The next morning we headed out to a ranch to go horse riding with some Gaucho's or Argentinian cowboys. The horses were lovely & even a couple of people who have never ridden before & are terrified of horses braved the ride. We meandered along the local dirt roads & had a sneak peak over the fences into the lives of some of the locals. Acres & acres of crops lined both sides of the road & every now & then we would spot someone working in the fields. Man it was hot though! A couple of us even had a little gallop which was fun...even though my trusty stead was not so impressed with being asked to move his arse! Poor Andrew got such a quiet horse we nicknamed him Mule.
By the time we got back to the ranch lunch was ready. That't right, they even fed us. An amazing Argentian BBQ with all sorts of meat, salads, breads & delicious homemade sauces. Oh, did I mention the red wine? Yup, homemade wine too! Our gracious host Enrique was a classic....he made sure your glass was never empty & heaven forbid you say no to extra helpings....you either got more anyway or copped a bollocking in a mix of Spanish & English :) A wonderful way to spend the day.
The rest of our time in Salta was spent wandering around the town, ate waaaaay too many empanadas & watching, movies on Gemma's laptop, in our sleeping bags, under the stars! Bliss!!
From Salta we headed to Tupiza, nothing to say really....oh, except that in the restaurant we had dinner in, they had a rather interesting mural on the wall.....of a rock shaped like a willy!! Yes, Tupiza was then known as the penis rock town! Plus it was the first town we stayed in, in Bolivia.
Then to Potosi.....a town out of control. As we alighted the truck a couple of blocks from the hotel, we were all very excited to see a little fair in full swing, complete with about 5 jumping castles. By the time we checked in, dumped our stuff in our rooms & headed back out into the street all hell had broken loose. It turns out that the town was celebrating their Anniversary & kind of like Labour Day in Australia. The streets were all closed & there were thousands of people milling around wearing their Sunday best. Then the parades began......& they went until 2am....complete with fireworks, crackers & gunshots! Andrew had left with most of the group on a tour of the local silver mine (not for me - small, dark spaces are not my cup of tea!) & by the time we walked back from where they left from we were being crushed amongst all the tiny Boliviano people...they are small but freakishly strong!
Photo: Crazy Bolivians!
Anyway, back to the mine tour. I didn't go but by all accounts it was pretty cool. It seems the highlight for everyone was when they got to buy dynamite then have their photos taken holding it while it was lit....yup, nuts....all of them!!
Photo: See.....Loco!!
From Potosi we headed to Uyuni...not before getting bogged on a side road that had been put in as a detour while the exisiting road is being sealed. Luckily for us one of the dozer drivers saw us sinking deeper & deeper into the sand with every rev of the engine & he drove over & pulled us out. Oh yeah, the same day I also I got sick....again!! A few of us were a bit off colour & we were all spending a lot of time in the toilet. Unfortunately I ended up being sick for over 10 days & even taking antibiotics but that's a story for a later date!
Uyuni is famous for one thing....it is the starting point for the thousands of tourists who flock there to see Bolivia's most famous tourist attraction - the Salt Flats.
P.S. If you're as geographically challenged as me you too would have thought it would make more sense to find the Salt Flats in Salta........ummmm, did I say that out loud???
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