Bolivia summary
Geographical:
We entered Bolivia from Argentina at Villazon and immediately made our way up to Tupiza. From here we did a four-day tour through the Salar de Uyuni end ended in Uyuni. We took a bus to Sucre and after a couple of relaxing (and warm) days we made our way by bus to the mining town of Potosi. From here we took an overnight bus to the capital, La Paz. From La Paz we took a minibus to Sorata for some hiking and biking and then we finally made our way to Copacabana where we visited Isla del Sol.
About the weather… very, very cold due to the high altitudes. We went up to over 5000m, that is higher than we were in Nepal in the mountains. We had hardly no rain - Murphy’s Law, we only had rain when we did the trek in Sorata. Strange thing is that even in these cold conditions, the sun is still very harsh and you need to lather on the sun block.
Bolivia favourites:
- Coca leaves - it helps for the altitude. You can just put it in your mouth like Eon did or have it as a tea like me (more for the lady-like)
- The Salar de Uyuni - salt flats are so cool!
- The varying landscapes - salt to mountains to rock formations to lakes….
- Shopping in La Paz
- Charqui - a maize-bread ball stuffed with biltong-like meat
- The women’s traditional clothing
- Nice and cheap
The ‘not so cools’:
- Saying goodbye to Maaike and Gerben, our Dutch friends
- The cold weather - I just get totally depressed
- The kids working as street vendors and not going to school
- The harsh conditions of the mine workers in Potosi
- My iPod going missing (still not sure if I lost it or if it was stolen)
- The riots over Sucre’s independence
- The crime
Overall:
Out of all the South American countries we have been to so far, I liked Bolivia the best. It is more rural and traditional, making the unknown culture very interesting to the traveller. It is also more affordable to travel in Bolivia than in the neighbouring countries like Argentina, Peru and Chile. The food was great (according to me, an important factor in judging a country) and it was easy to get around. Do I need to mention the fabulous shopping opportunities?
We had a great time in Bolivia.
Click on the link below to view the gallery for Argentina: