Blogs from Bolivia, South America

Le circuit des routards en Bolivie est assez classique ; si on arrive du Sud, comme moi, on commence par le circuit du Sud Lipez avant d’aller vers Potosi, Sucre, La Paz, le lac Titicaca. Même s’il existe quelques variantes, ce circuit fait que l’on retrouve à intervalles plus ou moins réguliers, selon la durée de leur séjour dans chaque ville, des voyageurs que l’on a vus précédemment. Des amitiés fugaces se forment, on est content de se revoir, on échange les impressions, les bons plans que l’on a récoltés d’autres routards, on voyage un peu ensemble, partageant les taxis, les repas, les visites aux musées. Depuis Uyuni (8 mai), je passe ainsi pas mal de temps avec un groupe de 4 personnes, composé de Juan, un Argentin, Ida, une Suédoise, Dorus, un Néerlandais de 19 ... read more

Hola First things first - my laptop is broken and therefore blogs might become a little less frequent, particularly after I leave Bolivia! Had a great week - after recovering from food poisoning last week, went out to see a twelve piece jazz band last friday at Thelonious Jazz Club - pretty special!! This was followed by a night at Ttkos on the saturday, and a reggae night on the Tuesday, again with live music, getting a serious groove on with Felipe, Toni, Maddie and Deshan! Went to Lago Titicaca on the Wednesday with Toni, Danny, Caro and Deshan. Fantastic couple of days....spent the first day at Copacabana, enjoying a tasty Trucha (fresh trout) by the lakeside with a cold one. Went for a laal walk up to a point above the town, a religious and ... read more

Writing from a small island in Honduras it's hard to think of what to say about Bolivia. It wasn't untill we were on the plane that I realised Central America probably wouldn't be the same, and it's not. Being in La Paz you could feel Bolivia was a bit behind the other countries in S.A. Bolivia seemed to have a little less money and a little less infrastructure but more political spirit and drive to improve every difficulty they face as a collective people. Within two weeks there was 2 seperate strikes and this wasn't a bunch of C.N. workers sitting under a tarp with some Tim Hortons coffees and a box of doughnuts. They had firecrackers and small pieces of dynamite (which we were told were harmless) that rattled windows and set off car alarms ... read more

I spent my last evening in San Pedro de Atacama visiting the incredible Valle de la Luna at sunset, a huge dry valley that looked a little like the place where Luke Skywalker grew up. I then got back to my hostel, packed my things and took a night bus to Arica, on the Chilean border with Bolivia. I stayed in Arica for only a few hours, hanging out at the shabby bus terminal and eating some questionable soup with the local drivers, before taking a comfortable bus over the border to La Paz. This took me through the unbelievable scenery of the Bolivian altiplano, a huge high-altitude plateau between two mountain ranges. After about an hour driving through El Alto, the sprawling surrounding city, a huge valley was revealed with thousands of buildings clinging to ... read more

The journey is incredible from Salta to San Pedro, just breath-taking no kidding the scenery changes every 20-30 mins, over a 10 hour bus journey is ALOT!!! highlights, was 7 coloured mountain, such shades of green, pink, oranges, reds, purples, blues, just amazing all thanks to the diff minerals making up these mountains!! then canyons, rock formations, blinding white salt flats, winding our way up to an altitude of 5,000 m above sea level, you can feel it, as you get out at argentina, chile boarder, wind cuts through you despite hot sun, and air is so thin, you've never had to concentrate on breathing quite so much before!! descending only slightly into the beginning of the driest desert in the world!!! San Pedro is unlike anywhere else i've been thus far, the locals themselves will ... read more

La première aventure en Bolivie, c’est une balade de 4 jours dans le désert du Sud-Lipez, dans le sud Ouest de Bolivie, à la frontière avec le Chili et l’Argentine. On loue les services d’une agence et on part à 4 dans une jeep, en traversant des paysages à couper le souffle, auxquels les photos ne rendent jamais complètement justice. On est sur les contreforts de la Cordillère, entre 3600 et 5000m d’altitude, en terrain stérile, traversant des hameaux reculés, des déserts de pierres, de sable, avec toujours en arrière-plan des montagnes multicolores qu’on croirait peintes par un artiste halluciné. On passe par des lagunes dont les couleurs changent au gré du soleil et du vent, qui prennent des teintes de vert et de rouille, et sur lesquelles se restaurent des centaines de flamands roses et ... read more