We spent 24 days in Bolivia, July 3rd to July 27th. We have extremely mixed feelings about Bolivia. On one hand the sights are incredible, but on the other hand the food and transportation were seriously underwhelming. To be honest, much of this may be due to the strikes that prevented us from visiting Potosi and Sucre – two towns we were really looking forward to. This incomplete picture of Bolivia has left us on the fence about this country.
A collection of some of our favorite photos from Bolivia, one for each color of the rainbow. Click on the first photo to view a slideshow. Check out our Flickr page to see all our photos from Bolivia. Also, check out our photo collections by color.
Bolivia – Reservera Nacional de Fauna Andino Eduardo Avaroa
This week, Bolivia impressed us with strikingly beautiful and strange landscapes that seem to defy the harsh conditions of the Altiplano. We began our week with a 4-day 4×4 tour of Salar de Uyuni (salt flats) and the Reservera Nacional de Fauna Andino Eduardo Avaroa (National Park). The Salar (salt flats) is probably the most bazar landscape we have ever seen. It was completely otherworldly. The National Park was equally strange with freezing temperatures, blustering winds, multicolored lakes, volcanos, and pink flamingos (yep, flamingos above 12,000 feet). We ended the week in Tupiza, the land of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Note: We can only include some of our photos on the blog, but there are lots more! Be sure to check out our Flickr album this week.
Bolivia – Chacaltaya – Illimani Peak in the background and the highest we have ever been! 17,785 feet
Bolivia transportation really threw us on the ropes this week.
First, we biked down the DEATH ROAD. Scary, yes, but at least you are in control of your own fate. Read more about this in the MOVE section.
Second, we had planned to head to southern Bolivia about mid-week, however Bolivia had other ideas. There was a massive road blockade preventing all traffic south. We were told that no buses would be going to that area until early next week – if at all. We did however, find a company that takes a slightly different route to Uyuni (south, but further west than our intended target of Potosi or Sucre) and they had space for Sunday’s overnight bus. So instead of heading south this week, we just hung out in and around La Paz for a few extra days.
Third, we had a horrible bus ride to and from Chacaltaya peak (beautiful mountain, terrible driver). The driver was going was too fast on a very bumpy road and we both hit our heads on the ceiling multiple times. And to top it all off, we hit a pedestrian coming back into La Paz – terrifying! Granted, it was on a highway, but again, the driver was going way too fast. We were in the far left lane, passing a car in the middle lane that had slowed to a stop. A pedestrian was crossing in front of that car and stepped out in front of us. Our driver braked, but was going too fast to stop. We hit her with a terrible thud, and then ran over something. Everyone in the bus shrieked and covered their faces. It turns out that we ran over her bag and not her. She was uninjured enough to stand, but very upset. Then, to our shock, she climbed in our bus! We couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying, but apparently she wanted us to take her to the hospital. Our guide ended up calling another bus for us and the pedestrian stayed with the driver on the way to the hospital.
Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca
This week was marked by two major events: our eight year wedding anniversary (yay!) and Pat’s food poisoning (boo!). Unfortunately, these events happened concurrently on July 7th. We spent the first half of the week in Copacabana and the second half in La Paz. We ended up spending an extra day in Copacabana for a few reasons: 1) Pat was still sick and needed rest, 2) we had the best hotel room of the entire trip for a great price, and ultimately 3) they canceled our bus (due to the Pope’s visit in La Paz they closed all the roads). Pat is finally feeling better and was able to tour the sights of La Paz.
Nomadic Cadence 