Since leaving Sucre less than two weeks ago I've been to Potosi, the world's highest city and once the richest city in the world during colonial times, frozen my arse-off on a 4 day tour of the Southwest of Bolivia including the famous Bolivian salt flats, spent 4 days in the world's highest capital city, La Paz, and flown to tropical jungle town Rurrenabaque where I'm sitting in a hammock writing to you all.
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| Miners working in basic and often dangerous conditions in Potosi |
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| The Tio, God (or devil) of the mines |
Highlights from Potosi were the money museum, where thy used to mint a large proportion of Spain's silver in colonial times (Meg - took lots of pictures of Spanish 8 Reales, screwpresses and rolling mills!) and the 5hr tour through one of Potosi's working mines by an ex-miner.
The salt flats tour from Tupiza to Uyuni was simply amazing (although freezing), with typical but beautiful Andean mountain scenery giving way to snow capped mountains, green Laguna's, flamingo filled lakes and miles and miles of salt flats at which we couldn't help but take the obligatory (but very fun) silly photos!
On the last day, A 12 hr overnight bus took me straight to La Paz where I was lucky enough to stay in a great apartment with some friends from Sucre who are there for a month. I spent 3 days exploring the city including seeing llama foetuses in the witches market and lots of really interesting museums about the history of Bolivia and its people and ending with a trip out of town to the ruins of Tiwanaku, a pre-inca civilisation.
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