Dragoman D15- Trainspotting

Suprisingly the small ecohotel gave us breakfast with some yummy coconut yoghurt and passable coffee. Setting off on Mamasita we arrived in Uyuni the gateway to the salt flats. It was market day and the town was full of energy.

Bolivia is the first time in South America that I've felt we've come across a different culture. The people here are small in stature, I'm taller than any of the men. So as we weaved through the market stalls we had to duck under awnings, and felt like giants among the locals.

Whilst most men typically wear trainers, jeans a jacket and a baseball cap the majority of women are in traditional clothes. On their head lies a bowler hat slightly to small for their head. Apparently in the 18th century, when they were in fashion, a big shipment arrived in Bolivia for the men, but they turned out to be too small, so the women wore them instead. If lying on top of the head the woman is married, if towards the back of the head she is single. They then wear colourful sholes with a colourful shirt. Then a hooped skirt with long fluffy patterned tights and leather shoes. An amazing dress. I keep trying to take sneaky photos of the but get caught, and get "no photos". I'll keep trying.

The market had everything and anything you could want. Fruit and veg, electricals, clothes, phones. Endless streams of stalls each with a lady vendor in traditional dress busy knitting her next cardigan, with a baby strapped to their back swaddled in sling.

Once fed we had a quick journey to the outskirts of town to the train graveyard. Two tracks full of abandoned train engines and carriages stretching for over a mile. Slowly rusting away, most are covered in colourful graffiti. It was like playtime, James, Charlotte, Izzy and I climbed most of the engines looking for the most creative photo to take. Trousers were ripped, hats were lost and boughts of ver0tigo were conquered to pose on top of the iron giants. We spent two hours in total and didn't want to leave.

Checking in to the hotel we had a few hours before we all (minus Bob and Faye who seem to eat steak and a 3 course meal every night) had food in the hotel. Famed for being the best pizza in town, Minuteman restraunt. We were joined by a Toucan tourguide who was transitioning and was full of stories as she had been a overlanding tourguide for years. One of her groups in Africa had a love triangle where one of the women scorned cut up the others pasport and they were thrown in jail! Finishing the good pizza we headed to bed happy.Read more