Stranded in Sucre, and those Salty Salty Salt Flats

With our flight out of Santiago looming in only two weeks, we knew we had to pick up our pace leaving Cochabamba, and so we opted to fly south to Sucre instead of taking the 11 hour overnight bus. Unbeknownst to us though, Sucre was in the throws of a full out protest over oil rights in the region. Leaving the airport in the minibus, we were told by the driver that there were at least 3 blockades ahead, and we would have to switch into another cab on the other side. Eeesh! What should have been a 30 minute drive into town turned into a nearly 3 hour ordeal- waiting at one blockade for it to open as black stormy skies loomed in the distance, and then an attempt by our next driver to weave through the back streets to find another way into town. With 5 of us crammed into his cab, we had to all get out at one point so he could make it up a gravel hill! 

We soon arrived at a back road with a construction zone ahead and piles of gravel that would couldn't get past, and turned back only to be let off at the second blockade. Across we went on foot under the “Bienvenidos a Sucre” sign, and finally got a cab that could take us to our hostel. This was only day one of the protests though, and the downtown would become paralyzed in the days to come, with buses blocking nearly every intersection in town. There were rallies in the central square, and posters everywhere declaring the locals' rights to this Incawasi region and it's resources.

Quaint streets of Sucre 

Although we enjoyed the very historical city with it's beautiful white colonial buildings, cafes, funky restaurants, and picturesque central square, we couldn't fully take advantage of all Sucre had to offer. I was bummed to not be able to get out to the dino tour in the countryside where the largest number of prehistoric dinosaur footprints in South America can be found, and the question of how the heck we were going to leave was always on our minds. 

After two days and many conflicting stories from the hostel manager and other travelers, we tried to make for the bus station by moto-taxi, which could also only go so far. We found the bus terminal completely gated with crowds of people milling around outside, and were told by a man inside the fence that the roads were going to be closed all night, and for who knows how long if they couldn't reach an agreement with the government. We figured we might as well try to make a break for it in the daylight hours, and maybe catch another moto-taxi to the blockade south of town to try to make a run for it south. We made it there alright, but without any motor taxi- only an hour's walk with our packs to blockade #1, a short 5 minute taxi ride to the next one, and then a looong 35 minute walk down a road jammed with scores of parked transport trucks. It was just wild!! 

Potosi, the silver mining town

By the time we finally reached the end of the line, we were grateful to find a pickup truck to take us to the next town where we could find coach buses waiting along the roadside, heading various cities once they were mostly full. Ours took us 3 hours south to the silver mining town of Potosi, where we fell into bed completely pooped after our crazy travel day ordeal. Whew! We skipped the silver mines here, and just carried on south.

Next day it was onward to Uyuni, in the southern desert of Bolivia. This felt like a wild west kind of town, with dusty roads and nothing but scrubby desert surrounding it. We enjoyed the Sunday market there, did a little souvenir shopping, and found ourselves a nice 3 day tour to take us into the Salt Flat and beyond to the Chilean border. Away we go!


We hopped on board our SUV van, with the roof rack loaded up with cans of gasoline, food, and our packs. We were joined on the tour by a lovely Aussie couple, and a few ladies from France. Our guide, Felix, spoke only Spanish, but we all got on quite well! Our first stop just outside of town was the train cemetery, where dozens of old steam engines and rail cars that once carried salt down the tracks to the sea have come to rest. It was a spooky and very neat site to see, and a photographer's dream!

       

The rest of the tour was a big highlight for us for our time in Bolivia. We were awestruck by the beauty of the salt-flats, the remains of prehistoric inland seas that dried up to leave behind only a carpet of white as far as the eye could see! It really was a stunning place that made you feel like you were in a whole other world. The days to come on the tour brought more beautiful views of high altitude desert lakes, flocks of flamingos, breathtaking sunsets and cool rock formations and steamy geysers. It was something else to be rolling through the desert, whether salt or sand, leaving trails of dust behind like we were in an SUV commercial under the sunny South American skies.

Our final day on the tour we were dropped off at the Chilean border- our final crossing of this journey, and another reminder that our time here was just about through. One more week to go!

Salt flats sunset