Planned for quite some time and finally realised: Julia’s and my trip to Bolivia. After over 24 hours of traveling we arrived in Santa Cruz in the middle of the night where we stayed with Julia’s former AFS host family. The next four days were filled with meeting the family, loads of great meat, pleasant temperatures, swimming in pools and an exciting carnival experience.
After these relaxing days we headed for Sucre (2.800m). I have to admit I never thought that the difference in height could make such a difference. But that was soon forgotten due to the great place we stay – La Selenita comes pretty close to a paradise. Here is what we send the Rough Guide afterwards:
An amazing Bed & Breakfast is la Selenita, Mostajo 145. Four beautiful cabanas with private bathrooms in a garden that overlooks Sucre (called “Paradise“ in many reviews), delicious breakfast with homemade break and marmalade included.
Going along with that was a delicious dinner in La Taverne. After enjoying the beautiful spring weather we headed to Potosi (4067m) where we got to know more about Bolivia’s past and current mining and coin history. The next day we took the bus to Uyuni (stayed in the quite pleasant La Piedra Blanca Hostel) from where we started our three day Salary de Uyuni tour.
Picking the right tour company turned out to be quite a challenge and doing the research is rather depressing since there seems to be no tour company without a bad review. We decided to go with Red Planet which is slighty more expensive (1200BS) but gives you detailed information upfront and keep their promises. And its definitely worth doing the trip – the nature is stunning and nothing like anything I have seen before. A highlight (and different from most other tour companies) was staying right next to the hot springs and enjoying them under a clear sky with lots of stars.
After three days in a jeep we made our way to La Paz with a 12 hour night bus ride which turned out to be quite bumpy in the first half. After having breakfast in La Paz we took the next bus to Copacabana to spend two relaxing days at the Lago Titicaca. Being well adjusted to the height the hike across the Isla de Sol Lovely was the perfect day program before we enjoyed a great trout and an equally great view at La Orilla. They also have rooms or you go straight for Las Olas.
The last four days were dedicated to La Paz and its surroundings. For best sandwiches in town and mojito for 20BS Sabor Cubano is THE choice. Another highlight not to be missed is cycling the former „death road“ where you start above 4000m freezing and within two hours arrive in a tropical environemt at 1000m. Besides the stunning scenery the bike ride itself is also worthwhile.
Three week of stunning nature, great people and relaxing went by way to quick. Bolivia is definitely worth a trip by its own.
Being helpful and accurate throughout our trip we can highly recommend The Rough Guide to Bolivia.