Tupiza the wild west of Bolivia

Trip Start Oct 06, 2010
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Trip End Jul 30, 2011


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Where I stayed

Flag of Bolivia  ,
Saturday, April 23, 2011

Six hours from Salta we got to the border of Bolivia and Argentina. Easy enough border, except we had to wait an extra 30 minutes in line on the Argentina side while a woman with a box full of IDs budged in front of a not pushy enough gringo. The Bolivian side took 5 minutes and we had a 90 day visa for Bolivia (apparently they usually give Canadians only 30 days, but we are special). We then had our first walk through the streets of Bolivia. There were street vendors, dirt roads, lots of indigenous people and it was a little hectic; exactly what we missed in Argentina. We got to the bus station to be greeted by people yelling at us to get on their bus. "Leaving right away!" 30 minutes in a hot stuffy bus later and we were off on our 3 hour, bumpy “roads”, no leg room, hot, stuffy, dusty, cheap ride to Tupiza.

                Elise slept for most of the bus ride, and I dozed here and there, but the landscape surrounding us was very different from the lush forests of Iguazu
Tupiza
Tupiza
. The desert setting was right out of an old western movie. Outside of Tupiza there is even the town where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid were shot and killed.

                We arrived into Tupiza tired, but happy to be in Bolivia. The hotel (not hostel) we booked at was the same price as a dorm bed in Argentina. We had a large private room with an en suite bathroom, towels, soap and cable T.V., a nice pool and courtyard, an amazing book exchange, and a free buffet breakfast with scrambled eggs, fruit, cereal, yogurt and bread. We could get used to this. We spent the next few days relaxing, reading by the pool, exploring the town and markets and booking our Salt Flats tour. Oh, and we also went on a nice 3 hour horseback ride in a beautiful canyon.
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Comments

Ellen on

Saturday April 23?? I just got this today. Something is wrong with google reader, but better late than never. You guys are living the dream. Truly.

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