Day I cant remember right now...but lets call it day from hell

Tonights blog is going to be short (in hindsight it turned out to be very long!)..mostly just to let people know that Bolivi has not swallowed me alive. Based on poor transpo options Chile was cut from the iternary for now. We spent Sat and Sun enjoying Salta in northern Argentina which was a great change from the hustle and bustle of Bs As. Salta is in the foot hills of the Andes at about 3,000 feet above sea level. We enjoyed several street side diners, some good Salta wine and lots of ther famous empanadas. They had a cool cable car ride but two days was more than enough to see the city. There is lots more in the outskirts but we had other ambitions. Sunday night we hopped a night bus leaving at midnight to La Quiaca on the Bolivian border arriving at 7 am. If any of you have ever read the book "Heart of Darkness"....I am begining to make comparisons between his journey and our trip into Bolivia. We can really feel the luxuries falling away. This night began my day of hell (really not that bad...but i like to add drama). Ill start this by saying that Bolivia is much more difficult than Argentia but these things are exatly what makes it so much more beautiful.

Our night bus was not terrible but a definite step down from all the busses in Bs As. I was awoken several times during the night with people who had been issued the same seat as me. The moutain roads became what felt like half asphalt. We arrived at La Quiaca travel weary and tired. La Quiaca was about 20 degrees cooler, located at about 11,000 feet above sea level and just a pimple of a town. We quickly departed the bus station where we had to walk across the river bridge into Bolivia where we were purchasing tickets on a train leaving at 3 for Uniou and taking about 10 hours. We bought the first class tickets because they were still only about 12 us dollars. We now had about 8 hours to burn in La Villazon which as opposed to a pimple was more like a boil. We found a little restraunt and just settled into it as a home base. I cant even begin to explain this town. It seemed like most movement was Bolivianos hauling bags to and from the border. The roads were all dusty and the town was strewen with half finished construction projects. They had no supermarket. I saw a little girl pooping in the street. Stray dogs ran everywhere. There was barely a place to get a cup of coffee more or less food that wouldnt immediately kill a non bacteria resistant stomach....speaking of which the altitude problems were starting to set in. I lived at 6K feet in CO and spent our winter weekends at 9-10K but it didnt make a difference here. My head was pounding, light headed, and very rough in the stomach..lost my appetite and only wanted to sleep but we were stuck at this street side dump with a bathroom that was basically a crapper set on the sidewalk with a a few boards constructed around it. It was an excruciating 8 hours where the sun was too hot and the shade too cold. Our train finally comes in and we board. The night train was probably better than the bus with the exception of the altitude problems. We bumped our way to Uniou and arrived about 1AM. We found our Hotel and settled in for the night...FYI most hotels in the small towns in Bolivia do not heat their rooms...it was a chilly night. Showers only have hot water from 7 to noon and the hot water is realy just a trickle. Its cool...I havnt showered in three days and am fine with it...been wearing the same t shirt for 4 days and no one has noticed yet so I am going to keep that rolling too.

Today, I think I finally aclimatized and we had an amazing 4x4 trip in the salt flats but I am going to save that for another post. Tomorrow we catch a 10am bus to Potosi where we are going to try and get a mine tour and then take a 3 hour taxi to sucre for $5!!! At this point I should be re-entering a little bit of comfort so hopefully internet will be more readily available.

As a closing I want to take a moment (which isnt nearly enough) to describe the Bolivian people. I now have an amazing amount of respect and admiration for them. Mostly uneducated and lacking the opportunites which we have been afforded, they are a very humble, hard working and loving people. One of the biggest things that hit me in comparison to Bs As and Salta was of course the intense poverty but yet, in Bs As we couldnt even sit down to a dinner at one of the best steak houses without beening solicted to buy things. Not once in Bolivia has someone looked at us as a coin machine. They are exceptionally kind, even to the tourists. They care for their children and they are all well behaved. They all seem to walk humbly and quietly through each arduous day. They are all very weathered from the rough environmental and working conditions. They go out of their way to help their neighbors. I find it difficult to haggle over prices here when an extra 0.50 to me means dinner on the table for them. The terrain here is amazingly rugged and extreme. The days in the sun are exceptionally warm and the nights are frightfully cold. The altitude creates an extremely dry environment making farming nearly impossible.

My next post Ill go into the 4x4 salt flats trip and post lots of amazing pictures. I miss all of you back home, and thanks for the comments and e-mail....i cant tell you how much I enjoy getting notes from home.
P