Expedition Maya: Conquest of the Temple of Siesta: Bolivia II (September 9th

While the first half of time spent in Bolivia was dedicated to natural wonders and rural parts, second part was focused rather on towns and more developed part of the country.

After an overnight bus ride from Tupiza, the crew arrived to Potosí, the world's highest city (4.090 m) and UNESCO Heritage site. Visit to the (in)famous silver mines was definitely one of the strongest experiences of the entire expedition. The mines were opened in the colonial period and are still fully operational, despite the dramatic decrease of silver content ratio from 80% (in the 16th century) to mere 2% (today). It is assumed that 8 milion indigenous people and African slaves died here under the harsh working conditions. Unlike the amount of extracted silver, the working conditions have not changed much - the miners are heavilly exposed to poisonous sulfur and cyanide fumes, temperatures ranging from around 0 to up to 40 °C, and dangerous working environment itself (ran-away 2-tones trolleys, leaking gas pipes, 500 dynamite detonations daily). It was exceptionally interesting to spend 3 hours inside the mines, however, the toll was taken in upcoming days when the expeditioners suffered from severe digestion problems caused by the poisonous gases. Visit to the mines is definitely not to be regretted, though.

Rural settlement on the way from Tupiza

Breakfast at one of local market "comedors" in Potosí

Outside of the Potosí mines

Miguel Hudeiro tasting the hard work inside the mines

Don Madonarra crawling through narrow tunnel inside the mines

Conditions inside the mines are truly inhuman and outrageous

(this guy is around 16 years old, working in the mines for 3 years already - will last ca. 5-10 more years, then will very probably die of pneumonia as all other miners )

Next stop was Sucre, the constitutional capital of the country (no, the official capital is not La Paz) and also UNESCO Heritage site. Miguel was still struggling with the Potosí disease, therefore Don Madonarra and El Fredovito had to explore the town on their own. They enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in this whitewashed city, visited all main historical sights and Cal Orcko - cement quarry and a dinosaur museum boasting huge ancient wall with hundreds of different original dinosaur tracks.

Don Madonarra with hundreds of dinosaur tracks behind him

Dinosaur museum - rather random Bolivian sight

Museum of indigenous cultures in Sucre

Another night bus took them to Oruro. While Don Madonarra went down with the Potosí poisoning as well, El Fredovito had to explore this town alone (note that El Fredovito survived the purgatory of Potosí because he did not go inside the mines). Since no major sights were available, he spent a few hours talking with semi-drunk local guy in a park and then visited nearby Obrajes hot springs for a nice but noisy soak.

Fruit vendor in Oruro's market

Children after school in their typical "Harry Potter" dresses

Last urban stop was La Paz, the de facto capital crouching below snowy Mt. Illamani (6.402 m). La Paz is a metropolis of many faces - from smelly traditional markets and third-world dwellings to impressive top class business centers and skyscrapers, all to be seen there not too far away from each other. Especially memorable was seeing ridiculously embarassing performance of clown called "Trapito" (really well-fitting name, needless to say) and a large street parade (might have been a coincidence, but the crew never saw as many street parades as in Bolivia).

Preacher in front of Palacio Presidencial in La Paz

Embarassing performance of clown "Trapito"

(note that "trapito" is a derivative of Czech "trapný", meaning embarassing :)...)

Breathtaking street parade

Crocodile eating local kids, with modern La Paz in background

The adventurers left La Paz the other day after lunch to continue to Copacabana, small town at the shore of lake Titicaca, where they enjoyed beautiful sunset and spent a night. Program of the following day was a scenic half-day hike around the lake to Yampupata, a tiny settlement where a boat to nearby island Isla del Sol was boarded. After fixing probable the best accomodation of the whole expedition (a small cabin with astonishing lake views for $2 per person), they spent the afternoon walking around the island and went to bed, to wake up early for a lovely sunrise and take a morning boat back to Copacabana. Very last stop in Bolivia was the Yunguyo-Kasani border crossing back to Peru.