Potosí, Day 1

At 4090m, Potosí is indeed the world`s highest city, so upon arriving (especially from the lowlands), it`s a good idea to take it easy for a few days. I didn`t have problems with altitude in Perú or when I was in La Paz, but I`ve been in the jungle region for a while so I`m taking that advice to heart.

I arrived last night on the same bus Andy and Tamson were taking. We happened to be heading to the same hostel as well, so we shared a taxi, not knowing how far away it was, and settled in with a grumble about the price. The guide books tell you it`s about $2 cheaper than it really is. It`s a nice place though, breakfast included, and since I`m only here for a couple nights I can`t be bothered to change.

The three of us took a tour of the Casa Real de Moneda (The Mint Museum) this morning. It`s a spectacular building, known as one of Bolivia`s `finest museums`, and is worth the mandatory tour. This afternoon I`m just wandering around, comparing prices for the tour of the mines, which I plan to do tomorrow morning.

The city is quite beautiful, very cold, and is full of young students. I wouldn`t mind staying a bit longer, but time is pressing me now so tomorrow night I think I`ll head to Tupiza along with Andy and Tamson. I wasn`t planning to go there originally, but a friend who was just there wrote all about it to me and now I HAVE to go: it`s the area where the real Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent their last days and died in a shootout!! So I will experience real crook cowboy territory, where two of the most famous crooks ended up.

Yeeeehaw!