Last hitchhike in Argentina I made with air force officer who know very well Europe, because in 2012 he went to visit Germany, France, Kosovo and… Czechoslovakia. Well maybe he banded space time? Most important is, that in our car this time we came to border of existed country – Bolivia.

First problems I had on border. Normally when I cross it I film everything. One because of my security and second because maybe I gonna make something from that videos. Nobody ever makes problems, people on different borders smiled, or in worst situation they do everything to not see eye of my camera. But when guy o Bolivian side saw that I made video, he stopped my passport and through next 30 minutes we watched what I have on my memory card. I tried to explain that last part I already deleted. But my warrior in green uniform started to search screwdriver to take to pieces my staff and check if there is no inside memory! What a fool! But Finally blood probably came to his head and he left me free. Without check my backpack why I could smuggle sour cabbage 😀

What is the worst in my passport I found visa only for… 30 days! That’s true that I had plan to go through Plurinational State of Bolivian month but now I must do It in that time! He gave me before our Camera Bolivian Crisis so that wasn’t effect of my behavior. He just don’t like foreigners.

How was my officer appear most of other people in Bolivia. Closed, cloak, and sometimes even hostiles. They treat foreigners like an enemies. Thanks God prizes rescue situation. After expansive Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, which drowned me from cash, Bolivia will give a little breath for my wallet. Appeared also women with fancy cylinders, skirts, and with kids in scarf carried on back. It’s incredible that they never hit them on door-frame.

In every country password to Wi=Fi is simple, something like “tourism” or “tourist2017”. But not in Bolivia 🙂

Love to Dakar. On every wall.

On walls in bus station pictures how bus looks like. For those who don’t know to which go.

Hitchhiking is not better. Many people want cash for ride. They do that because communication between cities is very cheap. And it’s true! To go 6 hours in bus and make 400km You need to pay only 5$.  Finally took me one couple with who I almost didn’t said single word. With cold handshake they said goodbye to me in small and polluted city Tulpiza from which is only one road to Uyuni. I’m climbing up the mountain wet like after swimming. I through my backpack on road and… nothing happened during next 3 hours. There were absolutely nothing besides PYŁ, sun and tourist buses. If whole Bolivia looks like that my visa will end in the middle of that country. I decided to go back to city and take train. It can be also great adventure! But I realized that from that place are only 4 trains in week and already they left together with my plans. I’m rolling inside bus with heating (it’s important because in night temperature is reaching 5 degrees) and go up to upland Altiplan. I came to Uyuni and night I spend near fence of church. Between thrills I pried to not freeze there.

City is very ugly, and pay attention only with huge mountains of garbage in the middle of every road cross, which in some moment are changing in roundabout. Next night I spend on train cemetery near city. In sunset light I hear whistles of past highlight the metal monsters. But instead of rolling on horizon bushes of desert rose I saw only thousand plastic bags. Breath taking view.

But not city is important here but that what on suburbs – biggest salar in the whole world. I jump inside 4×4 and with crazy hippie couple 80+ we flew few centimeters above shining white of desert surface. What I can write here, You need to see that. See what? See what is invisible because there is only a lot of salt and your shadow. That place is so huge that even hundreds of tourist can’t disturb. View of jeeps crossing desert with 100km/h looks like race of podrace in Star Wars. That’s wasn’t only my idea because producers of Star Wars: Last Jedi decided to make there some pictures.

That place attract not only stars on sky (it’s pointless to talk about magnificent of night sky there), and that on silver screen. But also high-test stars. Salar in Uyuni is not only one from the flattest place in world but also one where is most difficult to survive. That’s why drivers of Paris Dakar race love it. And one from most spectacular part of that ride is going through Uyuni Salar.

Forever young hippies 🙂

In night temperature went down even more and my thrills went bigger and bigger. On only road from Uyuni besides tourist buses I saw only illusion of my dream about any vehicle. My visa is ending and thrills not but filled of medicals I transport my freeze death body to one from the highest cities in whole world – Patosi.

Pushed between mountain peaks (like almost every city on west part of Bolivia) reach by roofs of houses 3967m above the sea level. I really believed that here gonna be warmer? Like warm also oxygen was here in deficit amount. I felt it mostly when I climbed up with my backpack in constantly hilly streets. Streets which are on UNESCO list. When I went through them I thought that it’s just a manner of cash to put some place on that list, because maybe main market place there is really nice, but I already walked on much more beautiful streets.

You think that You can go visit church? No way! everything is closed for locker (or even two). You can visit church from inside only during holy mass. Why? Because people could still everything – paintings or liturgical vessels.

But not that what on streets is much important but what above them. Patosi is famous because on from oldest mine of silver on earth. That noble ore mine here, sometimes in robbery method, since 1544. During mining died millions of slavers and huge amount of minerals from that place many years ago destroyed financial system of Europe. Even now in Spanish language You can find expression “Vale un Patosi” what means “valor of fortune”. There is possibility to see that main from inside so I paid few silver coins from my wallet and bitted in Cerro Rico (Reach Mountain).

I though what they can say me more about mine what I already know. Whole my life I spend in region in Poland where is a lot of mines, my father worked there, also a lot of my friends. But when I wear mine’s clothes, turn on light and went inside dark of first tunnel, I felt like Hobbit in Moria.

On surface 2017 but above the ground time stopped in XVIII century. In mountain works now 180 small mines, and in every of them is a lot of tunnels shred mountains like chees. I asked my guide, 36 years old Bolivian who started work here when he had… 13 years! If they have any plans of tunnel here. “No, we don’t have it. People who are digging here have 30-40 years of experience so they now how to work”. And they dig in very old style way. You can forget about mechanical things, trails or tape’s transmitters. Here It’s handmade work! Guy is sitting there with hammer or chisel and crush rocks. Than he’s putting them to bags and his friend transport them on surface on barrow. Sometimes whole mountain is thrilling of blowing dynamite but not from over 1000 miners who are crushing rocks don’t cares about that. On road through tunnels and levels (it’s incredible that nobody lost there), jumping through cleft (I heard there Smaug?) we are giving coca leaves for miners. In few seconds they cram cheeks by that leaves like hamsters and they still dig tunnels. Tunnels decorated by flags and flowers. “That from last carnival, we had it even under ground). On the end of one from thousands branches we found monument of… devil. Miners come here on every first Friday of month, to please for safe 4 weeks of work, and on last Friday of month to thanks of survive that month. They bring there coca leaves, cigarettes and 98% alcohol! Few drops on ground for Pachamama and huge gulp in throat. They Drink only poor alcohol because it gonna happen that during that month they will found only poor minerals. When they will wake up from alcohol dreams of course.

Market for miners wherre they can buy everything what is necessary: from coca to dynamite.

Everybody know that, but nobody gonna say that. Mountain what blood. And nobody will happy when other miner will die under ground but after that calm came to heart of living. When during long time nobody will die under ground miners will take inside tunnels lama’s to kill them there, and put theirs blood on walls.

Tunnels of Middle Earth make huge impression. Admiration for power and determination of miners (it can be even bigger when You gonna think that they work for 700$ per month) and fright for conditions in which they need to work. Generation by generation that mountain is only source of living for 200 thousands people of Patosi. Specialist said that plata there is only for 20 years. What they gonna do after that? “We will destroy our homes and families by dynamite” said my guide with tears like silver in eyes.

Potosi in shadow of mountain

City in shadow of mountain I left and I moved to one from two (sic!) capital cities of Bolivia – Sucre! I took dust from mining, evening freeze and… stick of dynamite! I bought it on market for miners. Whole stick with detonator cost 3$ and you can destroy m3 of rock of car. In Sunday morning sun, among kids and next to places where old women makes coffee and cakes, I bought stick of dynamite, detonator, kilo of bananas and a little bit of bread. When I slept next to my stick I listen if is not fizzing. Allready I don’t have idea what to do with that but I have very explosive dreams 🙂