Unboliviable Places

Current destination: Uyuni, Bolivia. Current activity: coming up with ingenious punns and jokes on our long bus journeys across the Siloli desert.

After crossing the Bolivian boarder, we went on a 3 day tour (just getting back this afternoon) around the highest desert in the world (5000m above sea level), seeing flamingos, red, green, black, yellow and white lagoons and amazing mountains. Yesterday, we were reclining in a 35degree hot spring, looking over the flamingos mooching around in the basin and the surrounding snow peaked mountains. If you'd have told someone where you were they wouldn't have Boliviad'ya.


One of the most striking things upon leaving Chile is the way that the locals dress, and the difference in prices. Bolivia is a lot less developed than Chile - one night in a hostal is roughly three pounds, and whilst this doesn't always include a hot shower, Chile was more around ten pounds. Secondly, the locals all wear the traditional uniform of Latin America. The women have metre long plaits which are half brown and half grey, revealing their age in the same way as the rings on a tree stump. They wear bowler hats, wide puffy skirts, shirts and crochet jumpers. They carry around kids on their back in big blankets, and wear stockings and black leather shoes. This is all in a rainbow spectram of colours and materials. The llamas (seen LOADS now!) even have colourful socks attached to their ears so each owner knows which llamas belgon to who. The colourful, Pachamama woolen blanket that mum knitted for me has been greatly admired!

This is in stark contrast to the women of Buenos Aires. They wore jeans, a nice top, fancy bag and shoes with a minimum of a two inch heel. Sophia and I regretted not bringing a luxury item of wedges to try to fit in more with the buzzing, well presented community.

Apologies that I don't have any photos to upload but this internet cafe doesn't let you use USB :(. Shame, given that the photos of the lagoons I've just taken are the best so far - the red lagoon was nominated as one of the 7 wonders of the world! Not sure why it didn't win, and neither was our cool tour guide, Al.


Tomorrow we are taking the bus to Potosi, a mining town, and then on to Sucre to stay for a few days and finally wash our clothes (can't wait!).

Pictures to follow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Update on clothes and costumes: I lost some of my clothes on an overnight bus, and have had to stock up on a llama and alpaca mix sweater (so. soft) and some green hareems. The travellers try to look indigenous and the locals look how we noramlly do!