South by South America Tour – Bolivia Part 6
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Uyuni to Potosi, Bolivia
The dusty streets of Uyuni, Bolivia.
An Emperador bus from Uyuni to Potosi, Bolivia.
Right after 12:00 noon, I threw on the big backpack and moseyed on down to the bus terminal (which is really the bus street) and hopped onboard a double decker Emperador bus bound for Potosi, a town 3.5 hours northeast. I sat in the front left seat on the top level, which gave me a great view of the varied, colorful and dramatic landscapes along the way. Although the skies were sunny most of the way, they darkened at one point when we passed through an epic-looking sand storm! Unfortunately, the driver never turned on the fan, much less the air con, so I was really roasting up inside that hot box. In fact, I broke out in a sweat for most of the journey.
On the road from Uyuni to Potosi, Bolivia.
A sand storm on the road from Uyuni to Potosi, Bolivia.
Finally, around 5:00 pm, we pulled into the town of Potosi, high up in the mountains. I was dismayed by the amount of trash that lay on the side of the roads on the outskirts of town. They really need to clean that up. Speaking of dumps, the driver dumped us out on the northeast side of town on a really busy street. After some confusion and walking back and forth due to a lack of street signs on most corners, I finally figured out the way to the Hostel Casa Blanca, which is located in the center of town about 1.5 miles away. It was a tough slog through crowded sidewalks up a really long, steep hill. Near the top, I was panting super hard due to the thin air, and felt like I might faint, which is an extreme rarity for me.
Trucking on down the road from Uyuni to Potosi, Bolivia.
Dinner at the Koala Cafe in Potosi, Bolivia.
A while after I checked into the hostel, a guy from Austria, who had a bunk bed in the same room, invited me to join him, a guy from India, and some girls from Italy for dinner. Since it was Sunday night, most places were closed, but we found one upstairs joint, the Koala Cafe, where we pushed two tables together and enjoyed a little feast. I had a veggie omelet and also ordered a veggie burger, because I thought they might be small. The omelet was, but the burger was huge, consisting of breaded veggies piled high on thick baguette bread. Plus, it came with fries! After a long conversation about the usual subject of travel, we headed back to the hostel and called it a night.
Words and photos ©2019 Arcane Candy.
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