Train from Oruro to Tupiza
Posted by Cassie, September 10th, 2011
After our third try, we finally made it on the train from Oruro to Tupiza! Last year, the train was shut down by the road blockages from the border conflict between Oruro and Potosi. We also tried to go to Oruro from La Paz the previous Friday, but there was an auto race that shut down the roads. But, we finally made it by bus to Oruro, and we bought our train tickets to Tupiza. However, trains in Bolivia were not as nice as we expected. The train car was supposed to be heated, but there was no climate control at all. We boarded the train in the afternoon, and it was stifling hot in the car. At night, as we crossed the Altiplano, it was freezing cold in the train car. The experience on the Bolivian train made me appreciate Amtrak for all its problems. And, I have been on an Amtrak train when the engine broke down and passed by an Amtrak train crash on my way out of Chicago. When we finally arrived in Tupiza at 4am, we were really ready to get off the train and get warmed up. But, we made it to Tupiza, and it is the farthest south we have ever been!
View from train of Lake Poopos south of Oruro, and there were flamingos in the lake!
We finally arrived in Tupiza at 4am!
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