Uyuni is the last dusty border post with 18,000 inhabitants before the 12,000 km² Salar de Uyuni salt desert. We arrive after midnight. Until the morning, people are constantly leaving the dorm or dropping dead in bed.

The next day I wait in vain for a thorn bush drifting in the wind between two duellists. Together with my travelling friend Francesco, I grab the last free seats in one of the more than 50 jeeps that set off into the Salar de Uyuni every day. (more…)

The Bolivian tourist smugglers pile 48 people, just as many rucksacks and my kite bag onto the eight metre long boat from Isla Del Sol back to the mainland. Life jackets would only marginally extend the survival time in six-degree water several hundred metres from the shore anyway.

The waves come from the side. Thanks to 20 people on the roof, the boat’s centre of gravity is well above the non-swimmer rate on Philippine ferries. Great rocking, but nobody sways… (more…)

The route from Cusco to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, 530 kilometres away, is a real road trip. It wouldn’t be a problem at night, you’d only need one bus. But I still want to see something of Peru.

Early in the morning with Uber to the Cruz Del Sur spaceship. The route to Puno always follows the railway. Peru Rail is a private company licenced by the state, and the Peruvian state doesn’t seem to care about its own citizens. (more…)