This week starts with the first hiccup in our otherwise smooth traveling so far. Flat tire on the way to Potosi. No spare? No problem. Keep driving at the same speed until you encounter a bus of the same company going the other way. Take theirs and you're good to go!

Potosi was once one of the richest and biggest cities in the world, with 160000 inhabitants when London only had 65000. Why? Because of the Cerro Rico, the beast that satisfied colonial Spain's appetite for silver. 'Vale un Potosi' was (is?) a saying in Spanish meaning that something is priceless. A massive human ant hill, with hundreds of different entrances. Silver was discovered by the Spanish in 1545, and they forced the Inca natives and slaves from Africa to to dig up Dat sweet Ag. The latter group did not fare very well at this high altitude (4200m and higher) and cold and died by the bushes. That doesn't mean the Incas did much better though. Collapses, poisonous gas, fine dust and toxins used during the silver processing were (are still) only a couple of ways to die. They'd stay inside the mountain for months at a time. We ventured inside one of the mines for 1,5 hour, which was enough to see that working conditions are still atrocious. Icicles are an indication of the cold near the entrance, which changes to a dusty hotness as you keep going deeper. About 100m in sits El Tio, the deity of the mountain. At the same time of their slave labor, the Inca were converted to Christianity. They were taught about heaven up in the sky and hell down below. They assumed the Cerro Rico must be hell, then, which explains his likelihood to the devil. With a big stiffy, because sexy times between El Tio and Pachamamma results in minerals. Only nearly pure alcohol (theme alert! El Camino de la muerte in week 2/20) is offered, since this would lead to finding pure minerals. It is very easy to get winded inside from all the climbing and crawling, given that the low amount of oxygen at 4200 meter is reduced even more as you go deeper into the mine. There is no ventilation system or electricity inside. Pure madness.

Mad landscapes were one of the reasons we came to Bolivia, little did we know we would have to face mad temperatures to see them. We booked a 3 day tour of the Uyuni salt flats and the volcanic desert wastelands in the south. We chose Empexsa Tours based on some promises that turned out to be empty, but the breath-taking quality of the scenery does not depend on the tour operator. Can't really say much about these three days, other than that it was mesmerizing, unreal, cold, unforgettable, and did we mention cold? -18°C on the third morning! The salar is so white and desolate (and edible! It's basically table salt, the non-edible salts are down below). The south is one big desert where all mountains in sight are dead volcanos and with colorful lakes, be it due to chemical composition or microorganisms. And since it's the middle of nowhere, the Milky Way is right there to greet you at night if you are willing to face the wind.

We returned to La Paz for 1 day between flights, and took advantage of the clear skies to see the city from above, using the Teleferico. An ugly city from up close, but beautiful to see how it creeps up hillsides wherever possible. 'Beautiful from afar, but far from beautiful' as they say. The teleferico also provides great views into the gardens and houses of the La Paz upper class, since it passes within meters of their hillside villas.

We hope that these pictures bring back good memories for those that have already been here, and that they may instigate others to come and see Mother Earth at her greatest themselves!

Next week! Did Bey survive the Salkantay trek? Find out by there being a next blog entry or not.

Geschreven door BigTrip