Bolivia - Coroico

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Suzanne here...

The flight from Rurrenbaque to La Paz was great. We were in a tiny little propeller plane, with single seats each side of the aisle. Our obsession with arriving at airports early paid off too, as we were on the front seats, just inches away from the cockpit, which was fun.

Landing in La Paz, we decided to ignore the taxi drivers and try the colectivo service. Minibus no. 212 left from just outside arrivals and took us all the way to Plaza Isabel la Católica, a two minute walk from our hotel. At 2bs each (about 23p) it was a great saving compared to the 70bs going-rate for a taxi. We felt quite pleased with ourselves.

Our hotel was Casa Hermanos Manchego. This was a last minute change from Casa Skyways B&B, who had decided less than three hours before check-in that they wanted to spend time with family rather than bother with us, and cancelled our reservation. Cockwombles. It's not as if it was a great hotel, but it was cheap. Anyway, Casa Hermanos Manchego was more expensive but a nicer room and slightly better location.

Dinner than night was at Casa Argentina, just around the corner. At 260bs (£30) it wasn't the cheapest meal we've ever had. But for that we got bread, fries, unlimited salad, and a really good quality steak the size of our heads. It was delicious.

The following morning we got up early and got a taxi to the bus terminal at Villa Fatima. As soon as we walked in someone sold us tickets to Coroico. Although we did have to wait around half an hour before the minibus was full and we could set off. The journey was just over two hours, and through some lovely scenery. It followed part of the notorious Death Road, although a new bypass avoids the most dangerous stretch these days. We saw plenty of of people cycling the road, but it did not appeal. To cycle with twenty other folk just to earn the right to wear a twee t-shirt telling everyone about it? No thanks (apologies to the genuine cycling enthusiasts that do the route).

We'd struggled to find much accommodation in Coroico listed online, settling in the end for a rather rustic looking place out of town called Villa Bonita. The cabin itself was ok actually, if basic (although I hated the old, spider infested bathroom). However the setting was lovely, the hosts friendly, and it was cheap. Dumping our bags we set off to explore the town, which really didn't take long. We ended up spending the afternoon drinking cold beers in Carla's Garden Pub.

The cafe at Villa Bonita was due to shut at 5pm, so we went back for an early dinner. It was ok. Not as good as the reviews made out (frozen chips, bah). Pretty garden though. Then we sat in the nice little space outside our cabin with wine and music, which was lovely. Coroico is notorious for mosquitoes and sandflies. We put loads of repellent on and covered up, so escaped with just a couple of bites.

Our bed was not incredibly comfortable (needed a new mattress) but what really worried me was no mosquito net. Sure enough, the next day I awoke with my left arm outside of the bed, totally covered in itchy sandfly bites. Not happy. David was suffering too. I told our host who shrugged it off as part of being in the jungle. Well, yes, but we'd just come from the jungle proper and not been bitten like that. Why? Because they provided mosquito nets.

Our plan for the day, in fact the reason for visiting Coroico, was to hike to some nearby waterfalls. Sadly we didn't get far. It was raining which in itself was annoying, but we could have coped. The real problem was the cloud cover obscured the wonderful views, which made the endeavor seem pointless. We gave up and went into town for a coffee, settling for a beer when there was no coffee to be found. A bit disappointing, but you can't always plan for the weather. We then trailed around the local shops looking for candles for that night, harder than it should have been but in the end sucessful.

Before we went out for dinner (the cafe at our place was shut) our host offered to do something in our room while we were out to dispel the sandflies and mosquitos. She didn't seem that keen as a) the rain would probably deter them anyway and b) it was some chemical she wasn't keen on using. Still, it was a kind offer and I readily agreed. Frankly I'd have agreed to a combination of Agent Orange and ricin after the previous night.

Dinner was pasta and gnocci at Toto in town, pretty tasty. Then beer, wine and music back at our little patio. Lovely. This outside space really did make our trip to Coroico worthwhile. Even better, we escaped without any obvious new bites.

After breakfast we walked to the bus station to get a minibus back to La Paz. We had to wait even longer for it to fill up, but got there in the end. Two days was enough in Coroico. I'm glad we did it though. Five nights in La Paz would have been too long. As it is, we've not even properly seen La Paz yet. Our earlier stops being more refuelling than sightseeing. We're looking forward to having a proper look around.

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