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Published: November 26th 2023
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Being a travel completist became the nature of the whole exercise in the wake of a truly comprehensive travel history, and a recent world tour, and the lure of South America proved to be too strong to be able to resist, so resist I didn't, and was heading for Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, the first point on the 2-nation South American itinerary. Santa Cruz came across as a substantial urban zone with a scattering of features which would really make it seem like an unacknowledged place on an offbeat traveller's world itinerary. The hub of all activity is more than likely 24th of September square, where the cathedral is located, along with a few urban features of note, from which you may gain your bearings, and head off further into the urban zone to explore. If it is relaxation and spa culture you seek, then look no further than either of two spots in spookily close proximity, notably Guembe ECO park, and la Rinconada, both of which offer spectacular outdoor bathing options, and a setting which effortlessly fuses the natural with the man-made, in ways which make it apparent that careful collaging has been worked into the mix
here. If you seek a day trip which thrills, delights and offers a perfect rural escape route, then look no further than Amboro national park, an achievable day trip from Santa Cruz, the centrepiece of which is a truly spectacular waterfall, which appears more standout, given the fact that the water cascades over a protruding ledge, and can be viewed from just about any angle as a result. Every country on earth appears to have something of a majorly-famous landmark or feature which seems to stand out from the rest of the pack, and in the case of Bolivia, it happens to be the majestic and surreal landscape of the salt flats, a miracle of nature, and one of the more exilherating day trips you might be fortunate to experience. In order to enjoy this pure marvel, you are more than likely going to base yourself in the town of Salar de Uyuni, a kind of dusty one horse town, which has a few curious features, and feels like a town left behind after the gold rush, with a basic economic infrastructure still in place to keep the town in relatively fine shape. One or two features dotted around town
might indeed appeal to the curious traveller, one of which being the railway museum, where engines and carriages from former times are showcased under one roof, able to be viewed for a nominal admission fee. The shops and eateries in the town itself might well be of a relatively low-key type, but they act as conveniences for those who are based here for the purpose of that all-important salt flats excursion. The first port of call on the classic salt flats tour happened to be the abandoned train graveyard, and the cluster of trains now existing in the form of an open-air museum are perfect for wacky photo opportunities and some kind of insight into how rail travel in the area might have been when the trains themselves were still in operation. The salt flats landscapes generally take the format of flat expanses of salt-encrusted earth, with a few varieties of how they look depending on the area. In some areas, pure flat salt exists, and in others, that is under 2 inches of water, thus making for a fabulous mirrored surface, perfect for a sundowner, and in others, the salt looks like it is partitioned by deposits of salt
resembling miniature walls, separating one patch of salted land from another. The salt hotel might not welcome too many actual guests these days, but it remains intact as a creative work of art, where the theme of salt has been taken to a highly creative realm, to the kind of outcome which only a visit in person there makes perfect sense. Along the way, you will be taken to a cacti-laden island from where view from up on high will put the entire surroundings into perspective, and allow for those panoramic video shooting opportunities, in order to gain the fullest flavour of the experience. The salt flats necessitate a bare minimum of one full day of your attention, and it is just about guaranteed to provide a huge amount of memorable moments, as this is one area of the globe unlike no other, where uniqueness is generally a visitor's most accurate description of what they have seen and experienced. The Bolivian city of La Paz is known as the world's highest city in terms of altitude, and it is not uncommon for unattuned visitors to experience altitude sickness as a result - you have been forewarned! The city itself, altitude sickness aside, is something of a South American gem, not too widely acknowledged, but easy to appreciate once you work your way through the satisfying features of the urban fabric. Architecturally, it appears to rank higher than the main bulk of the rest of the nation's urban areas, and although Bolivia's economic standing on the South American scale occupies a lower rung, the city's system of interconnecting cable cars make it feel like an advanced transportation plan, and it is indeed a joy to behold devoting at least half a day to riding the cable cars in constant succession, just to get a feel for this city from a spectacular angle. The city is well equipped with just about all the right kinds of features in the right kinds of measures to make it an utter must-see on your Bolivian itinerary, and seems to contain various districts of various themes, clustered together for pure convenience and pleasure - i.e. clothing district, bohemian district, business district, and so on and so forth. If you seek a truly otherworldly day trip from La Paz, then I urge you to look no further than the Valley of the Moon, where a truly surreal landscape makes for spectacular photos, and an experience which will etch itself on your mind Grand Canyon-style. The scale of it all might not be a match for the Arizona counterpart, but the variety of jagged-edged lunar landscape features is more than enough to assure you that this is most definitely a dip into the ether which a seasoned traveller such as myself would find way too hard to resist. This was Bolivia, and after a week in the nation, the words puzzlingly underrated sprang to mind, and if this was my best-kept secret, I just wonder how much inspiration that might provide now that, in travel blog terms at least, the word is out, and the reality of sightseeing in Bolivia has been shared.
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