Not much to report here. Uyuni was about a 6.5 hour bumpy, dusty bus trip south of Potosi. Thankfully we didn’t break down. However, we were hungry as we only had one packet of crackers to sustain us. This little old lady who was sitting next to us in the aisle (one of the many locals we picked up along the way and shoved in between the seats) looked eagerly at us as we ate our crackers so we offered her some. Instead of taking a couple she had devoured the whole packet in a blink of an eye. I guess she needed them more than us. Jon was toying with the idea of offering her his seat but I refused to sit next to her as she smelt like she hadn’t bathed this year. I argued she was used to the floor and was quite comfortable on her pile of blankets. I am not sure how serious Jon was but I came off looking like the bad person and Jon the chivalrous one. Although, I think Jon was secretly banking on the fact that I would refuse.
Uyuni (elevation 3675m) is the pits. It is barren, dirty and freezing. The only reason you would come here is to get on a tour to the Salar de Uyuni (salt plains) and Lagunas (lakes) and perhaps for Minute Man Pizza (run by an American who for the sake of love lives here. I wouldn’t) – the best pizza in South America.
We met some people on the bus so we joined with them to find a tour (you supposedly get better deals if you form a group first). They wanted to stay in a cheaper hostel so we ended up at the HI hostel which might as well have been a freezer. For just over $10 (expensive for Bolivia), Jon and I lay awake on saggy beds in rooms kept at a refreshing 2 degrees. The one toilet for the whole floor didn’t flush. In the morning we were allowed our one shower (the lady refused to let us have a shower the night before) – eight seconds of lukewarm water. The price didn’t even include breakfast. However, this place was not so bad compared to what was to come or at least it prepared us for the two nights ahead of us.
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