Southern Peru-Bolivia Day 17
Southern Peru-Bolivia
Day 17 - Tuesday, November 11, 2014 - Museo de la Casa Nacional de Moneda; Overland to Uyuni; Sunset Look of Uyuni Salt Flats
After breakfast we left our bags in the room and met Juan Carlos to walk to the Casa de la Moneda de Bolivia, the Bolivian Mint. Our museum guide, Maria Estelle gave us information about the museum and the history of the building.
We began the tour in the art galleries. Hundreds of paintings from the former churches, Spanish mansions, monasteries, and convents of Potosi from its prime line the halls of the former mint.
The majority of the paintings were anonymous because the Spanish taught the indigenous people to paint even though they could not read or write.
The themes were primarily religious and used to convert the indigenous to the Spanish Catholic faith. During the Colonial times, the paintings of the Virgin Mary were used to portray Pachamama, Mother Earth and were in the exact triangle shape as the Cerro Rico Mountain.
The Spanish mint was built in 1579, with 5 courtyards, 200 rooms, and three floors; the original stone and brick building were very impressive. Most of the building is original.
Although, we did not see the minting of coins in the correct sequence, we did see how they purified the silver from the ore, poured the silver into ingots, flattened the silver bars into thin sheets, cut the circular shapes, and finally stamped the image on the blanks.
Silver coins were minted in Potosi until 1951. There were also displays showing the progression of the modernization of the process. Understanding that Potosi was once one of the richest cities in the world when silver was king, it is hard to believe that it is now one of the poorest in South America.
We walked to the market so a few people could change money and then walked back to the hotel to collect our bags. Our luggage was loaded on to three Land Cruisers and Pepé divided us into three groups.
After a stop at the grocery store for a few snacks for the last two days, we had lunch at El Empedradillo restaurant. At 1:30 we were back in the Toyotas with Roger, our driver and on our way to Uyuni.
We made several stops during the 200 kilometer, 5-hour journey. The landscape was moon-like with mountains, unique rock formations, some cacti, and thousands of llamas. Each time we stopped we rotated seats.
About 35 minutes from Uyuni we climbed to the top of an overlook to have our first glimpse of the immense salt flats. Juan Carlos pointed out other mountains where copper, tin, and uranium are mined. He also explained that the world's largest deposit of lithium is also mined not far from the salt flats.
We arrived at Uyuni and drove through the dusty town, once a transportation hub for trains. Another 20 minutes through a construction zone, we reached our hotel, the Cristal Samaña just before sunset.
We had a few minutes to change our shoes and we walked out on the flats as the sun was setting. The actual sunset was not great, but the vibrant clouds and the reflections of the colors were beautiful.
Our hotel is made of blocks of salt, as is our room. The floors in the front foyer and the hallways are crushed salt, but our room does have a solid concrete floor. This unique setting is walking distance from the main salt flats.
We had dinner in the dining room with its colonnades of carved salt figures. It was 8:30 before we began the journal. Gennie had written the first few segments on our drive, so we did have a head start.
The Internet is available only in the lobby and the dining room so after dinner, we worked until the journal was complete and posted.
Uyuni – 3,700 meters – 12,139 feet
Accommodations: Cristal Samaña Hotel --- Meals: B, L, & D
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Southern Peru & Bolivia: Inca Landscapes & Lake Titicaca
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Potosi Madonna
November 10th Plaza Protest
Llama and Sheep Grazing
Cristal Samaña Hotel Hallway
Sunset Over the Salt Flats
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