Freejan

It all started badly adn up to and including trying to do my blog now and email it has been one big problema! It was at 5am when locked in my hotel with the ´bus´as I thought leaving at 5.30am. I couldn´t rouse the girl who said she would be there to open door – hot sweats and panic! Eventually after waking all the hotel who were cursing me, she let me out! I dashed on foot to the bus place to find no bus but a 4 WD leaving at 6am! 10 people but me in front with one other person. I was so angry but my bad spanish didn´t let me give vent to my feelings so brooded for the first 2 hours! I was utterly stuck for words when we stopped at some small place and were unloaded and told another carro would take us to tupiza in an hour!  Why did I get up at 4am¿ so the next car came and on we went – after one and a h alf hour wait in hot sun. We arrived 2 hours quicker than I expected – 2pm instead of 4pm. I found a nice hotel who must have thought I looked harassed and agreed to give me some agua caliente so that i could make tea! Two h ours later I am much better! I have booked my bus to Villazon tomorrow at 2.30 – short trip to Argentine border (2 hours). Hopefully I can then pick up a bus in the direction of Salta (8 hours ride).

Now if all this is boring you I will tell you the interesting thing about round here. Robert Leroy Parker and Harry   Alonzo Longabaugh or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid , had their last shoot out just a stones throw from where i am now. The landscape is very much like a desert with cactus and some amazing rock formations that would stand alongside some from the states – like bryce canyon etc. The rocks are white, red and blue and  look spectacular. Something has to taske my mind off my day! Now the internet connection is the slowest I have come across! anyway there is hope! I have manged to find some hair dye and will do my hair tonight – been bleached by the sun which is very harsh at this altitude. Only 2950m now so feeling better on that front! May be Igassau before i get to a computer again – at the border with Argentina and Brazil. Must get there so that I can spend 2 dAYS IN ONE PLACE TO RECOVER EXCESSIVE TRAVELLING! pRESSE caps lock again! Sorry! Hope you are all ok. Uyuni was wonderful but the leaving is very difficult!

Now I am here I am experiencing something I have never seen before. a most amazing landscape where the land and sky seem to be jelled together – do you spell jelled like that or gelled? Is this the place to discuss this! I came here last night on a bus from Potosi where I suffered yet again from altitude sickness and a very bad hotel! The toilet was at the end of the corridor and the ducha – shower – was down 2 flights of stairs in a back yard! Only for one night ! I met up with a couple from New Zealand called Dale and Mark who are lovely and i had met them briefly in La Paz. They were travelling with a YOUNG MAN CALLED wAYNE , ALSO FROM nEW zEASLAND and we got on the same bus to Uyuni. eXCUSE slip of fingers on caps lock! We met up for a beer and pizza last night in a place called Minutemaster Pizza owned by an American guy who knew his pizzas! Lovely to spend time with people who can speak English!

Today I went an a day trip to the salar Uyuni which was one of the most incredible experiences of my life – just hope the photos come out ok – it was so bright out there. Looked like snow but was salt – white every where and in the far distance the snow capped mountains of the Andes – my geography of course had not linked the Andes as far down as here. We visited a hotel made of salt and on the way back saw some Chilean flamingoes. Then we went to the cemetary of the trains – a very sad place for train enthusiasts – rusting trains by the dozen all sitting on lines that were no longer used. What a day. Got back and saw a man having a huge beer so joined him – turns out he is called Rupert and comes from near Bath – doing Bolivia on a BMW motorbike. Amazing how many inteseting people you meet!

Off again on my speedy trip down to Igassau Falls tomorrow – 5.30am  bus! Never seen this time of day before! Going to Tupiza, 12 hours drive, so bottom beware! Going for a shower now in my Hotel – the Kory Wasy- Indian name me thinks! I like Uyuni and will be sad to leave – not least because it is flat and I dont suffer so much with breathlesssness! I think I am going down again in elevation so I will be happy! Given up on photos so will do a slide show for you when I get home. Ther are buses every day now from here so better than I thought – may make it all on time!