Blogs from La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 11

The bus ride to the shores of Lake Titicaca was amazing and cold! When first got on board I could not stop shivering due to the the lack of heat at the fact that Bolivia is deep into its winter. I am definitely wearing my sneakers on the way back because my feet definitely got the brunt of the cold. Coming through the outskirts of El Alto feels like some kind of apocalyptic mountain survivor landscape. It is cold, dusty with various Aymara people wandering here and there. Also there are these ramshackle brick structure thrown up all along the road. I am sure that they are just partially finished buildings, but it reminds me of all those bombed out buildings of Europe following World War II. I thought about how desperate it would be to ... read more

We arrived at the bus station as told at 8.10 am and were hustled onto the bus. It was full - seemed like everyone else had been told 7.30am Good start! We climbed steeply out of La Paz to the rim and were soon back on the altiplano Eventually we reached the shore of Lake Titicaca, being at an altitude of 3,980 metres it's the highest navigable lake in the world. It was huge, resembled an ocean rather than a lake and was a most amazing shade of deep blue. At one point we were all ushered off the bus and loaded onto a small boat to cross a narrow part of the lake. The bus was loaded precariously onto a floating platform and drifted across along side us, I feared for my luggage! Once safely ... read more

My current stumblings around La Paz seem to mirror my stumblings in life. It is true what they say that the one person you can never get away from is yourself. I feel somewhat better today, more breath, but also more aware of a slight headache. I took a much needed walk today up Avenida Arce to the Plaza del Estudiante. It was nice to blow some of the early trip trepidation away. Despite all the warnings I have been to South America before, five times actually. I have hopped on the back of motorbike taxis in Cartagena. I have wandered through dimly lit streets in Lapa at night looking for the dodgy bits. I have walked drunk blithely through a late Cali night. I have been stranded unconcerned after a futbol match in the menacing ... read more

We spent our last day in San Pedro eating a late breakfast in the town square watching a colourful parade go by. Did some shopping in the afternoon for a sun hat and knitted leg warmers - strange combination I know but essential! The cute little town of San Pedro is teaming with interesting shops. We left on the night bus at 8pm and paired up with a lovely Spanish couple who were sat behind us on the bus. At Arica next morning we were going separate ways but they seemed reluctant to leave us as we couldn't speak the lingo but I assured them we'd be fine. I soon found the office for the bus to La Paz, established the time of departure and the duration, chose seats and found out if food would be ... read more

One of the most well-known attractions in Bolivia is the infamous “Death Road”, also known as the World’s Most Dangerous Road, so called because of the alarming number of road fatalities. For a fee, tourists can experience this for themselves and mountain bike down this perilous route. Since we were here, it seemed like a good idea to join in on this madness and experience it ourselves. I am not a mountain biker at all, and although I used to be a road cyclist, going downhill was never my favourite. I was one of those weird people who preferred the uphill climbs, so I was a little apprehensive about going down the “Death Road” to say the least. I had done some online research and decided to go with Gravity Bolivia, as although they were more ... read more