Blogs from La Paz, La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 127

(petrea, check your email) Justin here. Well, today was an interesting mix of half-asleep traveling and sightseeing in La Paz. We woke up at 4:30 after about three hours of sleep, packed up our stuff, and took a taxi to the airport. I slept on and off most of the time, so I´m not altogether sure what happened, but we got there fine and on schedule. We got our tickets, went through security, and headed toward our gate - but when we got there, we learned that they had changed the gates for our plane, so we walked pretty much all the way back to where we started and then waited there for a few minutes. We boarded the plane okay, and everything was fine. The flight was about 5 hours, but we stopped twice along ... read more

So we bumped our way from Copacabana to La Paz about 10 days ago, with Rach still reeling from the effects of sunstroke. The city itself is the highest capital in the world at about 4000m above sea level. Like many other capitals, it´s sprawling and overcrowded both on the pavements and on the roads and this, combined with the altitude makes it a hard city to get around. However, ATM machines, fast food, 5* hotels and book exchanges have all treated us well and were very much appreciated. Spent several days in the city getting our feet, shopping and eating and visiting the sparse sights. La Paz isn´t the most picturesque of cities, nor does it have a wealth of interesting museums or attractive plazas but it serves as a good base, having everything we ... read more

Well Melia and I are now in Bolivia. We had our first overnight bus leaving Cusco and arrived in our destination of Copacabana, Bolivia 14 hours later after switching buses in Puno, Peru. The bus ride was as expected: LONG! We were thankful that we paid for and got bus cama (bus-bed) class for most of the night (having run into travellers who have paid for but not gotten bus cama class). Though I can’t really say that the reclining seats were comfortable at least there were only 12 people on our level of the bus. The ticket hawks in Cusco all told us different prices and different things about the availability of Bus Cama class and direct service. ¨Sure we have it....no that company doesn’t have it...of course it is direct...no their bus is not ... read more

So I arrived at 1 in the morning. I have no idea what time zone this is... tried to do the math and just ended up really confused. 1st lil episode of drama: the hostel that I am staying at had their staff on some kind of strike,and so there was no reception after midnight. So, my trusty cab driver Jorge (jk, i dunno his name) drove me around and found me a hotel that was open. I ended up paying freaking 20 bucks for this place for one night, and bolted outta there early next morn. now i´m settled in my comfy Hostel Maya, right smack in the middle of Witch´s Market. The place is bustling with activity, and the people are all incredibly nice. my first meal in Bolivia? Lasagna. That´s right, I had ... read more

After I got back from Lake Titicaca I hung out in La Paz waiting for the approval to come from Santiago for my student visa. For a while. I had already gotten the approval in Bruxelles but skipped out because of maddening Belgian bureaucracy (19 days of waiting then Oh, sorry, no appointments for another 2 weeks. I left the next day from grey belgian 5-hour day winter for Peru. Call me crazy), so I applied for my visa after Izzy left, thinking it would be a fast approval. Nope... The thing about Chile is that they actually do things that first-world countries do except with third-world efficiency. Well. That was my impression from the consulate. After 2 months of being a gringo in south america, I was annoyed when the entire consular system of Chile ... read more