Blogs from Bolivia, South America

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South America » Bolivia » Oruro Department February 28th 2024

Around thrее in thе aftеrnoon and my dad an' Sarah pick mе up an' drivе mе to Tilcara and whеrе wе say our goodbyеs an' I wait for thе bus. Thе bus is dеlayеd by roughly thirty minutеs. I snoozе throughout thе еntirе thrее hour drivе to thе bordеr. I risе an' walk to thе Bolivian city of Villason from thе Argеntinе city of La Quiaca. Dеspitе thеrе bеing a road and cars do not and for somе rеason and cross thе boundary. At thе documеnt chеck and though and thеrе arе a good numbеr of pеoplе waitin' and an' thе linе is movin' quitе slowly. I spеnd approximatеly onе an' a half hours in linе. This placе is unbеarably cold—+5+8—I am not surе what This city is at a high altitudе and but thе mountains ... read more
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South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » Sorata February 24th 2024

I am writin' from Sorata and which is fivе hours away from thе city but still within thе La Paz dеpartmеnt. Wе had to travеrsе sеvеral HIGH MOUNTAINS in ordеr to gеt hеrе. Wе oncе passеd through thе Cumbrе and thе highеst point on thе mountain wе wеrе travеrsin' and with thе clouds dirеctly ovеrhеad. It was absurd! I was mеt with thе most brеathtakin' sight: thе Andеs mountain rangе and countlеss snow cappеd pеaks and an' Lakе Titicaca. It's еnormous an' еxquisitе. Thе grandеur of Crеation is bеyond words an' imagеs. It's gеttin' latе and an' I am fееlin' ill. Fеvеr and a sorе throat and body achеs and an' lack of еnеrgy I want my mothеr back! Duе to my illnеss and I am unablе to slееp and so I havе bееn rеadin' HABITUDES ... read more

South America » Bolivia » Potosí Department » Uyuni February 22nd 2024

There's an old legend, that Jesus once turned water into wine. Seeing is believing, goes the other old saw. Road-trip into a small, north-Argentinian town in search of a local version of Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival, fiesta, frolic and fun. Another bandied hack flickers its tongue: beware of what you ask for. The trumpets blare, rumpety-pumpety drums beat and beat, others triple and thrum, oboes move air, charangos twang and trill, and violins fill the empty spaces with cumbian drive and rhythm. And the wine flows. Free wine! 'No such thing as a free lunch?' Maybe. Free wine! Seeing is believing. The country's wine-bearing regions run mostly along the eastern base of the Andes Mountains, in areas of ample sunshine and enough snowmelt for good irrigation. From the south, Neuquen (in northern Patagonia), northwards some ... read more
Never-never land
Demon day
The earth giveth

South America » Bolivia January 13th 2024

Rainforest nourished by the Amazon, vast Savannah-like flatlands known as the Pampas, precipitous rugged Andes Mountains, and diversity of wildlife in world class proportions; Bolivia is a country with many riches for learning and wonder. But not only that, Bolivia is truly FOR THE BIRDS!!! Over 1400 species have been counted and it's crazy to see how different they all appear. If you make it through this blog to the photos, you'll see just a few of my favorite bird characters, along with a few monkeys and human characters as well...... We traveled to Bolivia with the express purpose of experiencing the Amazon basin and learning about the wildlife it supports. What we discovered was a country with warm friendly people, tourism that was struggling to recover post pandemic, and the Amazon basin experiencing a disturbing ... read more
If you gotta....
Dangerous?
Soft floors and shade

South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department October 14th 2023

Thursday, Oct 12 I’m solo now. Dick has gone back to the States and I’m carrying on with my South American adventure. The flight to La Pas is with Avianca a particularly no frills airline, you don’t even get offered a glass of water, and are actually required to purchase a bottle of water. Having said all of this, the flight is short and I was able to upgrade to get more legroom for US $50. I’m in La Paz at 2.15am local time feeling a little light headed because of the altitude as the airport sits at 4,062 meters (13,326 ft). It has been known for passengers to just pass out when arriving from sea level, however I’ve been at altitude in Bogota and also, everyone else on my flight seems ok. Customs is a ... read more
Pre Match Warmup
Train Graveyard
Getting ready for a ride on the Salar


Being a travel completist became the nature of the whole exercise in the wake of a truly comprehensive travel history, and a recent world tour, and the lure of South America proved to be too strong to be able to resist, so resist I didn't, and was heading for Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, the first point on the 2-nation South American itinerary. Santa Cruz came across as a substantial urban zone with a scattering of features which would really make it seem like an unacknowledged place on an offbeat traveller's world itinerary. The hub of all activity is more than likely 24th of September square, where the cathedral is located, along with a few urban features of note, from which you may gain your bearings, and head off further into the urban zone ... read more
Amboro National Park
The Salt Flats of Uyuni
La Paz


(Day 300 on the road)There is a small street in the centre of La Paz where most of the travel agencies, many backpacker accommodations and a popular cafe are concentrated. As I walked down the steep street looking at the tours and excursions advertised by the travel agencies, I realised that I had done almost all of them. Valle de la Luna? Check. Copacana? Check. Free La Paz city tour? Check. Isla del Sol? Check. Tiwanako? Check. Chacaltaya? Check. Chulita wrestling? Check. Pico Austria? Check. Death Road? Check. Huayna Potosi? Check. Check. Check. It was time to leave La Paz and move on. First up were a couple of stops in unremarkable towns like Oruro, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. I had discovered however that the Bolivian cities that are located at a higher altitude (say higher ... read more
Che's original and secret grave
69 million years old dinosaur footprints
The amazing Traffic Zebras at work

South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz April 5th 2023

(Day 279 on the road)"If you need the oxygen bottle, your climb is over and you are going down". This was the firm stance of the guide at the climbing agency in the centre of La Paz. I was there because I had finally made up my mind to try to climb Huayna Potosi, a 6.088 metre mountain that is very accessible from La Paz. I had thought long and hard about whether I really wanted to do it. And why, really? I was quite worried about the altitude. Also, the actual ascent starts at 1 am, so there would be little to no sleep the night before. But as a good friend told me on the phone: I had been at the altitude of La Paz / Lake Titicaca for over a month now; I ... read more
Biking down the Death Road
A bus with 108 passengers went over the cliff here
Huayna Potosi - Inside the High Camp

South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz March 24th 2023

(Day 267 on the road)If you read the following blog entry and think "wow, Ben's writing skills have certainly improved", I am afraid I have to disappoint you. Most of this entry was written by my good friend Suzanne, who came to visit me in Bolivia for ten amazing days of travelling together. But before I hand over, a quick recap of the days leading up to Suzanne's arrival in La Paz: My entry into Bolivia from Peru was as easy as possible: A minibus from the travel agency picked up all the passengers at 4am in Puno, the boat from Puno (Peru) to Kasani (Bolivia) took about 5 hours (straight across the beautiful Lago Titicaca), the immigration formalities in Kasani took less than 3 minutes, and a minibus took me to the lakeside town of ... read more
Suzanne with Alpaca street art in La Paz
Sightseeing by cable car in La Paz
Above Copacabana

South America » Bolivia January 10th 2023

Monday 2nd January - Monday 3rd January Well it is a good job we bailed on that night bus, because we both needed that toilet until late that evening. Whilst I seemed to settle and sleep, Paul woke up at 3am in pain! Cue another unsettled day and trip back to the hospital the following day. Diagnosed with gastritis to go with his probable salmonella, he was prescribed a different antibiotic and an anti acid. Thankfully our hotel was flexible and helpful, even worried about us, which made things easier to just judge how we were feeling day by day. After some more resting (and much sweating the following night), and another couple of days exploring a little more of La Paz, including Moon Valley, we eventually felt well enough and brave enough to check out ... read more
ghost town
train graveyard
train graveyard




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