06/05/2011 (posted 09/05/2011)
Luckily, snore-man left yesterday so I had a good night's sleep.
Today was my final day in Potosí as I am off to do a tour of the world's largest salt flats and don't have any time to waste lingering in any one place.
It has to be said, however, that my opinions on Potosí have changed a lot from my first impressions. When I arrived it looked drab and lifeless and I slated it both in my mind and on this blog, but after a couple of days I have seen the better side of this city. The sole remnants of Potosí's grand past (during the silver rush) are the churches dotted all over the city and pretty much all of them are really beautiful pieces of architecture. I also saw the main plaza really come to life in the middle of the day and with the sun beating down on me drinking a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a eating a salteña (Bolivian pastie), it was a beautiful experience.
Romantic imagery aside, it was time to move on so that I did.
I got a taxi to the bus station and had a decent chat with the taxi driver on the way. Although I spoke very basic Spanish, I pretty much understood what he was going on about - we conversed about football, drugs and the mines. I wanted to give him a tip but it isn't the done thing and I didn't have any change anyway.
And then I got the bus to Uyuni. Slight scare - I forgot to sign in at the bus station so boarded the bus straight away and found a guy in my seat with a ticket saying my seat number. Apparently, if you don't sign in they reallocate your seat.
I almost went to the office to rectify the problem but had an image of me running off and the bus leaving with my havasack stowed aboard, so I stayed and luckily was able to rectify the problem.
The journey was about two hours shorter than I thought it would be which was a very pleasant surprise indeed, though a little kid was crying for a long period of it which was annoying, it has to be said.
But then I arrived in Uyuni.
If I thought Potosí looked drab when I arrived, I don't know the word to describe this place. As the title of this blog suggests, 'ghost town' is the best phrase I can use to convey what it's like. Wide and largely empty streets with a chilly breeze running through, it's like something out of Silent Hill.
I got to an internet cafe and was dismayed to see such a convincing 'No' vote in the referendum. There goes our chance to change our voting system to a fair one for 30 or so years.
For dinner I got some fried chicken and chips and it was pretty good - the one issue was eating the rice they also gave me without using a knife or fork. I quickly gave up.
On the way back I bumped into a couple I'd seen in Potosi and also saw a guy I'd seen in Puno about two weeks ago! It happens because every gringo does pretty much the same trail.
I watched TV but unfortunately they didn't have the Universal channel so I couldn't watch Two and a Half Men. Still, the prospect of seeing the world's largest salt flats in the morning were enough of a consolation.
On that note, a woman was supposed to come to the hostel tonight and tell me what time to leave tomorrow morning but she didn´t.
Thanks.
JG
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