Let`s hablamos español ...

According to Brendon, our driver and guide.

He´s been in South America for at least a couple of years now, and can get by on the following key phrases:

"Por favor, señor ..." Indicates general disbelief about price, quantity of fuel available, seats at restaurant etc.

"Señor, es possible to (followed by request in english)" Anything else he needs to communicate about.

Litte unfair, as he does know at least a few (maybe up to 20) words in spanish. Still, it seems to work a treat for him.

Just by the by, I`m still the fount of all knowledge when it comes to translating anything on this trip. In the land of the blind ...

Heading South

In Bariloche at the moment, which is on the shore of a large lake. Went fishing out there this morning in a small Zodiac, and did catch a smallish rainbow trout. However, it was the wind and waves that made this trip. The couple of photos I`ve put on Flickr really don`t do it justice - and anyway, it was far too rough for photos about an hour later, when it really got going.

Anyhow, as promised, Argentinians love their steaks, and so do I. Also the prices (you can get completely stuffed at lunchtime with big steaks, sausage, fries and wine for about Quids2. Cooked a huge (6kg) rump roast last night, so basically turning into a cow at the moment.

Rain and sun here right now, looks like summer was a brief spell in Santiago. Will get much colder as we head south, so it`s loads of layers ahoy.

Out of Bolivia

Jump
Originally uploaded by Johnnie Shannon.

In Santiago now, having spent the last few days trawling down through the Atacama Desert. Stopped of in the beach resort town of La Serena, which was kind of like Brighton on a wet Wedensday afternoon in January. But hotter.

After Potosi, we headed south to Uyuni, a one horse town on the edge of a huge salt flat. We took the truck out onto the salt, and some people took the obligatory wierd perspective photo type things. I jumped. Woo, yay.

The scenery is absolutely spectacular. The contrast between the harsh white of the salt and the deep, blue of the clear skies was remarkable.

Then we spent a couple of days heading south to Chile. Spent our last night in Bolivia in a tiny village high on the Altiplano. We were entertained that night by some children from the local school, who, along with their teacher, serenaded us with local folk songs and the obligatory Obla Di, Obla Da on the pan pipes. Their enthusiasm made up for lack of musical subtlety, and all in all it made up for all the dodgy pan pipe people who try to scam money of gringo tourists in every restaurant in South America.

Getting down from altitude was a huge relief. It really takes it out of you being at over 12,000` for weeks on end - nothing seems to heal and colds go on for ever.

Well, from now on it`s pretty much camping all the way until we get to Buenos Aires in about a month`s time. We`re promised the scenery will just get better and better, and the prices will be cheaper and cheaper (it`s a bit pricey here in Chile). Just looking forward to those Agentinian filet steaks and red wine. Mmmmmmmm ...

Musical Update

Lots to catch up on, but first things first. As your leading musical style guide, I thought I must share this with you all.

Although there have been some cracking recent releases by the likes of Super Furry Animals, Sigur Rus, Goldfrapp, Elbow and the like, I can exclusively reveal the best thing to fall on to my mp3 player since The Shins were thrust into my greasy palm by Soph about a year and a half ago.

The Go! Team.

Yup, I know, I was told about it at Stiffkey, but I´ve only just got hold of it. And so should you. Click the link and buy it. Now.

What are you waiting for?

Soul Mining

Potosi. A town located in the middle of nowhere in particular, above the Alti Plano. Yet it is a large town, with heaps of colonial architechture. Why? Cerro Rico: Rich Mountain. Since the mid 1500s, silver in vast quantitites, then lead and tin, have been mined from this conical shaped mountain just above the town. And in equally vast quantities, people have died mining it.

Our day started with a brief trip to the tour operator to fix a tour of some mines in the afternoon. Then, after a good and hearty breaky, and a cruise around what is a vibrant and facinating town, we set out on the tour. First stop was the miner´s market to buy some dynamite.

Ah, yes, dynamite is freely and easily available in Potosi. No age limit on buying it. No limit on the ammount you can buy. We were getting some to give as a gift to the miners whose mine we were touring. We also bought them coca leaves, soft drinks (it´s well thirsty work down there) and also 96% alcohol to help them celebrate at the end of the week.

Then it was up to the mine to start the tour. If you are about 4`6" then the tour could be quite comfy. I´m not. It wasn´t. There`s no concession to tourists in the mine; you face what the miners face. It was a quiet day, as most of the guys had taken the day off in celebration of the day of the dead (All saints) but there were still a few around in the mine. Our guides were ex miners who gave it up for slightly less pay, but a slightly better chance of hitting 40. They were muy loco. But also informative and entertaining.

We only went down three levels (out of a possible 17), but that was quite enough for me. Pics will be coming sometime, but really, conditions down there were unbelievable. I thought the porters on the Inca Trail were hardcore, but these guys really take the buscuit. And they start as young as 8 years old. And life expectancy is around 15 years down there. Nuff said.

They earn on average around 800Bs a month, which is around 60 quid. Next time you think your job is getting you down, just think of these guys.

Still, being a tourist, we had to have some fun, so on getting to the surface we blew up some dynamite. Which was good. Some of the guys in our group have a few sticks left, which we plan to blow up some cactus with or something. Explosions are ace!

Just been out on the salt flats of the Solar today, of which more anon.