Edit: I'm alive! I didn't have internet for 6 days. I wrote this under the impression that I would have internet and would be able to post this the evening I wrote it. I was mistaken.
We've spent the majority of the day in different taxis/random trucks and cars attempting to get from Potosi to Tupiza, a stop-over town where you can book Uyuni Salt Flat tours. Normally there's a bus you can take (easy 7 hrs), which we had every intention of taking. Yet, for the third time in our trip, we're experiencing the effects of a strike. Miners are striking and blocking all of the roads. It's putting everything at a standstill and is crippling for travel.
Our first experience with the road blocks was on our way to and from the natural hot springs yesterday. We spent the late afternoon swimming in a natural hot spring in an active volcano. It was absolutely beautiful, completely refreshing, and great for our skin (clean mud). Due to the road block, getting back from the hot springs required more walking on the road in the dark than any of us would have liked. Obviously, since I'm writing this, everything worked out fine in the end.
Before we spent the afternoon in the hot spring we went on a tour of the Potosi mines. We purposely chose a company where the tours where run by ex-miners (Koala Tours). It was fantastic and eye opening. It began with us getting into mining gear (pants, shirt, and head lamp). We had a mini-photoshoot.
Before I forget: Hannah and I have been traveling with two others since Sucre. We met Bridget and Simon when we did our Maragua crater hike (more on that later). We're also staying together for the Salt Flat tour.
Before going into the mines we stopped at the miners market and bought drinks and coco leaves for the miners. You were also offered the option of buying them TNT and alcohol (TNT cost around $3). There are 15,000 miners in Potosi, ages ranging from 13-65, who work 8 hr shifts with no breaks. We were more than happy to buy them gifts. The mines were dusty, dark, and didn't seem safe. We stopped and talked to a few miners (some of whom had been working in the mines for over 30 years) and learned about the mines history. It was really interesting and highly recommended.
Coca leaves. I mentioned that we bought some for the miners but they're a huge part of the culture here. Coca leaves, or leaves from cocaine plants, are great for altitude sickness, help with nausea, quick caffeine boost, and decrease your appetite. You can brew the leaves to make tea or eat them plain (super bitter but they really do help). They also dye your teeth green and miners seem to be addicted. In the above picture you can (sort of) see how one cheek is bigger than the other on the men- that's where they are storing their coca leaves.
While we had been told by other backpackers that Potosi wasn't that great, I really loved the town. I thought it was gorgeous and wish we had spent more time there.
Before Potosi we were in Sucre- an absolutely beautiful city. The city is very old and known for it's completely white buildings.
We arrived in Sucre very early. We couldn't check in immediately to our hostel so we decided to walk around and check out the main plaza. We unintentionally showed up just in time for a parade to celebrate the founding of the University. After people watching for a while we spent the day working out how we wanted to spent the next few days. We ended up booking a 2 day hiking trip through Condor Trekkers, a non-profit vegetarian tour group that we had heard great things about. It was one of the best decisions we've made this trip.
The tour started early the next day. We drove a little over an hour to the starting point and then it was then 6ish hours of fantastic views and feeling winded because of the altitude. Our goal was to hike to the Maragua crater.
Overall, absolutely fantastic hike, food, and people. We found out that 4 others from the hike were also planning on going to the Tarabuco markets the next day (Perrine and David, a French couple; Simon from Germany; and Bridget from England). The markets happen every Sunday and are an hour from Sucre. The next day the 6 of us shared a taxi and spent the morning in the markets. I bought some jewelry, ate way too much street food, and, most importantly, bought 2 warm alpaca sweaters. The weather is completely different from Brazil. It's warm during the day but I'm wearing all of my layers at night. I'm in love and will be buying more. That afternoon we took the same taxi to Potosi (3 hours).
Next blog: SALT FLATS TOUR!!!!!!!
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