The bus ride from Villazon was awsome. As we made our bumpy ascent into the mountains we passed some f
antastic scenery . As the light diminished the black outlines of cacti on the hills resembled an exodus of strange alien figures . We saw our first Llama. After emerging from a mountain tunnel, we spotted the carcass of a coach that had tumbled to it's fate 200 feet below - a reminder of the dangers of Bolivian roads.
We arrived in
Tupiza and found a little place for 40 bolivianos a night - roughly 4 quid between us. The balcony looked out onto the jagged red clay mountains that lay on one side, the kitchen over looked the grey rocky hills on the other. Depending on the time of day, the various types of hills and mountains surrounding us would change colour. There were various shades of greys, browns, and reds, and despite being barren and desolate, it was beautiful. From time to time we spotted herds of wild mountain goat clambering amongst the red rocks far and high in the distance.
Tupiza is just under 3000 metres high, and we could feel it- the
smallest of actions could leave us feeling breathless.
We met a few other travelers and went to the nearest 'bar'. We were led by a man through the front of his little llama/alpacca clothing shop out into the back, to his new pride and joy - a bar which he hoped would soon be the centre of Tupizza'a nightlife, but which was empty for the moment.
The next day, we went for a bit of a hike, with a French girl called Rafael. The scenery was stunning, and throughout the day I enjoyed moments of the rare sensation of silence. We walked along dried-up riverbeds, between dry shrubs and cacti, climbed a huge rock formation called 'punto del diablo' (the devil's point) and big clay/scree hills that resembled
huge solidified globs of volcanic lava. We found huge canyons, and passed high, jagged clay formations that towered above us looking sinister like a landscape lifted straight out of The Lord of the rings. It was somewhere in this region of Bolivia where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid met their maker at the hands of the Bolivian police in 1906. It made a nice change to be able to go for a walk without having to take a guide and pay through the nose.
We met a couple of lovely Irish gals on horses, and later on that night we all met up for dinner.
The next day, we got up and prepared for a 4 day Jeep tour around Bolivia's South West, finishing in the famous 'Salar de Uyuni', the world's largest salt lake.
antastic scenery . As the light diminished the black outlines of cacti on the hills resembled an exodus of strange alien figures . We saw our first Llama. After emerging from a mountain tunnel, we spotted the carcass of a coach that had tumbled to it's fate 200 feet below - a reminder of the dangers of Bolivian roads.We arrived in
Tupiza and found a little place for 40 bolivianos a night - roughly 4 quid between us. The balcony looked out onto the jagged red clay mountains that lay on one side, the kitchen over looked the grey rocky hills on the other. Depending on the time of day, the various types of hills and mountains surrounding us would change colour. There were various shades of greys, browns, and reds, and despite being barren and desolate, it was beautiful. From time to time we spotted herds of wild mountain goat clambering amongst the red rocks far and high in the distance.Tupiza is just under 3000 metres high, and we could feel it- the
smallest of actions could leave us feeling breathless.We met a few other travelers and went to the nearest 'bar'. We were led by a man through the front of his little llama/alpacca clothing shop out into the back, to his new pride and joy - a bar which he hoped would soon be the centre of Tupizza'a nightlife, but which was empty for the moment.
The next day, we went for a bit of a hike, with a French girl called Rafael. The scenery was stunning, and throughout the day I enjoyed moments of the rare sensation of silence. We walked along dried-up riverbeds, between dry shrubs and cacti, climbed a huge rock formation called 'punto del diablo' (the devil's point) and big clay/scree hills that resembled
huge solidified globs of volcanic lava. We found huge canyons, and passed high, jagged clay formations that towered above us looking sinister like a landscape lifted straight out of The Lord of the rings. It was somewhere in this region of Bolivia where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid met their maker at the hands of the Bolivian police in 1906. It made a nice change to be able to go for a walk without having to take a guide and pay through the nose.We met a couple of lovely Irish gals on horses, and later on that night we all met up for dinner.
The next day, we got up and prepared for a 4 day Jeep tour around Bolivia's South West, finishing in the famous 'Salar de Uyuni', the world's largest salt lake.
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