bolivia part two

nestled beneath the massive illampu (6400m) the tranquil town of sorata.

our balcony.



on an afternoon walk, we rise above sorata.

high altitude football.

we make it to sucre (bolivia's 'white city') just in time for new years...

...with friends brad and sarah we had met way back in ecuador.

woooo...

24 hours later and this guy finally gets some sleep, on a bar stool.

off we go on our 3 day 4wd tour of salar de uyuni and the reserva eduardo avaroa. first stop of the tour...the train cemetery.

young resident of the salt-processing village of colchani, on the edge of the salar...

...and onto the otherworldy landscape of the salar.

in parts a thin layer of water covers the surface.

on isla de pescado. cacti everywhere (some over 10m tall) and amazing views of the immense expanse of the salt plain.

lucky to see some flowering cacti...in the following weeks many more would be in bloom.


that layer of water creates brilliant reflections...mountains appear to float on the horizon.



some people get quite inventive with these shots...we kept it basic.

holding up our international travel group...france, russia new zealand, argentina, and australia.


our salt brick hotel and replica llama.

more amazing electrical storms.

as we head further south, the landscape continues to impress...

one of a few mineral-laden lakes with algae, a good food source for the thousands of flamingos.

funny creatures.




a relative of the llama...the endangered vicuna.

oddly shaped rock formations.

sandblasted by howling winds over the years...the weirdly shaped arbol de piedra (stone tree).


we go for a short walk outside our accommodation...cold wind, high altitude...and not much else...

...but a spectacular sunset.



we set off before 5am to check out sol de manana geyser, set within a grater at 5000m.

then down to laguna polques to enjoy the hot springs.

further south into a martian landscape.


and our most southern point, by the chilean border, laguna verde.

now the journey back to uyuni...



back in sucre to relax a bit.

our colonial hotel courtyard.

one of many intricate weavings at the museo de arte indigena. two local indigenous groups who live outside sucre have textiles on display. this one a typical jalg'a design.

our hotel rooftop.

and onto potosi...the highest city in the world at 4100m. thanks to cerro rico (the conical mountain in the background) potosi was once one of the richest cities in the world.

the amazing carve stone facade of the iglesia de san lorenzo de carangas.



after centuries of mining cerra rico, the silver is pretty much exhausted. but there are still miners (even kids) working the thousands of shafts (in horrible, primitive conditions) around the mountain.

'contemporary graffiti' fills the dining room in pub la casona.


el mascaron at the casa real de la moneda, or royal mint. a vast collection of original machinery used in the minting process, colonial art, coins, banknotes, and archeological artefacts...all within a massive colonial building.