Uyuni
It doesn't rain in Uyuni from April to November. The other four months get a massive 150mm of rain. The groundwater is a little saline and there's no agriculture.
So when I arrived in October it was a pretty dusty place. In fact, it reminded me of the stereotypical Mexican town in an old western. Like all the towns I visited, the edges were pretty drab. But in the four days I spent there I really got to like Uyuni. The few blocks from the bus stop to my hotel are lined with stalls, mostly empty that Saturday, and small shops.
When I checked into the hotel, the clerk said there would be an "Andean wedding reception" and it might get loud. It did. The music didn't stop until 6:23 the next morning. It was also the only place I stayed in Bolivia where drinking water wasn't supplied.
So when I arrived in October it was a pretty dusty place. In fact, it reminded me of the stereotypical Mexican town in an old western. Like all the towns I visited, the edges were pretty drab. But in the four days I spent there I really got to like Uyuni. The few blocks from the bus stop to my hotel are lined with stalls, mostly empty that Saturday, and small shops.
When I checked into the hotel, the clerk said there would be an "Andean wedding reception" and it might get loud. It did. The music didn't stop until 6:23 the next morning. It was also the only place I stayed in Bolivia where drinking water wasn't supplied.
Uyuni (only 3,700 metres--I was going progressively downhill now) is a relatively young town, starting out in 1890 as a trading post. It later became a railway town. One thing that sets it apart from other places I'd been was how wide the streets are. Above is a street around the corner from my hotel, with a Monday noon parade of some kind in the distance. Thursday is market day, but Sunday is pretty busy, too, as this shot of the same street on Sunday night shows. |
A more modern attitude toward parenting. This statue was erected by the Rotary Club to honour mothers. No doubt such a statue would outrage some people in North America.
Which reminds me that in Sucre I saw a 17th Century painting of Mary breastfeeding Jesus. If it was good enough for them, I don't know why it upsets people. |
I walked pretty much all of Uyuni in four days. This is a Chaco War memorial at the end of a plaza. There were many restaurants, hotels and convenience stores in this block--and an atypical number of trees! In addition to eating all my meals on the plaza, I spent a lot of time there hydrating and watching people. Uyuni is quite a tourist town, and since most of the restaurants mentioned in the travel guides are on this plaza, there was a constant stream of young backpackers. I also met a couple of Germans who had rented motorcycles in Chile and ridden from there.
Every day around lunch and 5 pm, the air was filled with the smell of roasting chicken. People brought grills out onto the sidewalks and cooked in front of restaurants. Chicken is very popular (and cheap) in Bolivia, but I'd had my fill by the time I got to Uyuni. Typically I'd had it with fries and rice. In one carbo-loading meal, with fries, rice and spaghetti. And there are no small meals.
Lunch: a llama burger with the ubiquitous fried egg on top, and papaya juice. Everything was served with ketchup and mayo.
Next: why tourists come to Uyuni.