Bolivia and Uyuni

Bolivia was clearly the cheapest of the countries I`ve been to (can't wait for Asia, you know?). Which means you usually order a lot of juice for next to nothing and you life start being miserable when you get to Brazil and you need to sell a kidney for a glass of water. But today, let's remember the happy days of BoLIEvia. Yes, it's true, we've got lie to a lot in Bolivia. As much PeRULES as it's weird rules, Bolivians couldn't stop lying to us for silly things (sure you got WIFI and hot water here...).

The first place was the lac Titi-caca. It was stunning enough to make it hard for me to only breath. Climbing 2 stairs was exhausting and the air is fresh.

Prettiest lac!

Yes, Jesus loves you and also the laws of transportation. He doesn't know which one more than the other though...

After a quick stop in La Paz and some epic parties (sur it was epic, I was there: Q.E.D.), we've headed straight to the Salt flat. Lucky as I am, it rained just the right amount and the views were stunning! (Some weeks later, with a bit of more rain, some tourists got stuck in the desert for a couple of days... :/)

Llamas on Uyuni

Our guide excavating some salt chrytelised

We promise: it was salty!

Potosi, one of the highest cities of the world, once, one of the richest too, was our next destination.
Now, the povrety is everywhere; the Spanish took all the silver (41 tons of it between 1556 and 1783) and the miners are still chewing the coca to restrained them to eat, still drinking the alcool to restrained them to think too much about it.

Before each sip, a bit of their alcool is poured on the ground for the sake of Pachamama, their goddess.

Being underground most of the time is a terribly hard job and it's the only available job for most of them. Trying to support their families, some of the boys here are not even 16 years old...
This experience also raised also some ethical problem as we had to buy the miner some alcool and some coca leaves. Without them, they wouldn't have open up like this to us, but in the same time, you are supporting their dependancies...

Ready for 21 hours of train? Haha, she has no idea...

Last stop for us in Bolivia: Santa Cruz. This Brazilian looking city has hot weather and warm people. The best way to get used to our next destination: Rio de Janeiro!