni and, as expected, we were accosted by tour touts right from the moment we got off the bus selling salt flat tours....see next post