Ana_(Getting to Bolivia)

What an interesting ride. I must say it was very drastic the changes from Argentina to Bolivia.

We took a bus from Salta to La Quiaca,which is the border town to Bolivia. We took an overnight bus and arrived in La Quiaca about 5am. We had wait in the station for about an hour until the immigration office in the Argentina side opened. Then we only had to cross a bridge and we were in Villazon, Bolivia. We had to wait about 30 minutes for the Bolivian immigration office opened. We got our passport stamped and off we were to Uyuni.

Uyuni is the town were you have access to the salt flats which suppose to be the largest in the world. To get to Uyuni was quite an adventure. Initially we wanted to take the train which was supposed to be a smooth ride. The thing was it didn't leave until 3:30pm and we were in Villazon at 6am. Our other choice was to take a bus to Tupiza (nearby city) and Tupiza to Uyuni. So we did. What a ride!

I was used to riding a bus with ac, movie, meals and bathrooms. Not the case here so far. No ac, no meals, no bathroom, no movie. The buses are older and more simple.
We were in the bus for about 11 hrs on pure dirt roads. The only backpackers in the bus were a Swiss girl, Tim and me and the rest were Bolivian farmers. Very humble people. It was a shock to see. It was interesting to see the way they interact and dressed. The ladies were wearing a puffy skirt with stockings and sandals. Most of them had two braids and rounded hat. There is no order whatsoever. You had to shove your way in an out of the bus. We were a little more skeptical with our bags since there is no order and they just stack them and there are tons of stop along the way.

But we made it to Uyuni in one piece. I was so tired and just drained from the ride. We found a decent hostel with a private room and bath for just $3 USD. At the reception there was a little girl maybe around 2 years old. So precious! She kept giggling and laughing. It always seemed that at the end of a long journey I always find a little angel like that. She represented peace and that everything was going to be ok. She made my day for sure. SO CUTE! She followed us to our room and kept laughing and smiling until I said "Chao."


=)Ana