Bolivia at Breakneck Speed

For the last week I have been travelling with two Frenchmen and two Israelis. Our days are spent enjoying Bolivia and the evenings are spent 'setting bars and clubs on fire'. It has been so much fun, but sadly our time together is drawing to a close.

Monday was spent in the highest city in the world, Potosi, which stands at a a whopping 4070m. There are plenty of mines offering tours and the chance to make controlled dynamite explosions, so of we went! It was nothing short of legendary. We were given helmets, wellies and dust suits and shown what they do with the silver that is mined. Then we headed in. For two hours I was hunched over or crawling through tiny tunnels in the mines. Wagons would frequently pass by, causing us to jump aside into any nooks an crannies we could find. The heat was almost unbearable, close to 40 degrees at one point and combined with the dust and altitude, we were all feeling the strain. We met a 60 year old miner, still working there and we were informed that slaves used to spend 3 months underground at a time. It must have been hell. Breaking out into daylight again felt very nice indeed.

After only one day in Potosi, we took the bus to Sucre, which, according to Bolivians is the capital city, not La Paz. It was a really nice city, with a great central plaza and plenty to see. It's the kind of city that I could have easily spent a couple of months in. We found a bar serving delicious 'honey, home-brew beer' and frequented its rich, mahogany decor each evening. I bought a pair of collapsable, outrageously funky glasses and we enjoyed strolling around the cities parks and plazas. I would very much liked to have stayed longer. 

The next stop on our rapid tour was Cochabamba, which has a statue of Christ overlooking the city, just like in Rio. This one is only 15 years old, but it is 4 metres taller and I'm told is the biggest one in the world. The city wasn't particularly nice; everywhere seemed to be a market, with meat and fish just in wheelbarrows on the street, no ice, no salt, no nothing. You could buy chicken heads and feet as well as brains, which was rather disturbing. The evening was fun though, as we celebrated the birthday of one of the group in some style. 

The following morning, we headed to La Paz on the most comfortable bus I've been on in my entire trip; it really was heavenly. We're staying in an Irish hostel with plenty of English food on offer, which I'm hoping to devour in the next couple of days. Bolivia is wonderfully cheap. You only have to pay 2 pounds for a decent three course meal and you can buy sumptuous hamburgers for as little as 40p! For an overnight bus, it is only 5 pounds; it really is ridiculous. I'm very much looking forward to next week because La Paz seems like a cool city and I'm hoping to spend my birthday in a spectacular location. To find out where, see next week's installment...