When I first planned my trip through Bolivia, I was hoping that I would be able to ride the train back to Argentina. It is supposed to be a very picturesque journey that is worth the ride.
People seated in the dining cabin of the train, waiting for it to leave Oruro.
In La Paz I discovered that the train only travels at night these days. There is one train that travels part of the day and another that travels at night only. It was unfortunate then that the only days I had available for travelling were those that corresponded to the train travelling at night.
In arriving at the station, I still had half an hour left, so decided to upgrade my ticket to an executive seat. This cost a little more than double, but gave me a comfortable seat with blankets and pillow, a free cup of coffee along the way, and two average movies that I could watch if I wanted something to pass the time.
The limited view that I had of the scenery from my window seat, even though there was a half-moon shining.
My intentions were to stare out the window for the entire journey, to take in the beauty of the land through which I was travelling. However, with a bright light shining in our cabin, I could see nothing but a few metres from the train. This proved to be very uninteresting after only a few minutes, so I watched the average movies instead.
Our journey took us through many small towns, and we passed over several main roads too, stopping the rare truck or car every now and then. It was smooth and comfortable, even if it was without views of the journey.
Finally we arrived in Uyuni at 2.40am in the morning. The tourists from the train scattered everywhere, trying to be the first to get to some of the accommodation. I did not realise why until I saw a sign saying that the first hotel I tried was completely filled.
The main street of Uyuni township, where I wandered during the early hours of the morning.
Instead of searching for another hotel, I looked for some locals, finding them standing outside a now closed bar. They warmed to my plea and soon were escorting me down the roads of the town until we reached a really nice, and available, hotel. I had made it to Uyuni.