Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 8

Off the the bus station again for another long trip on public transport. The bus is much the same, but a little less flash as the one to Puno a couple of days ago. This time there is no lunch stop so we stock up on biscuits to get us through the day. However we do have a border crossing and a farewell to Mike. The check out of Peru and check into Bolivia goes smoothly. We have to take our big bags with us but can leave our small bags in the bus. Perhaps they are only interested in really big quantities of drugs. We have hugs and tears all round as Mike leaves us and Erica takes control of our unruly group. The rural houses in Bolivia look a little more substantial than those ... read more

When you think of Bolivia, the first thing that comes to mind is Salar de Uyuni salt flats or Lake Titicaca, but there is more to Bolivia than you may think. We had no idea that there was a western style landscape sitting in the south of the country and it is definitely a place to visit with its incredibly red mountain backdrop and quiet feel. We wanted to come to Tupiza as the tours to Salar de Uyuni go a different route and are a lot less busier than going from Uyuni town plus the landscape around peaked some interest. We arrived to Tupiza from Sucre, on our final night bus of this trip, at 4.30 am. Luckily the hostel was only five minutes walk away from the bus station and that someone was able ... read more

After taking a very crappy night bus (completely different standards to Peru), we arrived in to Sucre, known as the 'White City'. The further south you go in Bolivia, the more Country Western the landscape becomes. Again, like Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Bolivia is a country with an amazing range of diverse climates... except an ocean climate, and that's a sore point in the countries history! It was nice to be back out of the big cities and we spent the first day (after catching up on some lost sleep) effectively people watching in the main square, watching photographers trying to drum up business when everyone has camera phones and wondering why the old lady next to us on the bench was yelling out 'Edgar!!' When no one was around. Sucre is a university city so ... read more

Country number 4, Bolivia! What better way to enter the country by spending some time at Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3800 masl that's almost equally split between Peru and Bolivia. We decided that the Peru side would be too touristy and heard that a small town called Copacabana (not to be confused with the Brazilian beach) was a more idyllic and relaxed place to be. It surely didn't disappoint! It coincided with our 3 year wedding anniversary so we treated ourselves to the iconic Los Olas accommodation with rooms that have no doubt been inspired and built after a trip to Barcelona accompanied with a sensational view of the bay. We reckon we had the best accommodation (each room being a different design and size, including a sea shell!) and ... read more

Second day in Bolivia, and we are settling at a slightly lower altitude. Most of the day will be spend from 4000 meters to just above 3500 meters. We were normally due to the visit the Geysers area. But here it is, the geysers are at around 5000 meters, and up there, the snow is still massively packed. It is not like they would send snow machines to clear it....no proper roads to clear, smile! So if our drivers told us it's a no go with our Land Rovers, I guess it is actually a no go. Good news is, I've already done it, and Tanya has seen few geysers with me around the world. So we are heading for something we normally don't visit. There were pre-inca writings on rocks...more very weird rock formations....plus we ... read more