Sucre and Potosi

After 3 days of the biggest water fight ever, we were ready to relax and walk down the street without being chased. So we left Oruro and went to Sucre. Little did we realize that Carnival lasted 2 more days and Sucre fully celebrated it as well.  So we laid low and armed ourselves with water balloons when we had to leave our hostel. After Carnival the city turned back to normal and we fully enjoyed this colonial town. We spent 5 days here taking Spanish lessons, walking around the market, and hanging out in the Parks. 

A view of the city from on top of a hill. Sucre is interesting because it does not having any natural resources like most the other cities in Bolivia. However, the Spanish settled here due to the great weather and proximity to the mines of Potosi.

Scenic colonial streets and buildings.

We spent at least a few hours everyday at the market. It was so interesting and entertaining. We mainly bought 1 to 2 fresh juices and some ingredients to make our own food. But everyday we would find something new that surprised us.

This lady was waiting in line next to us and a very interesting character. Her face had so much life to it and she was at least a foot shorter then me (Colleen).

Cow snout anyone? There is definitely no disconnection of what animals you are eating here. They also use all the parts.

Snouts not your thing? How about brain, intenstine, liver, stomache, lungs or kidneys? Take your pick!

There were also more pleasant things to look at and smell.

Yummy spices and salsas!

There were more fruits and vegetables than you could imagine! Boilivia grows a majority of its own produce and there is an abundance at low prices.

Can't forget the picante!

There were literally stands for everything! Chocolate to...

Shoes!

On our last day my spanish teacher invited us all over for lunch. She taught me how to make the only traditional Bolivian dish that is vegeterian.

A local Cholita (indeginous woman) making a beautiful wall hanging.

On our way to Potosi! This little boy didn't have a seat so we let him sit with us. At first he was just sitting on the edge of my seat with his feet in the aisle. Then he told his mom he was tired so she told him to sleep on me. So we let him snuggle between us for the ride. Luckily it was only a few hours.

Potosi is the town where the spanish found all the silver. They say this city was richer and bigger than Paris and London in its hay day. The silver from these mines underwrote Spains economy for multiple centuries. This was at a huge cost to the locals and slaves brought in form Africa. It is said over 8 million people have died in the mines. (The mountain in the background is where all the mines are)

Patrick and Adam decided to go on a tour of one of the mines with Wilson andAngel, Wislon was a miner for 17 years, now he is a tour guide.

Patrick and Adam bought the miners coca leaves, ciggarettes, alcohol and cola, a customary tradition when touring the mines. Here Adam is sharing a gift with the miners.  The mine still produces some silver and other minerals. It is owned by a co-op of miners. A good documentary about it is The Devils Miner. I highly recommend it!

In to the depths! On the tour they traveled over 2 km underground. (One of the main reasons I didn't want to go.) But they also got to see lots of amazing rocks and minerals!

Since the mines are underground the belief is that the devil controls them. The devil of the mines is called Tio. The miners worship Tio bringing him gifts and every mine has a statue of him. The name Tio came from the Spanish. When they were forcing the locals to work the mines they told them that god would punish them if they did not work. God in spanish is Dio but the local language did not have a D sound so they pronounced it Tio.

He looks like a natural.

CARNIVAL!!!

So in order for us to make it for Carnival we had to take 35 hours of buses from Santiago, Chile to an old mining town called Oruro, Bolivia. We splurged for a bus with fully reclining seats so we could sleep. When we picked our seats on the bus Colleen thought we were getting the seats in the front so we could have a view, but she was mistaken and we were in the very back hanging out with the toilet. Despite the location of the seats it was a very pleasant journey!

The Carnival in Oruro is the second biggest in the world with 400,000 people attending, 20,000 dancers, and 10,000 band members. The parade goes on for 4 km and can last for 20 hours each day for three days. A large part of the parade is to commemorate "El Tio"(similar to the devil)who is the owner of all underground minerals and precious metals.

Chao Chile, hola Bolivia!

The day before the parade anyone can come out on the parade street and sell their goods, there were also people painting the streets and putting up decorations.

Party supplies! Fire works, foam spray, squirt guns, masks, confetti and loads of other fun stuff!

And the battle begins! Colleen was singled out and targeted by all of the younger kids attending the festival! Basically most gringos were soaked with water guns and foam spray.

Here I am getting a face full of foam spray. This was one of the more mellow attacks, at some points I couldn't even see because of the inches of foam on my face and in my eyes! 

All of the groups had a different dance and outfit to celebrate a part of their culture, there were groups from all over Bolivia. The costumes were very detailed and amazing.

Our friend Adam getting worked!

On the second day we wised up and got seats on the top of the bleachers. Great views plus a better position for...

Attacking! It was nice to spend a day on the offence vs the defense. There was no mercy, we were blasting everyone!

No child labor laws here.... 9 year old kids selling beer all over the carnival.

The gringos weren't the only ones getting soaked, the younger Bolivian girls were also main targets.

The carnival was awesome, we got to see some serious Bolivian culture and enjoy it with some great friends!

Making moves.. .Bariloche Argentina & Santiago, Chile

So we were lucky enough to spend a week at a ski resort in Bariloche, Argentina. My dad and Lisa hooked us up with some points on their time share. It was a very nice break after sleeping in our tent for around 40 days in Patagonia. After our week of luxury in Bariloche we went to Santiago, Chile.

This is the view from the top of the ski resort Cerro Catedral.

Bariloche is in the lake district of Argentina, beautiful scenery as far as you could see.

Nectar!

This is a warming hut/cafe that we came across on our hike up the ski hill. It was built into and under this giant boulder. It looks kinda sketchy but super awesome at the same time.

This is a 4 hour hike from where we stayed and is one of the most popular climbing areas in Argentina. There was a laid back climbers refugio at the top and lots of cliffs and spires. 

We went from Bariloche to Osorno, Chile and got stranded there for a night because all of the buses were full. We had to wait for the next night bus to take us to Santiago and when we arrived we found this beautiful hostel overlooking the Plaza Del Armas.

This is one of our dinners overlooking the plaza and catching the sunset. This dinner consisted of 5 avocados and a bowl of lentils..... the joy of budget traveling.

Plaza Del Armas.

Like all good cities there was nice street art and...

Good street food, this is a local drink called huesillo. It's a mix of peach juice and oats, Surprisingly good!

Another view of downtown Santiago, if there wasn't so much polution you could see alot more.....buildings.

And here is Chile thanking us for our visit at the border town of Colchane. Chao Chile, hola Bolivia!