Adios Argentina, Hola Villazon

Done estoy? Where am I?

This was my thought for the entire spring break trip.

Where am I? This looks like Hawaii! Oh no, it's just Salta.
Las colinas verdes The green hills
We landed in Salta and hung out for a few hours until our midnight bus to La Quiaca at the Argentina/Bolivia border. Hanging of course means dinner and wine for $10 USD.

And then the adventure began. Our bus wasn't the comfy large seats from our past travels- that is not an option to La Quiaca. So eight hours crammed in a sweaty smelling bus began our week of travels.

We woke up in La Quiaca in bone chilling cold at 7 am. Where am I? It was clear were had left luch Hawaii the dry mountains, cold air and dust. We crossed the border with ease (thank goodness) and once again...where am I?

Why, Bolivia. Bright colors, yelling people, coca leaves, a rank smell, street food. Villazon was bursting with life at 7:30 am, everyone trying to make a few bucks off us extranjeros foreigners.  Eyes forward, mouth closed I avoided speaking Castellano Spanish at all costs. If I let on I knew what the people were yelling at me, all could fall to pieces. I mastered my blank face, until we found the perfect bus.

Mono Monkey
Waiting for the bus, I filled my stiff body with an amazing tamale and empanada, Bolivian delicacies. I avoided the bathrooms and enjoyed the incredible cheap water (2 liters, 1 USD), trying to adjust my body to the altitude change.

Un mono?!? There's a monkey?!? Where am I? On the bus to Tupiza, a woman had a pet monkey. NBD in wild Bolivia. After an hour and a half nap/bus ride, I opened my eyes to the Wild West and more confusion...where am I? Tupiza, the pueblo where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid died. A tiny town in a magnificent canyon along the Inca Trail.


Tupiza
We walked to our hostel, which was a bed and breakfast. We organized, rested, and then our plan for our four-day jeep tour to el Salar de Uyuni.

Beautiful hills
We wandered around the tiny town looking for alpaca clothing items. The people were friendly, the Spanish was easy to understand, and we didn't have to worry about someone stealing our wallets.

El Centro Downtown
Twilight playing in a restaurant
After a long nap, making a down payment on a Salar tour, and feeling the altitude effects, we ended the night with Tu Pizza, one of the many pizza places. Dinner, dessert, tip? Around 5 USD.

Highlights
-Monkey (duh)
-Getting hat and gloves for 5 USD
-Bartering successfully!
Location: Tupiza, Bolivia

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