Bolivia Tour (i)

Waking up in Uyuni was very cold. (Have you noticed that we keep using the 'c' word. Trust us - you just don't understand how bloody cold it is. Of course, the locals just say "come back next month, it's really cold then." Great. I don't care that it could be colder. It's absolute brass monkeys now.) T was very brave and showered.

After breakfast, we set off in the scorching sun (oh yes, cold at night bloody boiling in the day) for our jaunt South.

We stopped at a place called San Cristobal. Apparently some foreigners (USA, Australia and Canada) discovered massive Silver deposits below a village. So they negotiated with the government to allow them rights to mine and they negotiated with the villagers to move their town. So far they have spent one billion dollars (US, a thousand million) and not got a single bit of silver. They will have 15 years to get all they can out (with the Bolivian government getting 15%) and then all the tools and equipment revert to Bolivia. It's an extraordinary gamble in a country known for corruption at the highest levels.

We then moved on to our hotel in Villa Mar. It was warm outside and bloody cold inside. Of course, they have central heating, they just don't put it on (and, to be fair, it was pretty useless when they did put it on.) I'm not sure if they are saving money or if it simply doesn't occur to them that other, normal, people like to be warm.

Hotel(?) Villa Mar

We went for a walk in the afternoon to a canyon. Much of the landscape down there is covered with these canyons. They are amazing. Kids must love playing in them.

We saw some Andean Rabbits (ugly sods), to add to the Andean fox, Andean Ostrich and some other, white bird which was quite rare which we had already seen. We were lucky, apparently.

Canyon

Just beside the canyon was some painted rocks. Only about 300 years old - but interesting nonetheless.

Painted rocks

Back to the ranch to have goat for tea (it was llama the night before - I prefer llama). T was given the option of heating or shower. To her (and my) amazement, she chose the former.

Given the lack of light pollution, the low surrounding hills and the late rise of the moon - the night's sky was probably the most amazing I have ever seen.

Still bloody cold though.