Bolivia (11-23 February)

Grab a coffee for this one guys - we've been offline for a while and this is Bolivia in a rather large nutshell...

Flights from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Sucre, Bolivia (via São Paulo and Santa Cruz).  First hiccup was at Santa Cruz when we went to check in only to find our flight had been cancelled with no notification to us.  Having to buy an additional ticket (will deal with the other later), we made it to Sucre, the country's capital and our 1st country at altitude (2810m). The next day consisted of a bit of a Gary & Lesley walking tour, taking in spots around the city.  First Mercado Campesino (the local market in full swing), then Casa de la Libertad (Freedom house) where Bolivia's hard earned Declaration of Independence resides.  Sucre is noted as the capital in the country's constitution so this is unlikely to change, however the Government is housed and run from La Paz.  From there up the hill we went to the view point at La Recoleta - a wonderful view of Sucre and then to the city's cemetery.  This sounds particularly morbid but it's a place where people go to relax and it's quite unique.  People lease the small vaults for 7 years for 10,000 Bolivianos (NZ$2,200) and then the remains are removed and the family can place them elsewhere but if they miss the deadline it's unlikely they will get their family remains back.  A big walking day considering the altitude at 5+ hours we returned via the Supermercado in preparation for our bus ride tomorrow to Uyuni.

Cathedral Primada de Bolivia

 

View over Sucre from Recoleta

Cemetary, Sucre

Freedom House, Sucre

The following day we took the bus (9 hrs) to Uyuni (3656m) where on arriving we booked our 3 day, 2 night tour with Red Planet to Salar de Uyuni.  Uyuni and the salt flats are notorious for being freezing but the temperature wasn't too bad for the most part. The salt flats themselves are spectacular and a beautiful part of the world.  At this time of the year there is a covering of water giving you mirror reflections everywhere you look - it is quite amazing.  Looking to the horizon it's almost impossible to determine where it starts and finishes.  We spent some time here and left our NZ flag amongst the world's others - signed of course by us and Budget.  Our accommodation that night was as San Cristobal (3800m) and was a pleasant surprise being better than we expected (we had our own room and bathroom!).  On our travels we saw lots of wildlife, but mostly llama and the wild versions called Vicuña.  On day two we entered the Salvador Deli desert and constantly changing amazing landscapes including active volcanos and our first extensive view of Parihuanas (flamingos) residing at 4510m, then it was a lunch stop by the lake 4540m.  The altitude is quite something but the landscape and the extent of which it changes, the colours etc. is stunning.  After lunch we headed for Arbol de Piedra and the famous "rock tree", then to Laguna Colorada, or red lake, which if we haven't had seen we may not have believed (and more flamingos and llamas).  The next stop was geothermal and as NZ'ers you're always pretty sceptical about that.  We reached Sol de Manana Geyser (4880m) and were surprised by the extent of the activity, especially the mud.  Certainly in NZ you would not be able to get this close to it all, for good reason!  An absolutely huge day with a high point of 4910m and almost 12 hours on the go, we were certainly ready for the thermal pools (Aguas Termales) and our accommodation.  After dinner the group sat soaking up the warmth of the thermal water gazing at the stars and the Milky Way.  What a special way to end the day.

 

Vicuna (wild llama)

Rock Tree

Red Lake

Early start the next as we drove closer to the Chilean border again through some amazing landscape and a special photo stop for the group. We stopped at Laguna Verde (green lake) (4350m) but the weather conditions weren't playing ball enough for it to look green today.  After saying goodbye to our group at the border (all heading to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile), we set in for our ride back to Uyuni (some 6 hours or so).  Pretty uneventful except for the flat tyre 45 mins from the end and 6 different vehicles stopping to offer assistance.  We lost about 50 mins but got back in plenty of time to catch our 8pm overnight bus to La Paz.  Salar de Uyuni will no doubt be a highlight of our trip to Bolivia and after covering approx 800km of road (~500km off road) we feel like we've seen a lot of the landscape and some beautiful scenery.

Bolivia-Chile Border

 

The 10 hour overnight bus to La Paz was fine and we waited a couple of hours at the bus station before heading to the hostel (as it was 6am in the morning).  Wanting to check out the city we started walking to the old part of town to Gravity to book our death road ride and also managed to hook into a 2 hour walking tour beginning in Plaza San Pedro.  The walk took us past San Pedro prison (prisoners pay 200 Bolivianos to get in and 50-5000B per cell per month ongoing and almost self-manage the prison), the old traditional markets, Mercado de Hechiceria (Witches market), San Francisco square and Cathedral (1578), Mercado Lanza (more modern market), Plaza Murillo and ending at the pub, Oliver's, for a traditional drink and end to the tour.  Our guide Daniella was great - full of energy and local knowledge.  Had a nice dinner and a quick walk home before it got dark.  Have heard how dangerous La Paz can be although we didn't experience this.

 

Next day - the most dangerous road in the world.  Named so because of the motorists that have come unstuck in the past.  Luckily a new road has been built now (opened in 2007) that most vehicles use, however the old road has become a mountain bike downhill called "Death Road".  The road is particular skinny, windy and rocky with massive vertical drops so lots of concentration called for (the last tourist died doing this in December 2015).  After a ~45 minute bus ride to the start at 4700m (in the clouds and rain) we did 22km dropping ~1000 vertical metres on bitumen - nice smooth road to get everyone used to their bikes, gear and brakes.  An 8km stretch follows in the mini bus before you start "Death Road" at 3600m.  The length of the cycle on Death Road (off road) is 32km dropping 2500 vertical metres to finish at 1100m.  Our particular ride was amazing - we saw multiple waterfalls courtesy of the weather, and had rivers to cross and lots of terrain to manoeuvre through and over including a recent landslide.  The further down we got the hotter it got and the weather started clearing till we were all dousing ourselves in sun block.  Gary won the bitumen section but Lesley smashed the off road leaving Gary in her tracks. Ironically the road and extreme drops were less of an issue than the fear of coming off your bike onto the rough terrain!  We stopped at an animal sanctuary for showers and dinner before heading home on the bus (3 hours) and having a mini party while we were at it.  The bus dropped us super close to our hostel so the whole trip was very memorable.  What an awesome adrenaline filled day!!!

Party supply stop on the bus on the way home

Next stop Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca (3800m) and the largest lake in the world at altitude, its shore line is ~1,100km around and it covers 8,300 square km’s.  From La Paz we caught the 4 hour bus up to Copacabana which included a short barge trip for all passengers and the bus. From Copacabana we took the ferry over to the Island.  This is our pit stop - to catch our breath again before we head further up South America.  The ferry was interesting - totally overcrowded and no health & safety whatsoever - removing life jackets so they could get more people on (even sitting on the roof).  90 minutes later we landed and then had a 40 minute walk up the very steep hill to our hostel in the village of Yumani (at 3800m that is no easy task).  We did however have stunning views when we got there of both sides of the island.  The next day we did an Island walk (7 hours with just under 6 hours walking) which leaves roughly from where we're staying and heads right up to the North end of the Island and the Inca ruins (Chincana) that remain there.  On the way out we walked out along the ridge line of the island (weather getting hotter and hotter, although we had started in thermals), and then on the way back closer to the lake edge and through the villages that reside here.  Gary couldn't resist a dip in Lake Titicaca (3800m) – as it’s the highest swim he’s likely to ever have.  

 

It's a simple way of life, there are no cars or vehicles of any kind and all heavy goods are either moved by donkey (including our 2 big bags), or by men and women carrying on their backs.  The island is extremely hilly and tough to get around (courtesy of the altitude) which seems to affect the locals as well (although not as much as it does us).  The children all work during the weekends, helping their parents, and are at school during the week which is great to see.  Farmers have handfuls of sheep, a couple of llamas or donkeys, and a cow or goat if they're lucky.  There is fresh water on the island coming from springs we believe so they are fortunate with that and you can see crops growing on most of the hillsides.  Of course tourism takes care of the rest - hostels, boats, restaurants etc.  Its super peaceful and a nice place to stop and contemplate what's next.

Day 2 on the island consisted of us planning some of the next steps in South America, while it rained in the morning (and was freezing), then when the clouds cleared we ventured out to the South end of the island to complete our island walk.  A much shorter trek thankfully, then it was down the donkey trail to the port for lunch (suckers for punishment as we had to walk back up again) and to people watch while the boats arrived from Copacabana on the lunchtime run.  A beautiful full moon shining on the Lake was the perfect way to end our stay on Isla del Sol that evening.

The departure was quick the next morning, we arrived in Copacabana in the rain, with no power and no wifi anywhere so the decision to book an overnight bus (12 hours 40) to Cusco was easy.  We spent the rest of the afternoon using up our last Bolivianos on Cervezas (beer) as the currency is very difficult to change outside of Bolivia, especially in small numbers.  

Bolivia has been full of surprises and a multitude of different landscapes.  The people are much the same everywhere and the country has a long way to go in terms of infrastructure.  It's been a wonderful learning experience to be here, despite the altitude!!!

Best moment     – Leaving our NZ flag amongst the world others at the salt flats

Worst moment  – Shocking wifi and lack of hot water (infrastructure really!)

Most special       – Salt flat views and star gazing from the thermal pools

Most surprising – Enjoying the Death Road adrenaline rush

Weird moment - Staying in a hostel on the salt flat tour with no running water and only 3 hours of power per day

Things we will remember about Bolivia in no particular order:

The Altitude

Llamas

The Hills

Fresh markets

Traditional ladies in their bowler hats

Babies at work

Mud Bricks for housing & fencing in the country side

Unfinished buildings

Inca toilets

Dirt roads and bad roads

Red bricks in the cities

Dramatic rock scapes

The traffic and lack of road rules

Mangy dogs

Road side markets / stalls

Bad Wi-Fi

Cold Showers