Bolivia.

Since I´ve last posted I went on a three day tour through the Salar de Uyuni, stayed a night in the town of Uyuni, spent a few days in Potosi, and now I am in Sucre.

My trip so far in Bolivia has felt like an upside down bell curve. It went from "ohmygodfantastic" to "eh," to "I´d pay anything to be teleported out of this place," to "mehh?", to "ohmygodfantastic" again.

This country is beautiful beyond words, and that´s where I started.

See???



And look at this!!


Amazing, huh??



And ohmygodfantastic can you even believe this???



Okay, maybe you had to be there. Regardless, the tour of the salt flat and nearby lagunas was a high point of my trip so far. That region must be one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth. Just. Stunning.

It was cold, though. I spent a night in Uyuni and bought so much woolen gear that I almost couldn´t shut my suitcase by the time I was leaving. Uyuni has a great outdoor market that sells everything from fried fish to motorcycles. Lots and lots of knit stuff too. It´s also the cheapest market that I´ve been to so far... and Bolivia is really really cheap.

Potisi was lovely. It reminded me of Valpariaso a lot.

See???



And look at this?!?



And this??


There are lots of churches...



Soooo Valpo, huh?

I´m actually 100% sure that this one done by one of the same artists that has painted the streets of Valpo. (All you porteños know what I´m talking about...)

It also incited similar feelings of rage/peace/idealism/frustration/joy/depair in me. Those were a draining few days. Ugh, I think I´ll leave it there for now.

Sucre, where I am now, is so "ohmygodfantastic" that at some moments I think I´ll never leave. It´s a lovely colonial city, and it for some reason, feels very safe and peaceful to me. I´m staying in the most adorable quiet little hostel I have ever seen. My room is well worn for sure, but has amazing vintage accents, like simple yet beautiful plaster cieling mouldings, and 50´s style bedspreads that I will have to use all my restraint to not shove into my suitcase when I leave. I have a little breakfast nook by the window, with a handstitched tablecloth and a set of chrome and brown velor chairs that could easily fetch a few hundred dollars at a vintage store in Brooklyn. It opens into a lovely little courtyard, bursting with rose bushes and all sorts of potted ferns and delicate green vines. And, amazingly, the shared bathroom is clean. All this for under $6 a night. Why am I going back to Seattle again???



All I´ve really done so far, besides enjoy my room to the fullest possible extent, is spend hours wandering the central market. I know that I rave about every market I go to, but believe me, this is a good one.

At one point in this breathtaking maze, the market building opens into a courtyard of potato venders and fruit juice stalls.

Papas.....



Besitos,
Allie