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Our Year of Adventure
Potosi is the highest city in the world, sitting up at 4,060m above sea level. At this altitude there is only 63% oxygen in the air compared to sea level which makes any exercise a whole lot harder. We needed to buy tickets from the bus station, 4km away, down the hill, so we figured taking the local micro bus would be better for our lungs. It seemed more than 4km away and we managed to see a lot of the city we wouldn't have otherwise.
At Nueva Terminal, we checked out a few of the companies that were travelling to Tupiza tomorrow morning and eventually settled for O'Globo after they reduced their price from Bs.50 to Bs.40 each. That works out at roughly $7 for a 5-6 hour journey, not bad value!!
We took the micro bus back up the hill towards the centre and jumped off at the central market. Conveniently we happened to get off at a cafe called Malpartida. It is well known for its 'Salteñas', a local Bolivian speciality, and it's recommended to get there early because they sell out quick. There were quite a few left when we arrived and ordered one each. They look like a small Cornish Pastie with a hard pastry case. Once the end is bitten off, it reveals the most delicious soup type filling of meat, vegetables and runny gravy with a slightly sweet after taste. We could quite easily have had a second one, but by the time we had finished the first, the shop had sold out.
We carried on walking up the road to the central market and had a wander round. It was huge and sold just about everything imaginable. We snaked our way through the narrowest of walkways between the stalls and eventually emerged outside. The market didn't stop there though, stalls were set up on every inch of the roadside on the streets around the main market.
Near the market is San Bernando Square and church. It was really busy but there seemed to be a medical student thing going on - they might have been offering medical advice or maybe they were just showing people what they were learning.
We walked the length of Hoyos Street to see the tower of Compañia de Jesus and museum Casa de Moneda although just from outside. We intended to go to Cafe de la Merced for its cakes and viewing tower but it had limited opening hours. When we arrived though, we were disappointed to discover it was closed until 15th of October. We consoled ourselves in Cherries Cafe instead with ice cream and coffee.
After our refreshments, we went back to hostel for a bit of a rest while waiting for things to open up again after the lunch break. Everyone is very strict about having their midday to 2:30pm lunch break in Bolivia.
In the afternoon we went for a guided tour of the San Francisco convent. The tour also gave us access into the church, the catacombs under the church and finally up onto the roof for great views of Potosi.
We stopped by a restaurant we wanted to have dinner in, in the evening, to confirm they would be open. They would be and they asked if we wanted a reservation which we thought wasn't necessary because we would be eating early.
Early evening, we walked back to the restaurant only to discover they were closed for maintenance. We were baffled but there was no point arguing. We went off to the La Taberna, a French restaurant, but as nice as the menu looked, it was way too expensive for our budget.
Finally, we ended up in 4060m, a pub/restaurant which had a reasonably priced menu and was very busy with mostly locals. Maria's pasta wasn't so great, Bolivians don't seem to be able to cook with cream. David's Mexican burger was really good though with heaps of delicious, fresh chilli salsa.
The American kids had left the hostel so it was nice and peaceful to sit in the common area with a glass or two of wine.
At Nueva Terminal, we checked out a few of the companies that were travelling to Tupiza tomorrow morning and eventually settled for O'Globo after they reduced their price from Bs.50 to Bs.40 each. That works out at roughly $7 for a 5-6 hour journey, not bad value!!
We took the micro bus back up the hill towards the centre and jumped off at the central market. Conveniently we happened to get off at a cafe called Malpartida. It is well known for its 'Salteñas', a local Bolivian speciality, and it's recommended to get there early because they sell out quick. There were quite a few left when we arrived and ordered one each. They look like a small Cornish Pastie with a hard pastry case. Once the end is bitten off, it reveals the most delicious soup type filling of meat, vegetables and runny gravy with a slightly sweet after taste. We could quite easily have had a second one, but by the time we had finished the first, the shop had sold out.
We carried on walking up the road to the central market and had a wander round. It was huge and sold just about everything imaginable. We snaked our way through the narrowest of walkways between the stalls and eventually emerged outside. The market didn't stop there though, stalls were set up on every inch of the roadside on the streets around the main market.
Near the market is San Bernando Square and church. It was really busy but there seemed to be a medical student thing going on - they might have been offering medical advice or maybe they were just showing people what they were learning.
We walked the length of Hoyos Street to see the tower of Compañia de Jesus and museum Casa de Moneda although just from outside. We intended to go to Cafe de la Merced for its cakes and viewing tower but it had limited opening hours. When we arrived though, we were disappointed to discover it was closed until 15th of October. We consoled ourselves in Cherries Cafe instead with ice cream and coffee.
After our refreshments, we went back to hostel for a bit of a rest while waiting for things to open up again after the lunch break. Everyone is very strict about having their midday to 2:30pm lunch break in Bolivia.
In the afternoon we went for a guided tour of the San Francisco convent. The tour also gave us access into the church, the catacombs under the church and finally up onto the roof for great views of Potosi.
We stopped by a restaurant we wanted to have dinner in, in the evening, to confirm they would be open. They would be and they asked if we wanted a reservation which we thought wasn't necessary because we would be eating early.
Early evening, we walked back to the restaurant only to discover they were closed for maintenance. We were baffled but there was no point arguing. We went off to the La Taberna, a French restaurant, but as nice as the menu looked, it was way too expensive for our budget.
Finally, we ended up in 4060m, a pub/restaurant which had a reasonably priced menu and was very busy with mostly locals. Maria's pasta wasn't so great, Bolivians don't seem to be able to cook with cream. David's Mexican burger was really good though with heaps of delicious, fresh chilli salsa.
The American kids had left the hostel so it was nice and peaceful to sit in the common area with a glass or two of wine.
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