Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 520

hey guys. so quick update on my travels. i caught a 24 hour bus ride from floripa to buenos aires. i planned it perfectly to arrive in BA and have 6 hours to spare before i caught my plane to la paz, bolivia. well,the bus broke and we had to switch buses 5 times. needless to say, i missed my plane. was stuck in BA for 3 days ( which if you have to be stuck somewhere, is not a bad place) and finally got a seat. well, this plane ended up being 4 hours late. did not arrive in la paz until 2:45am, my hostel gave away my room, and luckily found a room 2 streets away. it was then that i found out that someone from the airlines (LAB for those interested) broke 2 ... read more

We were lucky enough to have time to go back to Uyuni, our first visit being more than we bargained for 6 years ago but that story is for another time. After another long journey from Potosi it was a good feeling to be back somewhere we knew. On first appearences it had not changed a bit. By complete chance we ended up in the hostel that rescued us last time and it was exactly the same - just as cold as well. We had hooked up with an English guy who was going to book a different trip to ours - he was so indecisive I couldn't work out how he had got so far away from home by himself! We just wanted to do a day trip back out to the Salt Pans and ... read more

Rurrenabaque is a little tropical town, really tranquil, and is totally different from the Altiplano high mountain area of La Paz. Cars are not common here, and people usually travel by 2 wheels - bikes or motorbikes. It lies in Bolivia's amazon basin, and from here people organize pampa and jungle tours to see some nature and wildlife. The way I got to Rurrenabaque was not unusual - an airplane. What was unusual was it's size - it was definitely the tiniest airplane I've ever flown in - just for 19 passengers. The airfield in Rurrenabaque was interesting as well, as it was not of concrete but of grass! In Rurrenabaque, besides the jungle and pampa tours (about which I'll add a separate entry) I've also enjoyed canopy, which is basically an omega from one tree ... read more

We spent about 9 days in Arequipa, Peru. It´s Peru´s 2nd largest city after Lima and has a very comfortable feel. We found a great small hotel (they´re called hostal´s here) with a quiet feel, beautiful gardens and an easy walk to the city center. Next, we found the street with the good Italian restaurant that the Brit in Puno referred us to and settled in to tour some sites in town. First was the Santa Catalina convent that was closed to outsiders for 400 years. Just incredible how a young life can be directed due to the social mores of the day. It was the second daughter or son that was sent to a religious order, with no questions asked, for life. Oh, and you were only able to speak during needlepoint sessions once a ... read more

We ended up spending far more time here than we intended and found out about the inefficiency of the bolivian air transport system in depth. Well, not just the air transport system!! La Paz and its surrounding areas are not the greatest on earth but it did the job as a base to discover Bolivia in a very short time. It was also cheap as chips!!! The first stop in Bolivia was Copacabana, definitely nothing like the one we were to visit later!!! It was in fact a replica of Puno but without Inka cola and moderately better beer. We only visited here so that we could journey to isla del sol on the lake which was as beautiful as Taquille, if a little different. We vistited as part of a package with a hotel ... read more