Khrys weblog

Buenos Aires is a huge, more european like city.
First impression of the outskirts is messy, as there is so many different kind of buildings next to each other without any organisation. It is really hot there in the summer, and on the way from the airport you could see many cars parked under trees trying to have a bit of shadow and a rest.
We got into a hostel in the city centre, as we got a recommendation for their good breakfast, and from where it was easy to walk around the city. We went around shops and sights and sent a parcel to France as our bags started to exceed allowed 20 kilos. Interesting thing was that the maximum weight for a parcel you are allowed to send to Europe was 2 kilos. And they are very strict on it.
Of course, being in Argentina we had to try the beef. We didn’t find the one kilogram steaks we had heard about, but we did have a great all-you can eat buffet, including starters, various pieces of meat and sausages from the grill, bottle of wine, and dessert, all for 12 euros. The best sirloin steak EVER was only 6 euros, in restaurant called “El Desnivel”.
Seriously, Argentina IS beef country number one! (well, Eduardo, we haven’t been to Brazil yet, so you can still beat it :) ) We are so going to miss this meat!!
And our stomach felt happy to be able to eat normally again.

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In order to reach next country, Argentina, we had to fly to Buenos Aires from Sucre via Santa Cruz. Bus trip to Sucre was hmm… interesting, and luckily the last in Bolivia. Big part of the roads in Bolivia are unpaved, and the buses are not the best ever. Half of the trip from La Paz to Uyuni there had hardly been any road at all, the bus was jumping so much it felt at times like it’s gonna fall down.
From Uyuni to Sucre the bus goes down from over 4000 meters to under 2000 meters, and the brakes are complaining a lot. Luckily the road wasn’t by the cliff and we got there safely. By the way the traffic in Peru and Bolivia is quite messy, they do have lanes but don’t follow them, and pass each other like crazy. Surprisingly we didn’t see many accidents, so the system must make some sense to the locals…

Sucre was the wealthiest and nicest looking city so far in Bolivia. We relaxed in an european cafe and dared even trying a good local dish, composing of beef, sausages, boiled eggs, french fries, hot paprika, cooked onions, tomatoes and mayonnaise.
We were so relaxed we got lazy and didn’t even take any pictures.

Santa Cruz is the biggest city of the country, we got a tourist tour on a taxi from and to the airport. We stayed there only because our connecting flight was next day.

You can now follow our route here, or by clicking on the “Worldtrip ’09” page.
You might notice that we have passed many places already, and that there is quite a gap between where we are and what is published. We apologize for the delay, internet connections are what they are, and the work related to the pictures (article in 3 languages, photo selection and caption addition) takes quite some time. Sorry !

Probably the best tour so far was the one to the biggest salt flat in the world (10,582 km²), Salar de Uyuni. We had good group consisting of two Australians, two Germans, us plus the driver/mechanic/cook/guide. Tip: When booking this tour, there is like 60 companies offering it. It’s good to pay attention who you book with, as some drivers like to drink and drive recklessly. Luckily we had done our research on the issue, booked with Esmeralda and were satisfied. We didn’t even get a flat tyre (it really seemed to happen to everyone else) !
The salt looks like snow and sounds like hard snow when you walk on it.
It’s even brighter than snow and you need to be careful with hot sun reflecting
from it. At least we got some tan :)

The Salar itself is stunning, along with its cactus island and its salt made hotels. But the 3-day tour also takes you to visit different types of deserts, funny rock formations, colored lakes, geysers, hot springs … you get to watch lamas, alpacas, vicuñas, flamencos, and many more !
Overnight places are tiny villages in the middle of nowhere, in windy western-movie like atmosphere.

Have fun with pictures!
Photos day 1
Photos day 2
Photos day 3

Trip from Puno was supposed to last about 7H. It took 12H, mainly because passing the frontier in Copacabana was so slow. You need to be checked by the Peruvian police control, the Peruvian Customs, walk pass the frontier, visit the Bolivian Immigration office, and re-embark the bus for 100m, to finally get told that we take an hour break before departing again. Journey also involves a ferry across Lake Titicaca.
La Paz is built in a valley surrounded by mountains. We were positively surprised about the houses, way nicer than in Lima, even though Bolivia is supposed to be poorer than Peru. The reasons are probably the (much more) important population in Lima, and the frequency of earthquakes …
We happened to be in La Paz in an interesting time, which also meant that we got stuck in La Paz over the weekend (needed break).
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On Sunday the country voted for new constitution, which is why everyone was adviced to stay inside, and the locals didn’t work, so transportation didn’t run at all.
On Saturday started yearly 3-weeks lasting Alasita fair, in honour of Mother Earth. Characteristic for this fair is to sell all possible items in miniature, such as houses, cars, suitcases, lottery tickets, money and passports – all that people wish for the coming year. At the hostel there then was a ceremony led by a Bolivian witch doctor, where he blessed the items bought. We all got five coca-leaves, which we were to put a little alcohol on and throw in a fire to burn. The five wishes we made first are supposed this way to come true.
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Over the weekend we spent time with a nice Irish woman and got good tips about New Zealand from a biker couple. Had to have few beers in hostel’s sky bar too as they were included in the room price..
On Monday we went just outside the city to the Valle de la Luna, Moon Valley. Moon valley is composed of an area where erosion has worn away the majority of a mountain. The mountains surrounding La Paz are composed of clay. The mineral content of the mountains varies greatly between individual mountains. Because of this the sides of the mountains are different colors, mostly a clear beige or light brown color. You can also see red ones, with sections of dark violet.

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