Wednesday, November 23, 2005
South America Trip - Day 34 - La Paz to Uyuni
We were booked on a local bus to go to Oruro at 2 pm and connect with a train to Uyuni at 7 pm. However there had been strikes and roads blockaded so we were advised to take a bus at 10 am instead. The strikes in Bolivia are different to the rest of the world in that the government orders people to go on strike and they don´t know why. Apparently what happens is that they strike all week and then work on the weekends. Today is a Sunday so we were actually OK.
We reached Oruro at 1:30 pm and were met by Wilson who proposed we spend the 5 hours we had to wait for the train touring Oruro with him. Oruro is an old mining town and there most important location is a Church built on top of a defunct mine that has been converted into a museum to commemorate those that worked and died there. Outside the church is monument to the miners surrounded by a lively Sunday market where all manner of junk is sold and unhealthy food eaten. We say plastic boxes similar to the crates bread is delivered in full of chicken chicks. There was a loud auction going on where animals were sold to the highest bidder. There was a man walking through the crowd holding a turtle trying to find a buyer. I felt quite sick watching this but said nothing.
Oruro is famous for it´s carnival in February. They wear big grotesque masks and colourful costumes. The party lasts for two days and on the second day they get very drunk
At 7 pm we boarded a reasonably comfortable train to Uyuni. The only problem was my seat was broken and required considerable force to recline. We arrived at Uyuni at 2:20 am tired and dazed. We were met by Miriam and Simon. Simon was to be our 4WD driver for the next 2 days. As soon as we got to our hotel at 3 am we were in bed and asleep as our tour started at 9:30 am.
We reached Oruro at 1:30 pm and were met by Wilson who proposed we spend the 5 hours we had to wait for the train touring Oruro with him. Oruro is an old mining town and there most important location is a Church built on top of a defunct mine that has been converted into a museum to commemorate those that worked and died there. Outside the church is monument to the miners surrounded by a lively Sunday market where all manner of junk is sold and unhealthy food eaten. We say plastic boxes similar to the crates bread is delivered in full of chicken chicks. There was a loud auction going on where animals were sold to the highest bidder. There was a man walking through the crowd holding a turtle trying to find a buyer. I felt quite sick watching this but said nothing.
Oruro is famous for it´s carnival in February. They wear big grotesque masks and colourful costumes. The party lasts for two days and on the second day they get very drunk
At 7 pm we boarded a reasonably comfortable train to Uyuni. The only problem was my seat was broken and required considerable force to recline. We arrived at Uyuni at 2:20 am tired and dazed. We were met by Miriam and Simon. Simon was to be our 4WD driver for the next 2 days. As soon as we got to our hotel at 3 am we were in bed and asleep as our tour started at 9:30 am.
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