Summer Vacation: Part 1

(because yes, it is summer down here...)

Over the xmas break I got the chance to travel a little. Now i´m finally getting the chance to write about it.

first stop: Potosi; the highest city in the world, 4060 m above sea level.
[it should be noted that while potosi is the highest *city*, Wenzhuan, the highest *town*, is over a kilometer 1000 m higher. i'm sure the tourism department in potosi has nightmares about population explosions in Wenzhuan....]
The altitude slowed us down a little... we were a little more out of breath than usual and were really appreciative of mate de coca (coca leaf tea, which helps with the altitude), but we didn't have any serious problems.
potosi is a mining town.. we didn't get the chance to tour the mines because it was xmas.. instead we celebrated xmas with about a dozen other people from our hostel. we had dinner, drank wine, and watched music videos from the 80s.
(If you ever miss the 80s, just come to bolivia.)
Before going on to Uyuni, Nicolas and I did get the chance to climb up into the bell tower of a church and take pictures.

(check the potosi and uyuni galleries for photos)

then, Uyuni:
what's in Uyuni? not a lot. but what did we see on a three day tour south of uyuni?

salt desert. salt, piles of salt, hotels made of salt, salt carvings. an island with giant cacti and a cave. surrounded by salt. dirt, rocks, dirt, dirt dirt. coloured lakes, flamingos. volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, boiling glooping pits of something steamy and muddy looking. train cemetery.

(all, or almost all, in the galleries)
Coming up: Summer Vacation Parts 2, 3, 4, etc: a series of posts with my overall impressions of the trip.
(more interesting, i hope, than a checklist-like list of things i saw)