Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 564

On Wednesday morning at 8am Noel, the Irish lads and I commenced our three day trip into Bolivia, via the Southwestern Circuit. The trip included transport, all food and 2 nights accomodation. We checked out of Chile in San Pedro and then drove through the desert for an hour until we got to the Bolivian customs office. (Which country we were officialy in for the hour between checking out of Chile and into Bolivia we do not know!) The scenery was out of this world with the Andes and several volcanoes looming oin the distance. Once in Bolivia we had a simple breakfast of bread and Jam and then transferred our luggage from a minibus onto a 4X4. In our car with us were the Irish lads, a french couple and our Bolivian driver/chef/guide Severano. We ... read more

Back in Puno, we bumped into a few fellow backpackers we had met en route and decided to celebrate the occasion with a slap up meal and some pisco sours (local drink). 'Slap up' in Peruvian terms means a 'hefty' food bill of 35 Soles each! this equates to six pounds back home!! It was nice to see familiar faces again. So it was a 'muy triste adios' to Peru, the land of the Incas after our six week stint. We loved the country and what it had to offer; the hospitable people, the ma-husive and very impressive Andes, the never-ending deserts, the ancient ruins and sacred valleys, the pre-Inca sites, and not forgeting of course our time with Bruce Peru. But once again it was time to groove on. South America is a huge continent ... read more

Optei por saltar alguns meses de viagem e pôr online a última aventura boliviana. A parte fotográfica foi bastante condicinada pelo frio porque a máquina não funcionou na perfeição, descarregando as baterias muito mais rápidamente do que eu estava à espera e outras vezes nem ligava. Mas não importa, porque eu vou-me lembrar para sempre destes dias. Cordilheira Real A Cordilheira Real faz juz ao nome. Imponente parte dos Andes, tem mais de 600 picos acima dos 5.000 mt. uma grande parte visível de La Paz, diria mesmo, visíveis de onde quer que estejamos. Basta olhar para lá. Não só pra lá olhei como pra lá fui. Várias agências em La Paz "oferecem" trecking, escalada, e outras actividades na cordilheira. As opções são mais que muitas, variam na duração, localização e actividade em questão. Com falta ... read more

Well, South America here we are. Jordan and Ryan have both updated their blogs here so you´re probably already aware of our current location and how we came to arrive here. I´ll just say that I was dissapointed I´m not in Columbia today... but the trip isn´t over yet. The trip here was a dizzying experience, we spent most of Friday in the hostel waiting for the events of Ryan´s Camera theft to play out, and then we skipped off to the airport only to wait hours and hours for our flight. We determined it was financially prudent to spend the night sleeping in an airport lounge instead of paying for a hostel, which was a good idea in the end. However I really didn´t sleep at all, I did doze a few times in the ... read more

Thank the Good Lord for two wonderfully laid-back Peace Corps Bolivia Volunteers, Rebecca and Lauren. I was in southwest Bolivia with no plans for the Holidays. In order to make sure I didn't spend Christmas alone reading The DaVinci Code in some dark musty hostel, I invited myself to little Peace Corps Christmas party in Tarija, Bolivia. I didn't know Rebecca or Lauren, but I decided the PC bond would make up for any deficiences in our nonexistant relationship. They welcomed me warmly and even gave me the guest bedroom on the roof with wonderful view of the town. I made myself at home.....and then decided to stay for 8 days. Tarija has little to do for an itinerant gringo. It was perfect. I ate saltenas, drank coffee, and sat in the park. I had no ... read more