Blogs from La Paz, La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 6

Chaotic La Paz pulses with life at a dizzying, freezing 3650 meters/12,000 ft, its wild traffic dominated by crammed, black-smoke belching, ancient buses and tourist-robbing taxis, its buildings either half-finished brick, or steel and glass high-rises, both climbing steep, lung-busting streets crowded with indigenous women in flouncy skirts and bowler hats selling fresh orange juice and snacks, hand-woven goods and trinkets. I'd been in La Paz a couple of times before, but this time was special, for while there, March-May, 2014, I had adventures with several, fabulous TravelBloggers (TBers), witnessed colorful festivals, including Carnival, Holy Week, and May Day, and lots of protests, as well as experiencing the darker underbelly of the city in this poorest nation in the Americas. As always, I stayed in the heart of the city in a beautifully restored old ... read more

I finally left Peru to enter Bolivia via the Border Copacabana. From Puno to the Border: Back on the Bolivia hop bus I was picked up at my hostel at 8.15 & taken to the port in a mini-bus. Once everyone was back on the bus (a double decker '15 plate from Inka express) we headed for the Peru - Bolivia border at Yunguyo near Copacabana. *There are 2 border crossings into Bolivia the other is at Desaguadero but it is considered to be more dangerous for robbery & scams* At the border we got off the bus & removed all our belongings before heading to the Peru immigration office. Here I showed my passport & white immigration card it was checked I hadn't overstayed my welcome & I got my exit stamp. After changing money ... read more

Ça fait un petit moment que je n’ai pas écrit, et il s’est passé plein de choses à la Paz. Principal évènement, j’ai trouvé un petit boulot les week-ends et jours fériés la semaine dernière. Je travaille dans la prestigieuse agence Vertigo Biking ! Je voulais donner des cours de français et anglais au départ mais mes annonces n’ont rien donné. Du coup, j’ai mis à profit le fait que je parlais plusieurs langues autrement. Mon travail consiste à vendre des tours pour la route de la mort, et tout préparer pour le lendemain lorsque les gens réservent, appeler les guides, chauffeurs, mécaniciens… Et être là le matin lorsque les touristes s’en vont faire le tour, ce qui est finalement le plus dur, étant donné que j’ai commencé à me faire des amis ici et à ... read more

After my last stopover in La Paz being lulled to sleep by the sound and motion of humping German backpackers in the bunk below, I decided there was no way I was going back to Wild Rover hostel. Tired, older, and somewhat relieved I booked two nights back at the luxury hotel where I had stayed for my first nights in Bolivia. It was my last chance at a more authentic La Paz nightlife, but try as I may I could not make it happen. I wasn’t able to even locate anything that resembled a nightlife spot. It took me forever to find the one nearby place that came highly recommended by my guidebook. However, when I finally found it was shuttered up. Off night? Who knows. So instead, I spent hours wandering the dark, deserted, ... read more

Hi Bloggers, We woke up with hangovers made worse by the lack of oxygen in the air anyway. We made it to the free breakfast but then went back to bed all morning. Oh well, La Paz was purely for a few rest days. We went to this cheap but delicious organic sandwich place for lunch then went back to our hostel. We had our washing done (5kg/£5), a bit expensive but we had pretty much run out of clean clothes since doing the Inca trail. In the afternoon I had a catch up with Parsons on viber J I haven’t spoken to any of the girls in months, so it was good to chat!! We had a very lazy afternoon! We only ventured out to that English pub in the evening to have exactly the ... read more