Blogs from La Paz, La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 126

Hello Everyone, We will be leaving for Bolivia on May 13, 2005. This is the way that we will stay in contact with everyone and log our adventures. You may have to add this address to your "safe" addresses so that it doesn' t get bounced back as spam. Love, Jessica and Mauricio... read more

Spent 2 days in Cochabamba, not very eventful ones though. There isnt much to do there but it was nice to break the journey between Sucre and La Paz. We went out for drinks with the french guys again, this time to try the local speciality maize beer. The ´bar´ that we went to was pretty nasty, we had to shake a cockroach off the table before we sat down! the beer came in a huge jug and it looked a bit like orange juice. it smelled pretty nasty though and didnt taste much better. after a few mouthfulls the french guys told us how it is made, the locals chew the maize until it ferments a bit in their mouth, then spit it out. we were drinking saliva. yummy. we got the bus to la ... read more

The madness that is La Paz greeted us as we drove in via El Alto at 4000 m above sea level. The glittering city below us was surrounded by the majestic Cordillera mountain range and Mt Illimani lording it over us all. Despite many warnings regarding our safety here, I only felt mildly hassled when out and about here. The markets are something else: I bought a CD for 16 Bolivianos which is approximately 1GBP. Somehow I dont think James Blunt will be receiving any royalties from this sale- I am sure that Bolivian vendor needs the money more than he does! The witches market is mind boggling. Stuffed condors were stacked up on street corners; llama foetuses, stuffed ocelots and caymans were ready for all manner of incantations and spells to be cast; protective talismans, ... read more

We planned to goto the Moon Valley yesterday. The day was supposed to start with us getting a nice brunch, and then head off for the Mallasa Village. So we found a nice little restaurant in Gringo Alley, and sat down to eat. All was well until we heard some shouting outside of the restaurant. Actually it was more like chanting. The restaurant owners casually walked over to the door, and closed it. A tourist asked for the check, and the waitress said ¨un momento por favour.¨ And then, the chanting got louder and louder, and the restaurant owner took out a huge golden lock and locked then door. And then, they brought out a wooden beam and jacked it against the door. By now, needless to say, we are a little worried. Although quite honestly, ... read more

Well, out of the things you ought to do once in your life, chartering a plane has got to be up there. And if you´re going to do it, then you may as well do it in a cheap country like Bolivia. Which appears to be what we´ve just done with two friends. After two days aclimitizing in La Paz and taking it easy reacquainting ourselves with friends from various parts of our trip, we all endevoured to get up early and book a jungle trip this morning, before planning to head to Tiahuanacu to explore the ancient ruins. At 4pm, after much fruitless wandering and repetitive conversations with airline staff and travel agents, we cracked and decided that charting a plane for a mere 10 dollars extra each was a far better option than a ... read more