After being in the middle of nowhere for three days, we got back to Uyuni (also in the middle of nowhere). The power was still out and had been since we left. We thought we were getting a train out of there, but because of the lack of power there was no fuel for the train so it was going to be one more night there. Checked back into the nice hotel with no power for the heated floors but was able to get a mildly warm trickle shower to get rid of that sand dandruff.
The next day we got a bus out to Potosi, the silver mining capital of Bolivia. It was a 8 hour journey through some more beautiful scenery. The road was mostly dirt with some sections of newly paved road, it was so nice when we were on those sections, which was not often. Once in Potosi we walked around town with our packs on looking for a room, which we found in a nice hotel called Hotel Turista, it had electricity AND hot showers! We had hit the jackpot. The first order of business was to do laundry, we dropped of our nasty clothes at a laundrymat and hoped for the best (they tend to lose things). This was the first time our clothes would be getting a good washing since N.Y. Casey picked out a real nice place for dinner, table cloth, nice silverware and it was even candle lit. I had llama shish kabob and Casey had a local dish, egg, 1/2 a chicken, and potato in a spicy broth.
The next day we left our bags in storage and went to the National Mint for a tour. Now remember that most of my clothes are in the wash, so I am now walking around in shorts. It was not that cold to me, but to the locals I was crazy, and got many (more) stares that day, even an "Oh my..". The tour of the mint was very cool, we saw the way that they first minted coins here, out of the silver that was mined right here in Potosi. We also saw some of the raw silver and other minerals that were extracted here. From here we got some lunch to go, a local food called salteñas. These are a baked pastry with a tangy filling of potatoes, egg, olive, raisin, and chicken. Then we caught a micro bus to Ojo De Inca. This is a natural hot spring lake. Apparently the king of the Incas would come here to bath and heal. The area was beautiful with amazing colored rocks in the mountains surrounding us. The water was about 30* C which is really not that warm, so I did not get in but Casey being the die hard that she is, got right in and soaked for a bit. We had a picnic of salteñas and then hiked back down the road to get a micro back to town.
Back at the laundrymat we went through our clothes to find that we were missing some items, this was soon corrected and we were off. Straight to the bus terminal to get a bus to Sucre. Potosi is a beautiful town and we really enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights. But 24 hours was definitely enough time.
24 hours in Potosi was good enough for me!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Potosi, Bolivia
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2025-02-12