Wild Wild (South)West!

If Peru is the Jennifer Aniston of South America; nice, well put together, and attractive in a girl-next-door kind of way, then Boliva is the Angelia Jolie; a little trashy, rough around the edges, but definitely not boring. My time recently spent in Bolivia was some of the wildest, most fun times I've had in South America thus far. Hold on tight..

Just to give everyone a brief intro to Boliva, in addition to my poorly attempted celebrity metaphors, Bolivia is one of the few land-locked countries in South America (sorry beach lovers) and also the poorest with over 20% of the population living below the poverty line. For that reason, Bolvia is not really a touristy country and often lacks things like internet faster than dial-up or hot showers, but for those who are willing to go off the beaten path it will give you an unforgettable experience.

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The adventure started when we left Lake Titicaca and headed for the capital of Bolivia, La Paz. La Paz is an interesting city in its own right, but the real attraction for me laid far outside the city limits. About 50 miles North of La Paz is perhaps the most notorious and infamous road in the world. This dirt road, aptly named "The Death Road" winds its way through the Bolivian mountains and is lined with sheer cliffs on its side, giving views that are equally beautiful and deadly. In 2007 it was named by the World Development Bank the most dangerous road in the world due to an average of 27 vehicles per year plunging over the edges and into the abyss below. Needless to say, I had to see this for myself and take the wild ride down the road.

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The Death Road

One of the many sheer cliffs on the road

To that end, I rented a mountain bike so I could ride down the death road for myself (Elizabeth decided to sit this one out) and see why it gets its name. I assure you the road lived up to its hype, nothing quite gets the blood pumping like looking to your left and seeing a 400ft cliff and knowing that if you make a mistake, that's all she wrote. If you can get over the nerves though it's an incredible ride with gorgeous views. Although I will admit that its a very disconcerting feeling to pass a cross on the side of the road every 20 meters, the Bolivian version of a traffic warning.

On the death road

Thankfully though (you can breath easy now mom), I survived the ride and can say that I conquered one of the most dangerous roads in the world. After getting my adrenaline fix, we continued the adventure by traveling South to our next destination, Potosi, a old mining town that is home to a number of cooperative mines. Back in the day, Potosi was mined by the Spanish for silver and was so productive that the joke used to be that the Spanish could have built a silver bridge from South America to Spain with all the silver from Potosi (ok so humor wasn't their strong point). Unfortunately though the silver ultimately ran out and now Potosi is now mined for iron ore and other materials.

The mountain where one of the mines are located

What's makes Potosi unique is the fact that people can visit the mines and see the grueling and dangerous conditions in which the miners are forced to work. We spent about 2 hours walking, crawling, and climbing through the mine seeing the various parts and taking time to stop and talk to the miners. It was an incredibly humbling experience. To say that they work in hell would be an understatement. The temperature in the mines can reach up to 90 degrees, apart from the tiny head lamps the workers have everything is pitch black, and the spaces are cramped enough to make anyone claustrophobic.

Miners transporting their materials

In fact, the average lifespan of a miner is 15 years after the start working in mines as a result of the noxious fumes amongst many other dangers. Some of these miners start working at 15 years old...you do the math on that one. Because of these impossible conditions, the miners have adopted a number of very interesting customs and beliefs. Probably the most interesting being that while working in the mine, they worship a devil like figure, the Pachatierra, who they believe will protect them in the mines. As they describe it, the mines are like hell, and God can't help them in hell. As our guide told us, "Leave your religion at the entrance, it has no place down here."

The pachatierra idol that the miners offer gifts to for protection

After showering off the stench of sulfur and sweat from the mines, we packed up and headed to our final destination in Bolivia, the southwest antiplano, the section of Bolivia about the size of Pennsylvania that contains a staggering diversity of nature and sights; ranging from canyons and vistas reminiscent of Yosemite to huge salt flats unlike anything I had seen before. To visit this awe inspiring section we did a four day Jeep tour that allowed to go off the beaten track and really see everything. 

View of one of the biggest canyons in Bolivia

What was so interesting about this section of Bolivia is that it has a very arid, desert type environment, but the altitude is about 12,000ft so there are still snow capped peaks and beautiful small lakes juxtaposed in this harsh environment. 

Desert with snow capped peaks in the distance

Crystal clear lake with a perfect reflection of the mountain in the background

As if those views weren't enough, we also passed by spewing geysers and lagoons that had water as red as the flamingos living the lagoon. 

The Laguna Colorado, with flamingos in the background

Spewing Geyers

However, the tour definitely saved the best for the last as we visited the largest salt flat in the world near a city called Uyuni. Essentially, millions of years ago the salt flats used to be huge lakes which have since dried up and left huge salt deposits in their stead. The views in these salt flats are incredible and I have no doubt they will haunt my day dreams for years to come. They are so large that in every direction you look all you see is a sprawling white ground. What's more, in this time of year the salt flats have just a little bit of water in them which reflects the sky perfectly and makes it seem as though your standing on one huge mirror. 

Due to this reflection, the sunset that we saw in the salt flat was probably one of the most impressive sunsets I've seen in my life. 

Sunset over the salt flat

At the end of the day, sometimes all you can do is stand back and soak it all in.

Watching the sunset