Bolivia Travel Blogs | Travelogues | Travel Journals

It was the third day of the civil unrest, and my fifth day in La Paz. In an attempt to enforce the Bolivian government to improve life for the Bolivians, farmers and students had organised a series of protests. By blockading all major roads in the country they literally brought the entire country to a grinding halt, as no road or rail travel was possible outside the big cities. So it looked like I was stuck in La Paz, which worried me as time was running out. I only had eight days left until...

To give just an idea, biodiversity offered by my country is so rich as few in the world. Bolivia has 17 ecoregions, 14 ecological floors , 190  ecosystems and 19 byoclimates. That are home to 1,392 species of birds, 263 species of reptiles, 325 mammals, 18,000 species of higher plants, 186 of amphibians, 500 species of fish and very very much insects, as data from the Department of Biodiversity. This vast variety is distributed in 21 protected areas, 6 of them are ...

We welcome the year 2008 in Rurrenabaque in the pub called the Moskitto, a pub where one shares adventures with other trav buddys (see separate critic) and we spent a night welcoming the new year very nice. Rurrenabaque as indicated is the starting point for tours of the surrounding area, while one is in Rurrenabaque, the best thing to do is relax and enjoy the town.You can also walk through the town which is located in the Department of Beni and cross the river of the same name (Beni) to go ...

Eulogio pick me up from my hostel yesterday in the morning and our aim was clear - base camp Huayna Potosi. This place isnt far from La Paz, 1 hour by car. There we left car and continued to high camp (aprox. in high 5000 m). Rest of this day we spent in this camp, approach to the summit was planned for next day. Here I got pretty nice high altitude sickness, I had extremly painfull headache and thanks it I founded out how coca good medicament can be, after three coca tea I was well again. So...

DAY 1 Arrived with my legs actually killing me as my bus seat was so cramped. Woke up ample times with my knees throbbing. Got ripped off by a taxi driver when I arrived. Asked him to take me to the Hostal and he charged me 10 Bolivianos for what was a 30second drive! Swore at him ample in English but he couldnt really understand...another reason to learn better spanish, haha. I went to sleep when I got in the Hostal as I was so tired. Woke up when Bend arrived and after catching up and us...

Well I have quickly become attuned to the bumpy roads of Bolivia which is not limited to the roads but the railway system as well! We caught the 20 hour death train or as it is known to the locals ´the bumpy train´ from the border of Brazil to the interior of Bolivia, to the city of Santa Cruz! Years ago the train got its reputation as a death ride because a lot of stow aways use to die by falling off or purely dying from the cold but today it is not soo bad but it is a bit of a r...

I had to make my way back to the border with Peru to renew my passport as it’s already been 3 months that I’ve been in Bolivia.  I decided that it was high time to see Cuzco and Macchu Pichu since I’d already spent 5 months in Peru and hadn’t been to the most famous monument in South America.  Most foreigners fly in to Lima and then immediately head for Cuzco by plane or bus, walk the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu and then get out of Peru.  I did everything backwards. ...

Yesterday I spent a quiet night and went to bed early, because I knew that this day would start early and might be long. I asked for a wake up call at 4:00 am, so I could finish packing, take a shower, do the check out, take a cup of coffe and be ready by the time the taxi came for us at the hotel. Enrique, the guy who has been our taxi driver during the past days arrived just on time. I also had time to walk around the hotel and enjoy the exotic veggetation there. Everytime I saw the pool, ...

ah well, travelling with fever on a local bus between peru and bolivia promised to be loads of fun... and it was! on the first foot steps in bolivia we encountered some of the bad things that are awaiting us in the south americas cheapest country the busride itself was not bad, but since commi-evo thought it would be a good idea to take land from rich landowners and redistribute it to poor farmers... well, shit was about to break loose - don't piss off the ones with money, evo copacabana w...

After a morning of slight chaos - several other people at the Puno hostel were headed to Copacabana that morning and we had all been told to get on the bus at the bus office down the road, but actually ended up having to catch a taxi to the bus terminal where the bus was waiting for us - we reached the Peru-Bolivian border with no problems. Border crossing was quite simple; we all got off the bus to get our passports stamped, then walked a few hundred metres across the border into Bolivia, to...

Got up at 6:30, had cold pancakes and left by 8 am.  There is such pride in peoples vehicles here in south america.  Rudy was out washing the land cruiser, as were the other guides, this morning.  Even if cars are lacking paint, as many were in N. Argentina, people scrub their cars as if they just had new paint jobs.  We weren´t quite on the salar yet, but still in the desert.  We went to cueva del diable, which was really cool.  This was a natural cave, carved ...

We woke with the intention to visit the museums in La Paz since we have been here so long and haven´t bothered (I´m telling you, the ice cream is too good)! We headed towards Plaza Murillo about midday, and the main streets were crowded with protesters. There were seriously thousands and thousands of people. Some holding banners and marching the streets. As we got closer to Plaza Murillo we noticed it was getting louder, with what we thought at the time were blanks being fired and people c...

A half-hour by plane from La Paz, is the city of “Cochabamba” beautiful city situated in a valley, more or less to 2,500 meters above sea level, with a really enviable climate so this city is called “The city of eternal spring”, as their average annual temperature is between 16 and 25 degrees centigrade. I travel during the weekend in the company of my wife, as take a few days taking advantage of the generous climate.The time we take strolling different parks in this city and to make ...

You stay at high altitudes but the landscape is so amazing. Colourful, rough, endless and a must see!

Today I got up early, 630, having gone to sleep rather early as well. I showered, packed my bags, grabbed some free breakfast and headed into town for some internet usage. Then I decided to walk further uptown toward the large catholic monument that I had noticed on my way into town the previous day.  I grabbed a park bench behind some colourful ladies selling their woven products and freshly cooked somethings I couldn´t identify, and I pulled out my copy of El Alquimista. I was only ...