Bolivia travel blog by Mark Berman -
October 2011
July 2019
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View Photoset (23 Photos)
Bus 4hrs 30mins, 204kms
After my 2nd time in
Uyuni I finally left after being held up for 3 days because of roadblocks near
Potosi which had been set up by the miners
who were protesting against something. This is very common in Bolivia, roads can be blocked for weeks on end, letting traffic through only at night
or during weekends. Perhaps the journey between Uyuni and Potosi is not well documented or photographed? The aim of this blog is too show the photos taken during the bus ride.
Butch & Sundance Were Here
The 4 and a half hour bus journey began as we climbed out of Uyuni into the mountains enjoying great views of Uyuni and the salt flats on the right
side way out in the distance. Within 25mins we came to the mining town of Pulacayo where there is a train on display here that was robbed by Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid and a monument called Bodas de Plata (Silver Jubilee). Pulacayo is the location of the worlds 2nd largest silver mine Huanchaca
founded in 1833. About an hour after leaving Pulacayo we passed a salt flat area that is surrounded by red-rock mountains and hills. This is just before arriving in the small town of Tica Tica.
Amazing Rock Formations
After Tica Tica the landscape gets more interesting with it's amazing rock formations, tree areas,
small salt areas and roaming llamas. The rock formations have a huge range of shapes and textures and are quite spectacular.
At the Roadblock
The bus neared Potosi and joined a huge line of cars, trucks and buses all stuck there. We were told after getting our backpacks to walk through the roadblock
(lines of rocks and other objects placed on the road) for 15mins to the other side and get a ride from there. When we got to the other side I asked a guy in a
truck if we could grab a lift into town, it was ok with him.
Potosi was only about 5-10mins away.
Potosi to Uyuni
In 2019 while spending the year living in
Sucre, I set out via Potosi to get to
Uyuni again. So I have done this trip now once in each direction.
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Stone-age landscape of rocks and boulders between Tica Tica and Potosi.
Llamas graze in a sparse grassy area beside the road to Potosi.
Rock formations and colors of the terrain between Tica Tica and Potosi.
Small salt flats between Pulacayo and Tica Tica.
