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Published: March 18th 2010
Getting into Bolivia was an adventure in itself as we decided to cross the border from the Atacama Desert of Chile on a 3 day organised Jeep tour. After parting with $120 US each for the 3 day / 2 night trip we left Chile in a mini bus and cleared customs almost as soon as we left town. We then drove from our base height of 2400m (above sea level) straight up to a height of around 4500m to cross the border into Bolivia. There were no hairpin bends on the drive just a road that climbed gently upwards past strange sandy coloured volcanoes and on to a vast sandy plateau with snow capped mountains in the distance.
It's easy to write about altitude but to experience ascending to that height and knowing that you're not coming down for another few weeks takes some getting used to. At 4500m, walking on flat ground is a little tiring but climbing a flight of stairs leaves you exhausted for a good few minutes. Ibuprofen is a must for the thumping headaches that can come out of nowhere. The locals chew coco leaves which is the raw ingredient for cocaine as it
is said the counter the effects of altitude. We both tried it and it gives you a slightly numb mouth and a bit of added alertness but certainly nothing to write home about.
At the Bolivian border hut we got our passports stamped and transferred in to Bolivian Landcruisers. In total there were 6 vehicles with around 6 tourists in each. We shared ours with a French couple (Anna and Vivian) and two Irish girls (Fiona and Sharon) and had a brilliant time. We would typically drive for about an hour at a time then stop at a multi-coloured lake with flamingos or an area with bubbling mud pools and geysers! The highest point was just over 5000m or 16,500ft. This is about half the cruising altitude of a jet airliner to put it into context. Also these altitudes are not the height of the surrounding mountains but the height of the plains where we were going to spend the next few weeks. We found it incredible that people can actually live here. Maybe it's the lack of oxygen that makes the locals so short?
That night all the Landcruisers stopped at a mountain refuge and we had
6 bunks in our room. There were toilets but no showers or baths. Nobody slept well. Fiona couldn't breath properly and Corinne had a headache that went totally out of control at about 3am in the morning. When we woke up and spoke to the rest of the group we found that some people had spent the night vomiting and were in a really bad way. This was all due to the effects of altitude.
The next day we continued our way across incredibly varied scenery whilst listening to Andean music on the stereo. That night we stayed in a lodge that was made entirely of salt bricks. Even though it rained very hard the lodge didn't dissolve and we stayed dry! The final day saw us drive across the largest salt flats in the world (The Salar de Uyuni). The salt flats are the remains of a giant salt water lake that dissolved 100's of thousands of years ago leaving an 85 metre deep blanket of salt which occupies an area over 12,000 km2. In the middle there are islands which look just like ordinary islands except they're covered in cactus and have been left stranded in a
sea of salt! For the final crossing towards the town of Uyuni the salt flats were under about 10cm of rain water. For this section we rode on the roof of the Landcruiser, meaning we could see the perfect mirrored reflection of the mountains and clouds against a dark blue sky. The strength of the ultra violet light was so powerful that those people that didn't wear sun block were burned within minutes!
As you get near to the town of Uyuni you can see the locals mine the salt with pick axes, storing the salt in small pyramids prior to shoveling into trucks. The town of Uyuni feels a little wild west and it's pretty scruffy. However they do have a “train graveyard” just outside of town where they dump old locomotives from the days of steam or even commuter trains that have been involved in crashes or have become obsolete. It makes for great photos but is a little spooky with it being a little too far away from help if anyone decided to rob you! Bolivia is the poorest country in South America and it does have its fair share of desperate people so you need
to take care.
We left Uyuni after a few days for the capital, La Paz, which should have been an overnight bus trip. The roads were as bad as it gets and the bus only managed about 30kph maximum speed while shaking so much that we couldn't believe it didn't combust. Then after 2 hours it stopped altogether. So now we were stuck at high altitude (as always in Bolivia) with a bunch of loud, annoying, obnoxious, arrogant chain smoking Israelis that didn't want to go to sleep. Oh joy. As dawn broke it became clear that a truck and a coach had tried to pass and both got stuck in the mud, trapping vehicles in both directions. The mud was knee deep and it took hours for a few people with shovels to contemplate how to free the two vehicles. It could have been done in 30 minutes, but people just couldn't be bothered to sort it out efficiently. It was a great glimpse of Bolivian psychology, watching how the women eventually got around to organising the men. Eventually we got going and after fjording a few deep rivers and passing some more stranded coaches we were on
our way. For 8 hours the main Uyuni to La Paz road resembled nothing more than a tank training course with steep muddy slopes instead of roads. After an eternity we got on to a tarmac road and another 5 hours later we arrived in La Paz at about 10:00pm, 16 hours late - and very hungry!
The location of La Paz is spectacular as the city occupies a wide valley rising up to the high plains at its edges. Even higher snow capped mountains are just out of town. We soon found a nice hotel with private bathroom and satellite TV and wifi. This was a real luxury for us and we immediately settled in. The main town is much more affluent than some of the outer suburbs. The streets are cobbled and there are market stalls everywhere selling llama wool jumpers, scarfs and blankets. The amount of colour in and on everything is amazing. Old ladies stagger with huge loads wrapped in colourful blankets and old brightly painted Dodge buses smoke and chug their way up the hills.
Apart from the architecture, what makes La Paz so special is the people. The older women wear layered
skirts and bowler hats which are said to increase their fertility! The people were so friendly and we found it an easy place to practice learning Spanish as they speak more slowly than in Europe and they seem to have more time to chat. La Paz is like stepping back in time with the old fashioned clothes, cars and buildings. It's a surreal place but we felt completely at home there and we loved every minute of it.
After a few days exploring we decided to take a trip to the Amazon basin of Bolivia which is surprisingly close as the crow flies. However it takes about 20hrs by bus on a good day so we opted for a 45 min flight instead. The only snag was that most of the Amazonian airports of Bolivia only have grass landing strips so being the wet season our plane was delayed for 3 days and then delayed 2 more days due to a taxi strike and road blocks which sealed off the main La Paz airport! So it was a good job we liked La Paz and we decided to do all of our Christmas shopping and post it home. Coz
also got some new glasses made up at a fraction of the price of the UK.
When the day arrived to go to the Amazon we couldn't believe we were going until we actually took off in our 16 seat prop aircraft. The length of time it took for the plane to reach take off speed was very off putting for such a small aircraft that would normally be off the ground in seconds. Once again this was due to the altitude and thin air as the plane needed much more speed before there was sufficient lift to get us off the ground. We flew low and fast, climbing gradually and passing within touching distance of mountains as we literally flew between snow capped peaks. Forty five minutes later and we were in Rurrenabaque, climbing down the aircraft steps into 33 degrees and almost total humidity. Wow what a contrast! Our lungs said a big 'thank you' as the air was full of oxygen, climbing stairs was now easy again!
We traveled to the Amazon with Fiona and Sharon (the Irish girls) which was great fun. The tour company we chose was a little up market but it
meant that as we achieved the minimum number of 4 people, the resort opened up especially for us! We were driven in a four wheel drive for 3 hours past piranha infested swamps and huge cattle ranches before we got to the river Yacuma which is a tributary of the Amazon. From there a long boat took us upstream and 5 minutes later we arrived at a huge riverside lodge with about 12 staff members catering for the 4 of us!!!
All of the buildings were shielded against mosquitoes by netting right up to the rafters which was great but the downside was zero breeze. Although the temperature was a mere 33 degrees it felt so much hotter, thanks to the humidity. The sweat poured off of us and the only place to be was outside in the shade sleeping in the hammock waiting for either a) a river cruise to see animals or b) a huge and delicious meal cooked by “Fat” the chef. Life was good in the hammock.
We stayed for 2 nights getting up early to see animals by boat and going out at dusk for walks in the jungle with our guide “Sherman”.
We saw big black howler monkeys, caymans and alligators, capivaras (the largest rodent in the world) and more birds than you can shake a stick at. During our jungle walk at dusk troupes of capochin monkeys jumped and shreaked as we crunched in the undergrowth below. Other mammals scurried on the forest floor and eagles and vultures seemed to follow us around landing on perches and taking off in a hurry as we regularly startled them. We also saw fresh jaguar and ocelot prints in the mud but didn't get to see any in the flesh.
The following day we went to an area of the river where there are many pink river dolphins. We had seen the odd dolphin swim past our lodge but this section of river had around 6 dolphins in an area the size of a football pitch. If you dangled your feet in the water the dolphins would swim up to the boat and “test bite” your feet! Dave swam with the dolphins after being assured the dolphins scare away the alligators but found being bumped underwater by a dolphin pretty unnerving. As he said “how do you really know its a dolphin and
in any case, dolphins have pretty big teeth themselves!” It was great fun and we couldn't believe how many dolphins there were just swimming around. In fact they were one of the most common animals we saw on the trip!
That night we took the boat out in search of alligators and caymans. Under the clearest skies imaginable complete with shooting stars we slowly cruised along the river with our torches pointing at the river banks. Suddenly Fiona spotted two red eyes peering at us. The retinas of the alligators glow perfectly in the dark making them much easier to spot than in day light. It was very spooky as we saw multiple sets of cayman and alligator eyes looking at us from all sides. On our way back we even saw fire flies dancing in the night sky. It was a real privilege to have seen the Amazon basin and to see these animals in their natural environment.
After flying back to La Paz we couldn't walk for more than a minute without feeling dizzy as we were back at 12,000ft but our bodies soon acclimatised as we'd previously spent over 2 weeks at altitude. We decided
to leave La Paz the same day to continue our journey northwest towards Peru. We took a 4 hour bus bound for the town of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world). It was a really beautiful drive passing glacial peaks and driving along side the vast blue Lake Titicaca. Copacabana is quite a pretty town used primarily to break the journey between Bolivia and Peru. We checked into a hotel right on the lake side with terrific views of the sunset.
Bolivia is a very poor country but the people are really kind and friendly. Even in La Paz we didn't see that many signs of wealth. It seemed as though the whole country lives hand to mouth, which although obviously is not by choice, it means that they depend much more on each other to survive. As a tourist destination it's perfect provided you have the time to put up with journeys that take twice as long as planned and flights that are canceled at a moments notice. In a way, knowing that things might not go to plan is all part of the adventure. Bolivia is such a colourful
place with so many more things to do than we had time for. We loved it and can't wait to go back there one day.
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locojhon
non-member comment
You. Get. Bolivia.
No wonder you love it. For all of the reasons you mentioned and more, Bolivia has become my favorite nation on earth. It's the breath-taking topography; it is the incredible range of micro-climates from jungle to some of the world's highest peaks; it is the variety of amazingly wonderful people who survive on almost nothing in all those niches, almost universally without complaint, and with incredibly hard work. For me, it is also the wide variety of different-yet-delicious foods (sopa de mani, etc. etc) and the fact that for the first time in 500 years, Bolivia has a leader looking out for the interests of her people, instead of themselves or non-Bolivian entities--be they governments or businesses. Also, having been born and raised in the USA, and having traveled more than a bit in the USA and abroad, Bolivia is the freest country I have ever been in--far more individually free than my own country. Oh,,,and double-bonus--Bolivia does not wage war on innocents around the world. I want to go back to live there, and will do so asap. Nice blogging, btw. You obviously 'get' Bolivia. Appreciatively,,,locoto