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"La Cerveceria Mas Alto Del Mundo" means "The World's Highest Brewery" and is the slogan for Potosina, the local beer in Potosi. Potosi is the world's highest altitude city. You can credit me when you impress your friends at Trivia Night with that tidbit. For a city at 4,070 meters (13,431 ft) above sea level, having your own brewery is important. Any other beer, elevated to that altitude, is unbearably fizzy as a result of the lack of air pressure.
The drive to Potosi was nice. It took a bit longer than usual as we cruised along 3mph under the speed limit. We didn't run into any more speed traps and the antiplano (the name for this high altitude region which means literally "high flats") scenery was pretty cool. We were surrounded by arid emptiness, surrounded my rolling hills so far away they seem impossible to reach. We came across a little puddle with two flamingos searching for tasty bits at the bottom. I nearly crashed into Derek as he slammed on the brakes for a picture.
Potosi is a fairly big city with an historic center. We got tangled in the traffic and one-ways for a bit but Derek had the magic touch again, finding a hostel with parking on the first try. We took some cold showers, layered up and went wandering. I apologize for not brining my camera, but sometimes you're just not in the mood, you know? We grabbed some more Bolivian hot pockets and some more tasty street popcorn for dinner then sampled the world's highest altitude beer. Verdict: not bad.
Under about the ten thick wool carpets on the bed, we stayed relatively warm. Though wishing for heat seems reasonable, I'm not sure how well heat would work in these drafty rooms with single pane windows! I think we move down in elevation after Uyuni (where the world's largest salt flats live) and I'm pretty excited about that!
