The Book of Sifty

null 1:54AM

A lot to write up here. Several weeks of humorous travels and plenty of good anecdotes. (Matt is all about collecting 'anecdotes? and like he says all good anecdotes are bad at the time)

I'll update this some more later but this makes a good start.

So since this trip has revolved around public transport. Thats how I'll describe it.

1. Santiago to Calama. 20 hour bus trip through the driest desert on earth:
   
   
2. Calama to Chuci. The drunk taxi:
   
   
3. Private car:
   
   
4. Matts coca tea taxi. The trippy ride with the clearest skys:
   
   
5. Train from calama to Uyuni. The train of extremes:
   
   
6. 4WD trip over the largest salt lake in the world:
   
   
7. Uyuni to Potos? Carlos Sainz the bus driver:
   
   
8. The worst taxi in the world :
   
   
9. Potosi mine tour. Backwards hill start into oncoming traffic with a stick of dynamite and bag of TNT in your hand!
   
   
10. Slime truck to the bath water lake:
    
    
11. Potosi to Sucre in the goat killer taxi:
    
    
12. The Death bus?to Santa Cruz:
    
    
13. Eel-cheapo LH drive conversion taxis and the tucan:
    
    
14. The death train that wasn't:
    
    
15. The sauna bus to Campo Grande:
    
16. The Boring?bus (with the bus change and time zone crossing in the middle of the night):
    
17. The worlds bumpiest bus ride to the paradise backpackers :
    
18. Nicest taxi in South America and the Mate sipping driver:
    
19. OSH train: On the Argentinean side of the falls we got thoroughly rained on. But it was actually nice for a change. It wasn't cold, the rain came straight down.. so we spent most of the day sitting in the restaurant at the bus station. Drinking beer. When it started to rain less torrentially we headed into town and found another caf' with outside seats on the footpath under umbrellas.
    The next day dawned mentally hot and sunny. We got off to the falls and experienced the much better and more massive Argentinean side of things.
    Very flash but pretty dodgy little train where you could dangle your legs over the side and if you weren't watching for the station would probably get munched. There was a guy at the station telling you to keep you legs in.. but he was a bit slack..
    

    
    

20. The hungry bus:
    That night we caught an overnight bus to Buenos Aires. Yet again there was very little communication about how and when we'd be feed. We were falling over from hunger and I was freaking out about not being feed at all when finally at 11pm we pulled into this cheesey Cobb and Co restaurant place and stuffed our faces for 30 minutes. Yet again the video operator was freaking useless. Although I did get to see moulin rouge. Starting at 1:45 am. So I was half asleep.
    
21. Can't anybody operate a VCR in this country?
    
22. One last attempt to kill me before leaving the country?:
    
23. And yet another attempt by an airline to give me an ulcer?