|
|
You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Feb 12, 2010 07:00 PM Argentina Norte -Quebrada Cafayate
It is one more wonder of the nature. For those who travel on really tight budget it will be enough to see quebrada from the window of the scheduled bus Salta -Cafayate. Flecha bus does this route in 4 hours and the cost is 38 pesos. After the little settlement of Alemania you will see many ladnscapes like from the Wild West; interesting rock formations in colors...
In Cafayate (many wineries around in the valley) I recommend ¨Ël Balcon¨Hostel - 40 pesos per dorm bed. Great terrace to seat in the evening...
They offer 5-hours tour to quebrada (40 pesos pp) - I took it in the morning. It is worth the price but let you know that all places they visit (Garganta del Diablo, Amphitheatre etc) are along the main road Salta-Cafayate and you can reach them by hitchhiking - I did not know about that.
In the hot afternoon I took a bust from Cafayate to Tucuman - 5 hours and hefty 55 pesos. There were also nice views of the mountains from the window but the landscape is completly different - not comparable to full of colors quebrada. So hot! It is hard to carry backpack in extreme humidity and some 35 deg Celsius!
I reached Tucuman Hostel in the evening to get a dorm bed for 35 pesos. It is different culture here: they normally go to sleep at 1 am so the sleeping was not so good
|
Feb 11, 2010 07:00 PM Walking through the border to Argentina...
Yesterday in The afternoon I was walking with my pack from Villazon/Bolivia to La Quiaca in Argentina. On the Bolivian side immigration check is surprisely quick. Then, an the other side of the bridge... Long story... The sergeants (two of them and one officer too) searched every page in my passport (oh, yes - there are a lot ov visas!). I had impression that they were waiting for something... But on the immigration window there is written twice that the control is FREE of charge. 20 minutes or more... I got my passport... Customs were a bit faster, but they announced that on the Argentinian side tere is no chance to change my dollars! So I went back to Bolivia to change money (very smart process there: they pay 3,90 pesos for USD - more then in Salta) , and back to Argentina...
There is 5 long blocks walk from the border to the bus terminal. Remember to push your watch by one hour. The bus to Salta via Jujuy was just departing. I paid 38 pesos for the ticket and get on... What a pleasure to travel here! No dust inside, paved road with no bumps and great views of Quebrada Humahuaca (from UNESCO list) around... It was 2 am when I reached Hostel in Salta (32 pesos for the dorm bed).
Today I visit Salta. They have great historical buildings around Plaza, San Francisco Church and San Bernardo Convent. But the highlight is to take the cableway to the Cerro (only 20 pesos RT) and enjoy the view of the city and the mountains.
I am dissappointed: do not think that you will find here on the streets such a folklore, like in Bolivia! (I expected to see Indios in the north of Argentina...)
|
Feb 10, 2010 07:00 PM Wara - Wara express...
I like so much those double, exotic names... Do you remember Langa-Langa on Solomon Islands, or Puka-Puka on Tuamotu, or lapu-Lapu?. Also well known Bora Bora...
There are only two trains going twice per week to the border of Argentina. I decided to take Wara-Wara express. It is not easy to buy the tickets. I went to Tupiza railway station already on arrival. Nobody speaks English. But with some effort I understood their Spanish: please come tomorrow! When I came again they said: please come tomorrow - half an hour before the departure. OK, I am patient - we will see...
The Wara-wara arrive with only 30 minutes delay. I bought the ticket for 38 bolivianos and we started the rail journey in the great landscapes soon. Around 11 am train stoped in the middle of nowhere and staff reported that the wheel of the bar carriage is out of the rail.
They started to try to improove situation - one meter ahead and one meter back. And again! Fortunately they do carry emergency 1m of the rail - it helped and after an hour we started the journey again. Argentina is close!
|
Feb 09, 2010 07:00 PM Canyons, valleys, all in bright colors...
Tupiza, Bolivia. The city in the deep valley has very interesting surroundings. You will find Great landscapes like from the Wild West. Locat tourist agencies offer day tours on the horse, jeep etc... If you want to be a cowboy for a day or two rent a horse with a guide - it cost 350 bolivianos per day. Poor horses! I saw them taking the 90 kilos of the body of the tourist in 35 deg Celsius heat. Sorry, not for me...
I found a charming companion (Thank you Carla!) and we rented a jeep with a driver for a full day. It took us to the main attraction of the local landscape. The rental including a lunch cost 28 USD. We had a great day in the sun walking also up the narrow Inca Canyon and The Valley of Machos. Tamales with a lama meat for the lunch - why not? Now I am in the internet cafe - the connection is cheap here - only 3 bolivianos per hour. But it is veeeery slow. I am waiting few minutes to open one window... I am very far from the big cities...
|
Feb 08, 2010 07:00 PM Tupiza - Rocks in Red...
It is still like 150 kms to the border of Argentina. Bolivian Tupiza has very nice location in the valley surrounded by the red rocky hills. I found accommodation in the Valle Hermoso Hostel, close to the railway station. They charge 40 bolivianos for the single room with shared bath. Breakfast costs another 20 bolivianos but I prefere to buy 10 rolls in the market for 4 bolivianos and to cook my own coffee... Just let you know that some Bolivian hostels and hotels belong now to the Hostelling International - and this gives you 10% discount with your YHA card (after initial bargaining of course :))
Good news: there is Polish catholic priest in Tupiza - father Casimiro. I met him in the evening. Very nice person. He works in Bolivia since 12 years. Before he was pending months visiting one by one villages in the high mountains. Now - bit older he is proud to develope catholic TV channel and radio programme. His church i Tupiza is big and clean, but he himself is very poor person. I have great respect to such a people - deviting their lives to help the others and to make their lifes better...
|
Feb 07, 2010 07:00 PM Bolivia. Fake police in fake uniforms...
On the city map of Potosi I got in the hostel it is written in few languages: ...there is fake police in fake uniforms, do not let them take your passport or your money... Funny, isn´t it? This was the first reason why I decide to travel in the day only. The second is that daylight gives you a chance to enjoy the landscape.
The bus company I choosed to go to Tupiza is called Boqueron. I bought the ticket a day in advance. When I came to the new Potosi terminal I was surprised because there was nobody waiting at their check-in desk. After some investigations I found the representative and she said that their bus is cancelled and they put me on the other bus. On the other bus it was written ¨Villa Imperial¨. It was a junk bus. We departed soon but after some 1 km of ride we stoped in the street. The bus is broken!
You need to be very patient... After some 40 minutes Villa Imperial sent another junk bus and we boarded again.
It took us 7 hours in the dust and smells to reach Tupiza. Just after police post on the outskirts of the town they announced a tyre problem. It took us another half an hour to solve it. But thanks God I am in Tupiza and the landscapes on the route were really great! Tonight I will sleep on the level 2950 m - sounds better!
|
Feb 06, 2010 07:00 PM Two capitals of Bolivia
Bolivia have two capitals: government works in La Paz. Constitutional capital is Sucre.
Today I visited Sucre - it is like 170 kms one way from Potosi.
Bus ticket costs 17 bolivianos. When they say that the bus will go 2 to 3 hours, think better it will take 3 to 4...
Four hours of the nice landscapes (take the seat on the left side of the bus going to Sucre). This was not a/c bus and they do not serve any refrshment on the route. They even do not stop to use WC... This is Bolivia - the poorest and last developed of Andean countries. But at the same time I must say that it stil has some folklore (Ecuador will be the second similar place and Peru - next one).
Sucre is more neat then Potosi. It has nice churches, museums and convents - but remember that all of them are closed between 12.01 pm and 3 pm - unfortunately this was a time when I was wondering narrow, atmospheric streets of the Bolivian´s second capital.
Tomorrow I am going down - heading to the Argentinian border - it will be another 10 hours or so on the unpaved road... New people, new places, new lanscapes, new adventure. That´s what I like!
|
Feb 05, 2010 07:00 PM City on the highest altitude -Potosi
Tyey say that Potosi is the highest located city on earth...
I am on 4060 m above sea level. And I feel that... No enough oxygen in the air... On the markets of Potosi local ladies in fashionable hats sell a piles of coca leaves. Bolivians chew them or make a special tea. Already during my first visit to Bolivian Antiplano I tried it - and it helps! A pound of coca leaves costs now 20 bolivianos. 1 USD=7 bolivianos.
Potosi has a lot of old historical buildings, churches and convents. It is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage. Why Spanish established city just here? It is because of Cerro Rico - mountain towering the city. They discovered there rich silver ore and exploited it for centuries... Little mines still works - you can take a tour for 10 USD to see underground tunels and the work of the miners.
It is also work to visit castle-like Casa de la Moneda - place where they melted the ore and made the silver coins. Locals pay 10 bolivianos for 2-hours guided tour, foreigners -twice more. Why? They do not have even short explanation or brochure in English... Bolivia...
|
Feb 04, 2010 07:00 PM No electricity, but the band plays!
To save money I stay in the inside room - without the window. In the morning I recognized that there is no light... No electricity in whole Uyuni and nobody knows when they will repair that! No warm tea of coffee in the morning (I prepare it by myself on the electric heater).
But the military band was plaing music in front of the clock tower... Bolivia... I packed my backpack at the candle light and went to the bus terminal. At 10 am we departed to Potosi. Ticket cost me 35 bolivianos.
It was almost 7 hours drive in the nice landscapes. cacti, lamas and vicunias on the slopes. But 6 hours of 7 on the bumpy, gravel road, in the dust. Only one stop in the lonely adobe village on the route. I reached Potosi with a solid headache... This is the cost of adventure!
|
Feb 03, 2010 07:00 PM Strong sun in Uyuni...
I have been years ago in Bolivia. I came from Brazil to cross the border to Puerto Suarez and to go by the ¨Death Train¨ to Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Then via Cochabamba I went to La Paz and Puno... Now it is the time to explore the south of Bolivia.
Uyuni is a little town, some 14 000 peple live here. I already saw the little museum related to the past of the region. Entry fee is only 2,50 bolivianos. In casas de cambio they pay at the moment 7 bolivianos for the US dollar. For 30 bolivianos you can have a single room with shared bath in the hostel. Twin cost twice. So in general I can say that Bolivia is less expensive for the traveler - for similar services you will pay in Chile twice more. But the roads are bad...
Uyuni is important railway hub. You can travel from here to Ouroro - La Paz direction, Villazon - at the border of Argentina and to Chilean border but the trains depart only twice a week each direction.
Tomorrow I am heading by bus to Potosi, expecting bumpy and dusty journey.
|
Page:
225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235
|
|
|
