Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 521

14 July Ok, so I really don´t want to bore you with another bus horror story, but what happened at La Paz bus station illustrates finely why travelling in South America compared with Europe/Oz etc is a completely different kettle of fish. At least when Spanish is not top of your list of skills. Got to the station way in advance of our departure time for Sucre and as it neared, we moved outside to the departure gate we had been directed to at booking. After a lot of milling about and questioning of about 5 different people, we (ok, so I, Simon was chilling the whole time) felt fairly certain that we were at the right place. However come 6.35pm (5 mins post departure), some other confused English travellers returned to our gate to inform ... read more

The Bolivian Salt Flats have to be one of the most breathtaking places in the world. The scenery is absolutely amazing, to the extent that you almost feel you have landed on another planet. As Sass said while we were there, "It´s like God just decided to go mad with his paint box". I would never have thought it possible to have such bright, vivid colours in nature. The altitude, reaching 5,000m above sea level at one point, also adds an outer-worldly feel to the place. We started our tour in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, piling into our black jeep, the ´Gato Negro´ (Black Cat), at the Bolivian border. We had a brief breakfast (the ever-faithful white bread), got our Bolivian entry stamps and set off. First stop was Laguna Verde, a lake with a ... read more

I really believe that one of the best ways of making friends is by actively doing the things you enjoy. I had read about a three day trek from the mountains near La Paz to the forested Yungas in the valleys below. I made various enquiries at agencies in La Paz but at first I was having trouble finding anyone else to trek with. Then the agent at my hotel heard of another girl looking to do the trek and took me across the road to another agency. In fact there were two more ´chicas´waiting and we instantly found a common goal. The agent spoke good English and offered us a reasonable deal for guide, tents and sleeping bags plus a porter. So early on a Monday morning Shiobaun (Ireland), Helena (Sweden), myself and a late ... read more

Many tourists that visit La Paz have the impression that La Paz is just a huge market. This happens since most of the hostels are concentrated in the area of the market, and the market being indeed a huge one - the biggest I've been in, spanning a few zones of the city. But the truth is that La Paz has many faces, like the fancy Zona Sur, where the richest people of Bolivia live, and the moon valley area where some nice views can be seen. I did allot of shopping in La Paz, as well as Quad riding which was fun. While driving fast on a Quad, one can get a feeling of incredible freedom.... read more

Hello all! Hope this blog finds you well. Just an update on where I am and what I have been up to in Bolivia for the last two and a half months. Since my last blog I have been to La Paz, Tiwanaku, Copacabana, Isle De Sol, Rurrenabaqua, Cochabamba and now I have only just left my last stop in Bolivia, which is Villa Tunari in El Castillo in the Chapare region of Bolivia, volunteering with Bolivian kids for this great organization Angels of Hope, before heading to Peru for the next six weeks. BOLIVIA… The best thing about Bolivia is that it is different wherever you go; some places are similar in many ways, especially the poverty stricken side. But the landscapes and climate can change dramatically depending on where you go. LA PAZ… I ... read more