Sam and E-J's Adventure

After a long but reasonably comfortable 26 hour bus journey we arrived in Iguazu. We were immeditately hit by the stifling heat of the place. We shared a taxi with a couple of girls and after several attempts to find a hostel we found one and were then ripped off by the taxi driver for making him wait two minutes. Frustrated by this, E-J attempted to get angry with him, but with her limited Spanish was only able to shout "no Bueno", (no good!) which didn''t really have the power and attack she was hoping for...

That evening, we wandered around the town of Iguazu, realising that there really wasn't anything there and had a good meal and a early night.

Iguazu Falls - Argentinian Side

Early in the morning we headed to the Iguazu Falls on the local bus. When we got there we were one of the first to arrive as we had organized to do a safari / boat tour at 9am. Sam noticed that the birds were squawking incredibly loudly and was informed by one of the tour guides, that the high pitched squark of the birds was the Indians way of knowing the day would be very hot.

We started our supposive safari ride just after 9am, which involved sitting in a huge jeep full of twenty people and driving 200 m down a track with an abundence of trees and canopies above us. However, we didn't see so much as one insect. Next, we got on a massive speed boat and made our way through the river to the falls and into the spray of the falls. Although this was an incredibly quick experience, it was amazing to first hear the roar of the waterfalls and then suddenly see them and finally be totally soaked by the spray from them.

When we got off the boat we both liiterally looked like drowned rats and were so pleased that we had stupidly put on clean clothes for the day.

We then decided to explore all of the falls by walking up all the steps and along all the walkways. They were so amazing to see and E-J particularly enjoyed all the different levels and angles one could appreciate them from. Sam, on the other hand, was just relieved to be soaked as by now the day was getting incredibly hot and the climb and walk around wasn't helping.

After we had walked around all the walkways E-J then realised we had missed out Isla San Martin, a small island in the midde of the Rio Iguazu. Never one to miss anything, E-J insisted that we walk all the way to the bottom again and visit this island. Sam wasn't best pleased though reluctantly agreed to it.

From the island we were able to get a lot closer to the front of the falls as seen in the video above.

We ascented back up all the walkways and staircases to the top. Tired from the added exursion of an extra trip we headed to the train which would take us to the biggest and main fall, Garganta del Diablo (The Devils Throat).

A walkway took us to the Garganta del Diablo.

When we finally reached it, we were overwhelmed by it's size, the power of the force of the falls and their roaring sound. As you looked down into them, there was a semi circle rainbow inside, which added to the beauty of this spectacle.

We headed to the bus feeling revived from the impressive and mesmerising sites we had seen. After 30 minutes of waiting for the bus our moods began to change and after an hour it was safe to say we were bad tempered and desperate to leave the damn place. Finally the bus arrived and the next mission was to get a bus to the border and cross over into Brazil.

All seemed pretty straightforward as we caught a local bus to the border and got stamped out and stamped in to Brazil. It was only when the bus left us at the border that it became a bit more challenging as no other bus would accept the ticket that we had to take us into town. Finally after waiting in the sweltering heat for a good 30 minutes we decided to pay the extra and get another bus into town.

As soon as we arrived we suddenly became incredibly aware of the change in language. By now, we could pretty much get by in Spanish and we had thought that the Portuguese wouldn't be too dissimilar, but we were completely wrong and could hardly understand a thing.

We managed to find a hostel, who were incredibly friendly and helpful. That evening we spoilt ourselves with sushi and then had another early night as we planned to see the Brazilian side of the falls in the morning and then head to Florianopolis in the afternoon.

Foz do Iguacu - the Brazilian side

The next morning we woke early and were amused to find an array of different cakes for breakfast. Apparently this is quite normal for Brazil and E-J took full advantage of this while Sam insisted it was far too early to be eating any cake!

We caught a bus to the falls and made our way down the path to them. It was amazing to see them from the Brazilian side, because it gave you a better panoramic overview of all of them.

We were really able to appreciate the beauty of all the smaller falls lined up towards the large fall at the end. We were also able to get a lot closer to the Devils mouth and appreciate the power of the falls.

There was also a lot of beautiful wildlife around and in particular a beautiful blue butterfly ended up landing on Sam's hand. We then had to stand there for a good 10 minutes while all the other tourists crowded around him to take pictures. Sam thought they where probably more interested in his rolex!

We also took great amusement over some of the sign posts they had plotted around the park. In particular one of a wild animal being handed a hamburger with a cross over it. We wondered whether this meant we weren't allowed to feed the animals fast food, but could still feed them something healthy...?

After a few hours here we headed back into town. We spent a few hours around the town, appreciating that it was bigger then the Argentinian side, but didn't really have much more going for itself.

Sam's comments: Quite incredible sounds and views from both sides. Rather worried that many people in Brazil think I am German!

E-J's comments: The falls were amazing. I loved seeing them from both the Argentinian and the Brazilian side as you got to be in the heart of them in Argentina and you got to appreciate their impressive beauty from the Brazilian side. I still can't believe that we are able to see so many breathtaking sites and that they never cease to amaze us.

Having set off on the Train through Tupiza to the Bolivian Border and crossed over into Argentian we set off on a nine hour bus journey for the city of Salta. Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina, situated at the foothills of the Andes mountains.

As we arrived into the city at one o´clock in the morning we both felt tired and hungry. We quickly found some accommodation in the centre of town and after dumping our bags set out to find somewhere to eat.

It was at this point that we realised the cultural differences between Bolivia and Argentina. It was as though we had been in a time machine. Women were in very western dress against a backdrop of buildings, which had a very European feel. We soon found a twently four hour restaurant and ordered some well required food. Sam, not missing the opportunity of being in Argentina, quickly ordered the steak. After feeling refreshed and full we headed back to our hostel to enjoy some well earned sleep before exploring the city the next morning.

The next day we took in the European feel, with the little boutiques and coffee bars. However the best view of the city was seen from the top of the city at San Bernardo Hill.

Having enjoyed the sights and knowing we had a 24 hour bus trip the next day we decided that a night out would be a great idea. After a few beers back at the hostel we set off for the best known steak resturant in Salta. EJ ordered a rump steak and Sam went for the sirlion steak. At just over four pounds each we weren´t expecting the best food, but we were seriously blown away when E-J´s steak first arrived, struggling to stay on the plate! She quickly started to enjoy it as Sam sat fustratingly waiting for his. Suddenly two plates arrived one with a huge piece of Sirlion and the other for the meat to be placed on once it had been cut! We both sat there eating some of the finest meats we had ever had, washing it down with some healthy, red wine!

After the lovely meal and Sam thanking the cook! We headed into the main area of bars and restaurants. We sat outside drinking cheap beers and cocktails, although E-J spent quite a large time on the dance floor.

Our last morning was spent packing with hangovers and preparing for the 24 hour bus journey to Iguazu.

Sams Comments: Best steak in my life. Having come from Bolivia I felt that I was in another world!

É-J´s Comments: It was after I forced the last piece of sumptuous steak into my mouth that I realised I had pushed the boundaries and the size of my stomach. For the next hour as we waited for the bill and then walked the streets to the bars all I can remmember is moaning with pain, rubbing my tummy and telling everyone I was full of steak!

Having arrived in Uyuni, one of the uglyiest towns we have seen so far, we spent careful time trying to find the best tour. Finally we decided to go with the company Blue Line, who promised us that it would be a memorable experience, which it certainly was, but perhaps not for quite the right reasons. The evening was spent enjoying some fantastic pizza at Minuteman Pizza, which is run by an eccentric American, who gets his ingredients from all around the world and creates the best Pizzas in the whole of South America. This was certainly one of the highlights of the trip for Sam!

Day 1
The tour began at 10:30 am and we met Judy a Swiss girl who was also joining our group. Our first stop was the Cementerio de Trenes, which was basically a load of old trains that the Bolivians didn't know what to do with, so they turned it into some spectacle for the public. We arrived at the sight along with another five jeeps, and realised that it was going to be like this for the rest of the tour; a constant stream of tourists, fighting to get their individual picture without any other random person ruining the view. The place was literally like standing in a graveyard of rusty old trains, which were once beautiful. We couldn´t really appreciate this as we were far more excited about seeing and getting to the Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats).

As we headed for the Salt Flats, our driver stopped various times to get his gasoline, coca leaves, phone card and whatever else he seemed to need. The constant deliberating seemed to build up our anticipation and impatience to see the flats.

Just before we reached Salar de Uyuni we stopped off again, at a few musems in which there were statues of animals made out of salt. They were pretty impressive, though it wasn't explained to us until we were about to leave the building that you had to pay to enter them.

Finally, after much anticipation we reached the Salt Flats and they were totally mesmerising. They were so white and as far as the eye could see. The feeling you get when you drive over them is that of utter bleak isolation, provided you are able to block out the other ten jeeps travelling in convoy behind you.

Our next stop was the Isla los Pescado. It is called this, because as you drive towards it, it looks a bit like a fish. However when we got there it was an island full of huge and impressive cacti, some of them as old as 500 years old!

When we got there we did a small walk around the island, taking in the incredible sights, before heading back to our jeep for a tasty lunch, which consisted of a sumptuous steak. At this point, things couldn't be better and we thought we had found our perfect trip.

After this we had a few hours to play on the Salt Flats, much to our enjoyment!

If only E-J was really this size, she'd be a lot easier to handle!

Sam was in his element, posing with the bottle of Mayonaise!

After a few hours of mucking around we were happy to leave the place in the knowledge that we would be returning for the sunrise, as informed by the tour operatour.

We then headed to the salt hotel we were staying in for the night, which was just off the salt flats and back onto the barren, muddy ground. This place didn´t look like much from the outside, but inside it was amazing. Literally, everything was made of salt, from the tables to the chairs to the beds that we slept on and they had some strange salt decorations hanging from all the way round the ceiling. They also had a stuffed flamengo on the wall, which wasn't quite so nice.

We had a great evening of yummy food and a good game of cards. It was when we were about to go to bed that we were told we would not be returning to the Salt Flats, due to the limitations of gasoline. Confused and frustrated to be told something different from what had been promised to us by the tour agency, we reluctently went to bed, defeated in the argument and by the fact that we would not be seeing the salt flats again. Instead we were told we would see the sunrise from our hotel. Bitterly disappointed we tried to not let this spoil our tour and thought positively about what the next day had in store for us.

Day 2
Having been told the sunrise was a 6:15am we woke up at 6:00am only to find the sun high in the sky. This was the first disappoinment of the day. We then had a quick breakfast and headed to our next destination which was a lake full of flamengos. E-J seemed to take in the view along with the rest of the group, but Sam sat in silence trying to withold his disappointment in the tour.

We continued our journey in the cooped up jeep for another 3 hours before getting out to see another view, the volcano Ollague, which constantly smokes away.

The next part of the journey was a 5 hour drive along rather bumpy terrain and with the driver only providing us with a limited amount of Bolvian music presented in tape format, E-J and Lou felt it was up to them to provide the group with some entertainment, so proceeded to sing every song they could possibly remember the words to, this ranged from the Spice Girls, to the Sound of Music, The Eagles and many more. This made Sam plummet into a deeper, darker depression over the whole situation.

The next location was Arbal de Piedro, known as the Stone Tree. The Stone tree was created by hot lava, which dried in this interesting formation, making it look like a tree and become one of the main attractions of the tour.

Despite being told not to touch it, we found various people trying to climb it and after patiently waiting for about 20 minutes for a clear photo of the tree, without any other tourist ruining the view, Lou and E-J had to resort to shouting at people to move out of the bloody way - much to Sam's embarrassment.

The next location was the Laguna Colorada and it had the most mesmerising colours.

The different colours within the lake are created by the wind mixing together the sulphur and different minerals inside it.

It was a very impressive sight, although it had to be a brief visit as the winds were incredibly strong here.

We continued our drive through the landscape, stopping occassionally for the `Bano natural`, which was always a challenge to find in such a barren landscape. We finally reached the place we would stay for the night around 4:30pm and settled in for a game of cards and an early night. There were also various other tour groups staying at the same place as us and at 5:30 they all started to run towards their jeeps to see the sunset. Being the only group left, again we felt as though we had been cheated by our tour company and asked our driver if he would take us too. He gave us his same usual excuse that there was not enough gasoline to get us to Tupiza, at which point we finally snapped and an enormous argument arose. Poor Judy was the only person in our group who could fluently talk Spanish, so had to be our interpreter as the tension rose. Finally, our driver, furious with rage decided he would take us, but by this point we were resigned to the fact that we had miss the sunset anyway, so there was no longer a point.

All agitated by the constant disappointments we decided to have an early night.

Day 3
Our driver woke us up at 4am to watch the sunrise and we were greeted by the pitch black and bitter cold. Sam and E-J, not the best at such an early time were at each other´s necks, furious with each other for one thing or another. We drove for a couple of hours in silence until we reached the area called Sol de manana full of geysers. These are boiling hot areas of mud, which have a contast stream of steam coming out from them, making them look very mysterious at this time in the morning. E-J was the only one to wander over to them as Sam was too cold and in too much of a bad mood!

As E-J walked past the no entry signs (following the rest of the crowd) and looked over the large craters into the boiling bubbles, spluttering out mud, she did question the safety of this place. It was only when she was back in the jeep that the guide informed the rest of the group that two people had died this year from being too close to the geysers...

We managed to miss the sunrise after all that and our next destination was to the Aguas Termales (hot springs). Still early morning, the temprature outside was freezing so no one was particularly keen to jump into the hot springs, but finally, E-J and Judy found the courage and once in, found them so warm and amazing. It was literally like being in a hot bath, though unfortunately with a load of other people.

We then had breakfast at this place before driving past Desierto de Salvador Dali, which is the site where Dali gained his inspiration for his famous surreal paintings. We then reached the final Lake, Lagona Verde with the enormous Volcan Licancabur behind it. The drive took quite a few hours and we were relieved to stretch our legs when we were there. It was an incredibly impressive emerald, green lake and if you stood at the correct point you could see the perfect reflection of volcan Licancabar, exactly fitted inside it.

Sam, at this point had, had enough of all the lakes we had seen so after one minute of stretching his legs, he grumperly returned to the jeep. The rest of the group took their time taking in the spectacular view.

When we finally left the laguna we then began our long journey to our third nights destination in San Antonio de Lipez. The drive was very bumpy and pretty unpleasant, especially for the two people cramped in the back. The landscape became incredibly barren with nowhere to hide behind if in need of a pee, except behind the actual jeep.

On the way to our final resting place, we visited a derilict site, 5000 m above sea level, making it incredibly breathless to walk around. The place is known as a ghost town, where the ancient people once kept lots of gold and silver, but their greed took over them and they ended up slaying each other until no one was left. Again, E-J, Lou, Tobias and Judy took in the sights while Sam sat sulking in the car.

We finally reached San Antonio de Lipez around 5pm. We had been promised a hot shower on the last day, but no such luck as not even a cold shower was provided. We played a few more games of cards had a basic meal before hitting the pillows again after such an exhausting day.

Day 4
We had a relatively late start of 7:30am and had a quick breakfast before our drive to Tupiza. The drive took about 6/7 hours in total with a lunch in the middle. At this point we all felt tired, irritable and in need of a shower and a good bed. Our driver drove incredibly well though there were quite a few hairy moments, especially when we had to reverse around a cliff edge in order to let a truck past. Also we passed several herds of donkeys, which we were told had been walking for fifteen days to get to the next village with the supplies of corn and flour resting on the animals backs. These moments reveal the reality of such poverty and limitation there is in Bolivia.

Finally around 3pm we were in Tupiza and within half an hour enjoying a much needed hot shower. The day finished with some drinks and a pizza, which went down extremely well.

Sam´s comments: Biggest disapointment of the trip.

E-J´s Comments: I am sure in time I will reflect back on this tour with fond memories as we did see some very impressive sites, but I was also very frustrated about how much we were lied to and the typical response to our complaints, being, ´well, it´s not my problem´, rather than trying to help the situation.

Our journey to Potosi consisted of a two and a half hour taxi ride from Sucre with our friends Tobias and Lou. E-J and Lou were constantly engaged in conversation whislt the boys read.

We arrived in Potosi, when it was raining and overcast and the place had a typical mining town feel to it. You can see certain buildings which were once quite beautiful during the wealth of it´s silver mining time and have now come rather derilict and run down. It seems to have an almost ghost town feel about it, although towards the centre of the town the buildings are better preserved.

Once we found a suitable hostel, Tobias and Lou went off to book their silver mine tour while we were adamant we would not join them and decided to explore what else Potosi had to offer. After a half hour stroll around the town and not in the best of moods, we descovered not much more...

We met up with Lou and Tobias in the evening and after a few persuasive encouragements they coaxed us into joining them on the mining tour the following day.

We then spent the rest of the evening in a cafe in the centre of town playing a new card game we were taught by Tobias and Lou, called ´500´. This game immediately became incredibly competitive as it was boys against girls!

Following a good sleep we rose to an early breakfast and made our way to the tour company for eight o´clock to meet our guide, a former miner. The first part of the tour consisted of us driving to the area where we changed into our suitable mining gear, which consisted of gum boots black, baggy pants, an orange overcoat, a hard hat and the important head torch. We all looked ridiculous!

The second part of the tour was going to the miners' market where we bought supplies and gifts to give to the miners during the tour. As they are all self employed they have to buy there own dynamite and tools! Our guide also gave us a talk about the history of the mines which opened in 1544 and told that more than eight million people have died while working there. Also that the life expectancy of a miner is no more than about 40 years old yet these people still choose to work there as the pay is much better than any other job they could do around that area. Miners usually work ten to twelve hour shifts, throughout that time they will go without food to avoid any reason to stop working. They survive the day on fizzy drinks and chewing coca leaves, which apparently gives them enough energy to work in dark, unventilated areas for long periods of time! They work in different groups sometimes as small as eight and others as big as thirty people. Our guide also talked about the different types of dynamite they use to blow up the mines and how all the labour inside is still manual. E-J became particularly nervous at this point, especially when he throw a piece of dynamite at her!

After buying our gifts for the miners, we toured the machinery areas, where the rubble goes through the process that turns it into silver and zinc. Don´t ask us all the technicalities as we didn´t catch all of it at the time.

To finish with we entered the mine and this was the part that E-J was dreading, especially crawling through a hole no bigger than half a metre in width and height. As we arrived we saw a few old miners enjoying that Friday feeling by having a few drinks of 97% alcohol! This didn't help E-J confidence too much either!

When we first entered the mine of Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), we became incredibly aware of the lack of air and dust that circulated around the area. Also the mines are literally mud holes with rubber pipes containing oxygen running through them. These are dug through the mountain with limited safety structures, so we felt they could collapse at any time.

We were also warned not to put our fingers in our mouths as the walls are covered in traces of arsenic and asbestos. Continually, as we walked through the tunnels in a crouched position we would bump our heads on the top of the cave and be relieved to be wearing the hard hats. With the tunnels being pitch black we relied on the limited light of our head torches to see where we were going.

As we walked through at a reasonable pace, the guide would suddenly tell us to move, hurry up or wait, as miners and their trolleys were constantly passing through full of rubble.

During the tour we walked through three different levels. On the first level there is a museum which contains a statue of a devil, miners religiously visit it and give offerings to the devil. Our guide kindly showed us this by lighting a cigerette and placing it in the statues mouth! They truly believe that this devil protects them in the mines, although we think a smoking devil probably wasn't a great idea!

On the second level we crawled through a tiny passage way on our way to the lowest point the third level. We were then taken into the area the miners deposit all the rubble out of the trolleys, which they manually shovel into buckets to be pulleyed to the top. This is all done extremely quickly to ensure the next trolley load of rubble doesn't cause a backlog.

This part was the most eye opening as you watched the strength and consistency of the miners in such poor conditions with no protection for their mouths and noses and in the blistering heat of the mines, which at the time of our tour was 30 degrees but can reach up to 45! We attempted the back breacking exercise of shovelling a few loads of the rubble into the buckets but immediately became breathless and exhausted, which wasn't helped by the fact that we where 4200m above sea level. As our guide spoke with his old work collegues he informed us that they where all set to do a double shift, meaning 24 hours in the mine! We also meet the youngest miner there who is sixteen years old and it was so sad to see someone of that age working in such hard conditions.

After we had observed this part of the tour, the reality of their lives started to sink in, we gave them the gifts and began our ascent to the top to exit the cave. It was during this point that Sam began to really struggle with his breath as he climbed through the hole, E-J on the other hand, was stridding on a head with the adrenaline of fear inside her and hoping to avoid any feelings of claustrophobia.

When we exited the mines, it was then time to blow up some dynamite. These sort of activites never cease to amaze us in South America, with the lack of health and safety precautions. We watched one of our guides put together some dynamite and then he lit it. He then passed it round the group for people to hold and take pictures with. E-J was havng none of this, but Sam rather enjoyed his near death experience.

The guide then took it back, ran down into the valley, dug it into a hole and then ran back, all in the space of ten minutes before the whole thing belw up. It was a pretty impressive explosion!

Sam´s comments: Crawling through the mine for me was harder than the Inca trail. I was slighlty alarmed that I was the last to hold the dynamite, but very relieved to pass it back! An amazing experience, will teach anyone not to complain about a hard days work!

E-J´Comments: The mines were an incredible exerience, especially to see that things like that still go on. The miners have a great comradery and they are all mainly Quechuan so speak their native Quechuan language in the mines. They all have one side of their cheek almost bursting with coca leaves and although it looks like a balloon, when you touch their cheek, it is as solid as a rock. It still shocks me that people still do this job and are allowed to in such appalling conditions!

The ride to Sucre was not a pleasant one for Sam as he was suffering from what seems to be a constant illness when you are in Bolivia, `The Bolivian Belli!`What also didn´t help was when the bus driver decided to lock the bus loo during the journey with another 6 hours to go!

When we finally arrived in Sucre, Sam went straight to bed (via a good 10 minutes in the Bus Station Loo!), and E-J went off exploring the pretty little city. It reminded E-J of Arequipa, as it too is full of beautiful white buildings. The streets are also filled with beggars on every corner. There is also an abundance of chocolate shops and the chocolate there tastes as good as in Belgium!

By mid afternoon, Sam managed to venture out for a quick bite to eat and afterwards we bumped into Lou and Tobias, our friends that we had originally met in Cuenca and had planned to meet up with again in Sucre. We made plans for the evening and retreated back to our hostels as the weather was pretty miserable.

The next day we all agreed to meet in the Bike Ride Cafe to watch the football game and to our suprise found a couple that we had met on our Jungle tour. The six of us all sat together having a good catch up and trying to ignore the appalling defeat that England experienced against Croatia. We spent the rest of the day and evening there, having various beers and enjoying each others' banter.

The next day we all re-meet in the Cafe for a hearty breakfast before we said our goodbyes to Veronica and Ben and set off for Potosi via taxi. We found this to be far more civilised than doing the usual painful bus journey and incredibly affordable too!

Sam's comments: Sucre was very relaxing, although the bus journey was the complete opposite! Sadly that will always taint my memory of a beautiful town.

E-J's Comments: Sucre is a very lovely place and the chocolate there is amazing! Sadly while we were there, there was a protest from the country people and there were a few riots which escalated into being very dangerous. We were lucky to be out of the place by then but we heard that the police got driven out of the town for a few days and a couple of young lads were killed in all the riots. Itś scary to think that somewhere that looks so tranquille and beautiful can have such an under current of political issues.