Passing through Potosi and Uyuni

How do you know your Bolivian bus driver was driving too fast?… When you arrive at your destination 3 hours earlier than expected, and your husband stays seated even after you and all the other passengers have got off the bus, because he is convinced this is not your stop.

That’s just a silly joke to liven up a potentially boring post but that’s really what happened! When our bus stopped at Uyuni and all the passengers got off, Marc stayed seated and said this can’t be Uyuni. I got off and asked two western looking people where we are and they said: “Uyuni.” Marc was eventually alone on the bus, still seated, and I told him it’s Uyuni, the right place. We were supposed to be arriving much later so he said I should go and ask the driver where we are. I was convinced it was Uyuni so I took my hand luggage with me and retrieved our backpacks. The driver was outside so I wasn’t afraid that he would drive off with Marc in the bus. In broken English and Spanish I confirmed with him that we were indeed in Uyuni. We really got here quick! Marc eventually got off the bus.

We’ve driven by bus from Sucre to Potosi. Stayed at Eucalyptus Hostel for one night in Potosi then took a bus to Uyuni. Stayed here for one night and today we are doing a three day Salt Flats Tour which ends in Chile.

The last two days won’t sound too exciting because they have not really been too exciting. They haven’t been bad, but there’s just not particularly anything amusing to write home about. Potosi and Uyuni are quite cold, especially at night and both places are not that aesthetically pleasing.

Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world at 4090m. It previously flourished with a massive silver mine. You can book a mine tour if you want to. We wanted to go to the Mint Museum but it is closed on Mondays. We ate supper at a restaurant that smelt of oil, with a very frail and old waiter serving us. I felt bad that he had to walk to our table each time. He had a shuffling gait (walked very slowly, hardly lifting his feet off the ground), his hands had a continuous tremor and his eyelids were droopy. He fell asleep every time he sat down. I don’t mean to put you off Potosi, there was just not much happening on Sunday evening when we were there. Our hostel was nice and we took a local bus for B$1.30 (+-R2.00) from the bus station to our hostel which was an interesting experience.

The bus drive to Uyuni was real quick as I’ve mentioned, just over 3 hours. It felt like 3 hours on an amusement park fun ride except it wasn’t that fun. We saw lots of llamas along the way which made the winding journey slightly better. Uyuni is really small but it has a few restaurants. We tasted local beer which contains coca. It’s cheaper to book your Salt Flats Tour when you are here in Uyuni. There are so many to choose from. We found a cheap hotel with private bathroom for the night, Palace Hotel. There are not many options if you try to book accommodation for Uyuni on the internet but we had no problem finding a place once we were here.

I can’t believe I’ve managed to write so much about our uneventful time in Potosi and Uyuni. We are excited for our Salt Flats tour! Next wifi opportunity will only be in 3 days time in Chile so we’ll tell you how our tour went then.