But it’s too dangerous for us to be out here alone

Well, Mansi and I have come to realize that this phrase works all the time. Mansi and I arrived in Tupiza at 3:30 AM, and went in search of a hostal to crash in for the night. None of them would answer their bells, though. So finally, when we arrived at a fairly nice hotel, someone answered, and we used the phrase again. He told us they did not have rooms available and that we would have to go elsewhere. We told him it would be too dangerous for us to go in search of another hotel when every single one we had tried wouldn’t answer. He let us in and let us sleep on the couches for the night. I’ve realized that this is a really good tactic when trying to save money.

The next day, Tuesday, Mansi and I booked a Salar Tour for the next four days. We had originally wanted a three day tour, but we weren’t sure when the strike in Potosi was going to be over. Also, we had heard the strike had expanded to Oruro, so there was really no hurry. Also, with the same company, “La Torre Tours,” we booked a horse-back riding adventure for that day. At 11 AM, we started our three hour ride through the beautiful Tupiza surroundings. It probably was the prettiest place I have ever ridden a horse. We saw places like “La Puerta del Diablo” (the Devil’s door), “El Valle de los Hombres” (the Valley of the Men), and others. When I come back to Bolivia, I would definitely want to do a longer horse-back riding adventure, possibly even an overnight camping trip.

 
When we got back, we finalized our salar trip for the next day and then went shopping for all the essentials for during our trip—water, oranges, chocolate, cards, and, of course, Singani! When we went into the liquor store, we weren’t quite sure which brand of Singani we wanted, so, naturally, the owner poured us shots of all the different types so we could taste the different. Really, there was no difference, so we just went for the cheapest. After that, it was time to shower since there would be no shower for a couple days, and then we went out to eat. It was our first real meal in probably two days. We then called it a night and headed back to our 20 Bs a night (> $3) hostal to watch some Entourage, read, and then sleep.