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Horseback riding in Tupiza

Well, we should have known that since everyone wanted to take the train, that there was something wrong with the buses.

We bought tickets from the company that had the nicest picture of a bus on the wall, but of course, when we arrived, it was not even close to the same bus.  From our experience in Africa, we should have been prepared for this, but we were confused because everything in South America so far had been exactly as the pictures showed and so posh (way better than the buses in Canada). 

Although we bought a seat (or so we thought) for Carey, he was relegated to standing in the aisle (or sitting on plastic arm rests) when it turns out they only gave us one seat, but two `spots`on the bus.   That was okay though, because Carey got first dibbs when people started running up and down the aisle with goods for sale on the bus...

Then, the driving started.  At first it seemed ok, but then it got faster, and faster, and faster, until the bus started careening around the corners on the gravel roads in the dark, and people (including the locals) started screaming for the driver to go slower.  There was no telling the driver to slow down though, because he must be experienced, and had locked the door between the back of the bus and the front driving compartment.  And, he was smart...he knew not to open the door either to see what the pesky passengers wanted.   But alas, some relief was to come....the bus overheated.  So, after about 15 minutes of dumping water on the smoking engine, it was time to get back onto the bus.  That was when we saw that they had let a 16 year old drive the bus.  No kidding.  That is what was going on then...he probably thought he was playing a video game!  In any event, after more careening and more screaming, we finally arrived in Tupiza 1 hour before scheduled (including the breakdown time) and grabbed our packs (which now smelled like engine smoke) and toddled off into town, ready for some food that would be kind to our stomachs as Bolivian food is notorious for making people ill.

The next day started off beautiful and sunny, and we wandered around the market.  However, there wasn't much for us to look at in this market, as it was for purely functional goods like combs, nails and socks.  As the day went on, the rain started to pick up.  By the time it was supper, it was pouring buckets, and the streets had about 2 feet of water on them, and the town had turned into a river.  The town was a river all night...literally 2 feet of rain on the roads rushing downhill, and there was a huge storm all night long.  Surprisingly though, when we woke up, the roads were all dry...so this is what rainy season is like.  No wonder that roads close and busses are held up for hours at a time (this is partly due to the fact that they are all gravel and cross a lot of creek beds).  That sheer volume of rain was interesting to see...

The next day we went horseback riding along part of the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Trail trail...really, really fun!  I had no idea that Carey had such horse riding ability!! so funny!  he kept yelling ¨no mas rapido¨ to the guide and when frustrated ¨oh, my butt, my butt!¨  but we had fun, and saw some fantastastic scenery.

The next day we were off on a 4 day jeep tour through southwest Bolivia, going past old volcanos, lakes, and of course, the huge salt flats...

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