Jeep ride to Tupiza

We walk purposefully to the first mentioned stopping point. Time passes, no car is in sight. We become impatient and ask in another agency, here they don't even know about such a possibility. However, we get the tip to try it at another possible stopping point.

What do we want? We want to go from Uyuni towards the Argentine border and therefore to the city of Tupiza. How do we want it? Instead of taking the 9-hour bus, we want to take a shortcut. From our desert guide, we have the tip that there are jeeps coming from the Salar de Uyuni, in Uyuni some guests will get off and the jeeps with free places will continue to Tupiza - or sell them to poor backpackers... But these jeeps and their stopping point in Uyuni are apparently hard to find.

New stopping point. No car in sight. New question: In this hotel, they are not even sure if the jeeps stop here. After 2 and a half hours of searching and waiting, we have given up hope. Another night in Uyuni, great. Sebastian makes a final try, goes into a side street and there it is: The sought-after jeep from Tupiza Tours. Then everything happens quickly. The driver unloads the old passengers and lets the two new ones in, plus they get an ice cream and off we go.

The jeep really only takes five hours. Why? Not because he drives fast but because of the road he takes: A mixture of highway and adventurous off-road track. The road between the two cities goes through the mountains but is only partially completed, so our way runs over asphalt, sand, stones and through water puddles. The bus has to bypass the entire mountain area...

Early evening, Tupiza, dropped off in front of the hotel - it is right next to the office of Tupiza Tours, what a coincidence. First, a swim in the swimming pool. There is not much else to see here, but what we see makes a nicer impression than Uyuni.

The next morning, we rush to the bus station. The only way to get to the border town of Villazon is by collectivo buses. We find them quickly, but this time the departure is not quick because it only takes place when all seven seats are sold. We are the first ones.

After about 40 minutes of waiting and with 10 passengers, we start. In Villazon, we jump out of the collectivo, into the next taxi, off to the border. Time pressure? Yes, because on the Argentine side there is only one bus towards Salta, our destination, on this day. Quickly exchange the last Bolivianos for Argentine pesos, because the taxi on the other side of the border wants to be paid. Walk to the border post. Everything uncomplicated, and we are already sitting in an Argentine taxi towards the bus station. Arriving there, we go straight to the counter. We get the tickets for the desired bus. Take a breath. We still have some time before departure and sit in a small restaurant, eat something and get involved in a nice conversation about traveling and beer with an older gentleman from Moscow.

Off to the bus. Next stopping point Salta.