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A warm room, cable TV, wifi and an affordable minibar.

Potosi Travel Blog › entry 16 of 129 › view all entries

In 2008 I travelled solo around the world for four months, spending three months of that time in South and Central America. The blog was initially visible only to family and friends, but now I'm publishing it for everyone, in the hope that it will be helpful for others intending to follow the paths that I have travelled.

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World › South America › Bolivia › Potosi

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A warm room, cable TV, wifi and an affordable minibar.

May 22, 2008

Interesting landscape

We leave around 9:30 and stop at a little town called Tica Tica where Marco and I walk through the town and Cecilio picks us up at the other end of the main street; not really a long walk actually. Apart from stopping for some snacks, we drive straight to Potosi and reach there just after two o’clock. The distance is about 200 km and the road is being paved, supposedly in the next two years. They’re working 7 days a week and we encountered roadworks at many points, but I can’t see how they’ll finish it in two years, it’s a mammoth task. They’re planning to turn a one lane, dirt track which frequently winds along mountainsides, into a paved road with one lane each way. On a number of occasions on the present one track “road” we have to perch on one side of the road to let a bus or truck go past.

I am dropped off at the Hostal Colonial (Single USD38 including continental breakfast) and Marco and Cecilio go back to Uyuni.

More interesting landscape

I am sad to see them go as they’ve been great company. I investigate my room. It is tiny, but has a heater and I’ve learned that heating is much more effective in a small room. I sit on the bed and read some literature and notice that Hostal Colonial has “internet inalambrico”. Don’t know what the latter word means so I look it up; wireless; surely not. I race to the receptionist and tell her that I have a laptop; do they have wireless internet? Yes they do. In the bedrooms? Yes. Do I need a password? No. I go back to the room and sure enough I have wireless internet; I’m in seventh heaven.

The heating comes on automatically at 5:30pm and there is cable TV, either in Spanish or English with Spanish subtitles.

Tica Tica

What an excellent way to learn Spanish and be entertained at the same time. I check out the minibar prices. A 350 ml bottle of Sprite, Fanta, Coke or water is 3.5 BOB, AUD0.50. Average size pkt biscuits is 5 BOB, AUD0.72, small pkt is 2.5BOB, AUD0.36. 310ml beer 5BOB, AUD0.72.

I wander to the town square and streets close by. Later on I go to a nearby café for dinner. I order my dinner and then hear some nearby Americans struggling to order and offer to help. One word they don’t know (and I don’t know either), but I understand the waitress telling me that they haven’t got any left, so I am saved. After helping them I go back to my seat, feeling incredibly clever. My dinner arrives, but my glass of red wine turns out to be hot mulled red wine. I obviously hadn’t asked the right questions. Not as clever as I thought I was.

Large portion Hawiian pizza, large glass of mulled red wine, bottle of Sprite; 30BOB, AUD4.30.

After dinner I retire to my room. A warm room, cable TV, wifi and an affordable minibar. Surely life doesn’t get any better than this!