Uyuni

Won't regret a moment paying for another organized tour!! Rosenda was super nice guide. Uyuni itself wasn't that impressive, dead cold! We bought popcorns are were watching a film in our room, wearing jacket, gloves and hat!!

Salar de Uyuni is one of the biggest and highest salt lakes in the world. Deepest part goes to 140m, only 2m of salt! It was like driving on a ice. Brings childhood menories driving to our grandmas summer cottage on a frozen lake. White everywhere, nice contrast with the blue sky. Salt was so hard also!! Compressed hundreds of years. We got to see how salt is collected, dried and bagged. We visited one of the 25 islands, full of cactuses, huge ones :) First night we spent in a salt hostel, beds, tables, chairs, walls made out of salt. 

Second day we spent mostly in the car, driving around the desert, close to Chilean border. Visited four different lagunas with stunning view towards the mountains and volcanos. We saw all three different types of flamingos and few dead ones also. Cold wind takes what it wants, only strong chicks survives. 

Third day we woke up 5am for gorgeous starish sky! Middle of desert, no lights, only black sky with miljon of stars :) I was very happy girl though it was -22°C and I was freezing! By sunrise we were at the geysirs, bubbely mud and steam coming out somewhere underground. It only got better when we drove little bit further to thermal spring. I was melting! Seriously, how good does +40°C water feel at 4850m and when it is more than minus twenty. We continued to huge rock formations called Ciudad perdida Italy, because it looked like Colosseum. Lunch we had in lava field slash canyon and I think it was the best view! We climbed top of the rocks where we had amazing 360 view. Llamas frolicking on the bottom :) we saw zinchillas, foxes, lamas, ostrich and voulture birds. 

Potosi

The world highest city, known for Cerro Rico (rich mountain) and its minerals. Once again a beautiful colonial town.

We watched The Devil's Miner, a document about workers in the mine. I felt horrible after that, cruel facts about life. More than 800 kids from age 10 works inside the mine, living aspect is only 35-40 years and more than 8 miljon people have died working in Cerro Rico! 8 miljon!!  I didn't want to visit there, so I just walked around looking at churches when Rob went on a tour.

Sunday was very quiet, miners have a day off then. Still few people were working, Rob said he saw kids also. Small tunnels, full of dust and poisonous minerals. For some people it is the only choise to work there, though they now what it leads to. I read that the mountain is sinking few centimeters every year. Could it collapse some time because it is full of kilometer long tunnels? 

Sucre

I love this town!!

White washed colonial buildings with balconies, churches and plazas. Yes please :) We arrived late in the evening and usually the bus terminals are so dodgy that taxi is only way leaving there, but this one was very clean, not so many people around plus it was warm! So we walked looking for hostel and found the best deal so far, Pachamama has been the nicest hostel where we have stayed.

Three days we spent doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. Our hostel and room was so nice with own kitchen so we spent lot of time there, just reading and chilling. It felt like being home. I probably took hundred pictures of buildings and balconies once again :) and I think Sucres market was the best one also. Everything was so clean and neat, lot of room and it wasn't even that noisy!

If I need to mention one negative thing it would be beggars. Women with kids on the corners asking money or kids offering shoe shining and washing car windows.

Cochabamba

What a shithole!! Was Robs first words. 

Our first hostel was right next to a roulette bar and of course our room was closest one to it. I fell asleep after 4am when the bar closed. Second hostel wasn't any better, we missed the last bus to Sucre so we stayed close to bus terminal. Probably the cheapest place to stay, no shower and toilets were so disgusting! But that is what you get when you pay less than 5e for a room..

Only nice thing was the main plaza! (Actually there was more nice buildings and night market was also interesting)

Our way in or out wasn't great either. First of all, Cochabambas bus terminal is crazy! Hundreds of people yelling departures, locals carrying full boxes of stuff and two lost tourists trying to find a right bus. Tuesday night we missed our bus to sucre because of road blocks. Wednesday we tried again, it took 11h for 300km. Some roadblocks.. 

Torotoro National Park

It was four hour ride from Cochabamba to Bolivias smallest national park. We went through mountains, valleys, canyons and saw many dried rivers. Almost the whole way, the road was probably made by billions pebble stones! It was incredible :) though not so comfortable..

Torotoro town itself wasn't very charming, almost like from a horror movie where there is a village which has this secret that nobody talks about. Hardly any people around, empty streets, closed restaurants and abandon houses. We ate fried potatos and deep fried pancakes (buñuelos) for three days from the street because we couldn't find any open restaurants. Our alojamiento was half finished, leaning from the other side. Luckily everything else in Torotoro was amazing!

First day we walked around town and looked for people to join us for a tour to El Vergel. Huge canyon which made us feel really small! Landscape was amazing, I wonder how it would be in the rainy season? Now we walked along the dried river, green bits on the rocks (copper), looked for dinosaurs footprints. And I tell you, it was amazing!! In Colombia when we saw those fossils, I was speechless but now actually standing on 22m high sauropodo dinosaurs footprints.. Wow!! They really have walked on the same land what we are walking now!! Finished the day dipping ourselves on freezing cold river :)

Third day we hired a car and went to see Ciutad del Itas, cathedral caves. Also lot of rocks resembling turle, human, fish, elephant etc. forms. We were up in 3700m and the view was amazing (once again). There was some wall paintings as well to be seen. Probably the best part was our walk through natural caves, down to 118m. Some parts were so small and cramped that claustophobic would have had hard time in there. It was really challenging, slippery rocks and water everywhere. There was small lake, river and a waterfall inside the cave!! What a great day we had :)

Samaipata, Volunteering

I found this German-Finnish guy through HelpX who was looking for people to help in his garden. House was just 10 min walk from town, which was great, close but still far enough from all the noise.

Day 2 I cleared drainage and frontyard, found three rose bushes under all that hay :) Nobody has done anything in the garden for years! Rob carryed old stones away from the patio. Afternoon I treated myself with a local wine. Samaipata lies just under 2000m which makes its wines one of the highest ones. I visited Viñedo 1750, beautiful view towards the valley and village. It was just perfect, sun was shining, me and my wine, very relaxing.

Day 4 Sunday was our day off so we went to this campsite, where few of the people we met earlier were staying, to do some acroyoga. I have only tried it once and Rob agreed to come with me :) It is actually much garder than nornal yoga abd youbreally need to trust your partner. Afternoon we took a taxi to El Fuerte ruins. Monday after work huge group of us left to TIe Cuevas, waterfalls, just 20km out of town. Trip was really nice, weather was perfect and water nice and cooling. Only minus was the leeches and midges. Now my legs are again full of bites.

Day 7 Probably everyone knows that I am scared of spiders. But here, I have really surprised myself not jumping on the table everytime I see one. But Thursday I screamt so hard that I think whole Samaipata heard it :) I was clearing backyard and I had seen little tarantulas already, but when I pulled one tree off, huge palm size, black and hairy friend came out and it was too much! I was way too close to it! After that I thought I saw spider in every plant I pulled off.. I had to stop and go make some lunch. Tomorrow will be last day with spiders and scorpions.

It has been so nice to stay in one place little longer. Samaipata was just perfect place to chill out, lot of things to do around here in the afternoons. 25 different nationalities have found this place, so you are more likely to meet another tourist on a bar than local.

I have really loved the use of a kitchen! Every day we cooked delicious lunch and dinner from fresh ingredients straight from the market. Some freshly baked bread and cakes.

Dinner time! Thanks Hale from the picture :)

145 days of travelling

Almost five months!! And it is already a month since my quick trip home.

We returned the coldness, Santa Cruz. Bye bye warm areas for a while. But finally we got some good wifi connections!! Well, I don't know was it good or bad. I called all my sisters, got messege from my dear friend that her baby boy was born yesterday <3 I got so homesick after the calls. I actually burst into tears when I got my lunch and it wasn't what I had ordered. Why easy things are sometimes so hard to get right? It took two portions of ice cream, new hat, glass of white wine and huge portion of chips with the Wales-Portugal game to make me feel better.

We are almost half way of our journey, pretty much six months still left (we haven't changed our flights yet). We still have Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and little bit of Brazil in our itinery. I am almost used half of my savings for this trip, which scares me a little bit 'cause now we are going to hit the expensive countries..

Colombia and Galapagos are still the best places where we have been, that is for sure! Wouldn't change our hiking in Peru with Stine and Jesper either :) yes, too many nice places visited. Rob asked the other day, that will we ever have energy to watch all the pictures what we have taken? Yes, we do! :D

Best sisters and best friends <3