Southern Altiplano - Bolivia - page 340

To just visit La Quiaca briefly there's no need to visit immigration; just walk straight across the bridge. Cross-
ing the border is usually no problem, but avoid the line of traders getting their goods searched or it may take you
hours to clear customs.
On the north side of the international bridge, Bolivian customs & immigration ( 24hr) issues exit and
entry stamps (the latter normally only for 30 days). There is no official charge for these services, but a B$21 to
B$50 'service fee' is sometimes leveraged. Argentine immigration and Argentine customs are open from 7am to
11pm. Formalities are minimal but the wait and exhaustive custom searches can be very long. In addition, those
entering Argentina may be held up at several control points further south of the border by more customs searches.
HUACA HUAÑUSCA & SAN VICENTE
On November 4, 1908, Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) and Harry Alonzo
Longabaugh (the Sundance Kid) pulled off the last robbery of their careers when they po-
litely and peacefully relieved Carlos Peró of the Aramayo company payroll, which
amounted to US$90,000, at the foot of a hill called Huaca Huañusca (Dead Cow). The
name was apparently applied because of the hill's resemblance to a fallen bovine. From an
obvious pass on the ridge, a walking track descends the steep slopes to the west for about
2km to the river, where there's a small meadow, a tiny cave and some rugged rocky out-
crops where the bandits probably holed up while waiting for the payroll to pass. Several
Tupiza agencies offer jeep trips to Huaca Huañusca.
San Vicente is a remote one-mule village that wouldn't even rate a mention were it not
the legendary spot where the outlaws met their untimely demise. The mine in San Vicente
is now closed and the place has declined to little more than a ghost town. Most of those
remaining are military people, mine security guards and their families. To be honest, even
hardcore Butch and Sundance fans are sometimes a little disappointed by the place, a
dusty spot with a tiny museum (admission B$20) and little tourist infrastructure. The mu-
seum is often closed and the key-holder difficult to track down. Bring your imagination:
you can still see the adobe house where the bandits holed up and eventually died, and the
cemetery where they were buried.
There's no regular public transportation between Tupiza and San Vicente; occasionally,
a camión (flatbed truck) departs for San Vicente early on Thursday morning from Tup-
iza's Plazuela El Mundo ( Click here ) . The easiest way to go is with an agency from Tup-
iza. While the one-day trips to San Vicente and back are a long, expensive slog, some of
the agencies offer a more interesting two-day excursion, taking in Huaca Huañusca en
route.