Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 565

Election Time in Bolivia!!! The situation has all the ingredients to spark civil war. Bolivia is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (only Haiti is poorer). The population is 70% indigenous but the minority whites (or mestizos) have ruled the country since its independence. Over the last eight years, however, Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, has grown very popular with the masses. He has promised to legalize coca production and nationalize the country´s natural resources, all to the dismay of the Bolivian elite and United States. The US ambassador actually said the US might reduce or eliminate aid to Bolivia if Evo wins. That comment only exacerbated the growing anti-american sentiment in Bolivia and throughout Latinoamerica. Furthermore, Evo has a natural political affinity with Chavez, Fidel, and Lula de Silva, although he claims ... read more

My first adventure in Bolivia was to cycle down the Death Road!!!!!!!!!! The Death Road is in the mountains outside of La Paz, its a narrow dirt track that runs from Chuspipata to Coroico. It was given the title of "The World's Most Dangerous Road" in 1995 and I´m betting still probably is. You see quite a few reefs laid by the roadside on the way down. The company is called "Downhill Madness". 8am we´re all bussed from central La Paz upto La Cumbre, a high Andes pass around 4670m. We select our bikes and then given safety training, not as silly as it sounds. The rear brake is on the right hand side and not the left as back home, a useful thing to know! Its bloody cold up here and we´re all wrapped in ... read more

Hello all, Up early this morning (7am) to catch the 7.30am bus to the border between Peru and Bolivia. Bus dropped us a good bit before customs and we took a taxi up to the office. Got my passport stamped as exiting Peru and then had to walk up to the border (marked by a large stone archway) to cross. Once over, I had my passport stamped as entering Bolivia and was given a 30 day visa. It was raining and cold as we crossed the border. Took a cab to Copacabana which is a beautiful beachy/seaside resort on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Checked into our hotel and then went for lunch (delicious mushroom risotto) and a wander around. Capacabana is famous for the icon of the Virgin of Copacabana. There are religious artefacts everywhere ... read more

The following morning it was up early again for the bus to Copacabana on the edge of Lake Titticaka. The bus was full of Gringo´s on this well establised tourist route. This short (4hr) bus ride was notable for two things. Firstly the unforgettable short ferry trip accross part of Lake Titicaka to the Copacabana peninsula where the passengers ´sped´ accross on a small boat whilst each bus went accross at a snail´s pace on what can only be described as flat bottomed wooden boxes. Secondly our first sign of a dodgy stomach - not really the best timing on a bus with no toilet although fortunately nothing too serious. From Copacabana we took a boat trip to Isla del Sol on perhaps the slowest motorised boat we´ve ever been on. The Isla is popular with ... read more

Day 23 We arrived in Potosi midday and had a wander round. We are something like 3600 m above sea level so it's really hard to walk uphill as your heart is beating so fast due to the altitude! We had lunch and then went for a tour around the mint museum. Day 24 We were picked up in the morning for our trip to the mine. Basically Potosi is a mining town where the miners pay the government to work in the mine and whatever they find is theirs. The mine used to be rich in silver, but now it is other minerals they look for. We stopped off at the market to buy the miners some presents and headed to the mine. Firstly our tour guide showed us how the miners use dynamite to ... read more