Bolivia
After our Bolivian Salt Flat adventure our travels through Bolivia continued. After regrouping in Uyuni we traveled to Potosi by bus which took about 3 ½ hours. To catch a bus, you can book online or go to the bus station the day before or on the day. Buses leave every hour. We caught Emperador which cost about 30 Bolivian each or about $6 AUS and it was a great service.
Potosi is a mining town set amount the mountains of Bolivia. We stayed in the old town in an Airbnb and could explore most of the city by foot. We were only there for one day and it was raining/snowing so our overview of the city was limited. Many people do mining tours but Will ended up getting sick so we limited our movements.
From Potosi we traveled to Sucre. We were going to catch the bus again but with Will being sick we decided to get a private car. That’s an interesting concept, you need to catch a taxi to an area near the new bus transit terminal and everyone rushes to you to offer you a price. We settled for a car for 200 Bolivians which is about $40 AUS not much more than if we caught the bus. The trip was about 2 ½ hours and we went through some great landscapes.
Sucre is a beautiful colonial city located in the mountains but unlike other parts of the country the altitude isn’t too high. You can find a lot of information on http://www.sucrelife.com http://www.sucrelife.com The city centre itself is very attractive with its colonial buildings and squares. Whilst visiting Sucre we staying a great Airbnb that was centrally located https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/9678520. During our stay we visited the plazas, Miradore and churches and did a trip out to the Dinosaur Park, Parque Cretácico, to see the largest collection of dinosaur prints in the world. You can catch a bus from the cathedral at 11am and the tour of the dinosaur prints is at 12.30pm daily.
From Sucre we traveled to La Paz. We were going to catch the bus but it left at 10pm and arrived at 5am which meant a lot of sitting around. For an extra $150 we decided to catch the 11.55pm flight which took 1 hour. We flew with Bolivian Airlines which were great and it was so much easier than the bus. Looking out the plane window I saw what a vast, rugged and mountainous landscape Bolivia is.
In La Paz we stayed in a large apartment https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/26136543. The boys loved the space and especially the Netflix’s. The apartment is located in the suburb that is close to two of the cable cars which are an awesome way to travel around the city which is very hilly and with a high altitude can be tough going. If you can get a map from the tourist office near the main Square of San Francisco you will see that cable cars can get you most places and then cabs can make up the difference, not to mention walking. When in La Paz we once again visited the main Plazas, Witches Markets and Luna Valley. We didn’t do the death Ride because the boys needed to be at least 18 years old and we didn’t do any mountain treks because we knew that there were lots coming up but both are options to further explore the area.
From La Paz we traveled to Copacabana, Lake Titicaca by bus which took about 4 hours and cost 30 Bolivian each. The scenery along the way is quiet spectacular and the ferrying of the bus across a river also adds to the excitement.
Copacabana is the seaside town of the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. Not to be confused with the Rio De Janeiro Copacabana, it is not so glamorous and mainly used as a stepping stone to Isla del Sol. In saying that beauty is on the eye of the beholder and in all fairness a few of us were sick during our visit which can cloud opinions. There are some shining lights in Copacabana including the Condor Café run by a very knowledgeable Irishman, serving beautiful breakfast food made by his wife. For dinner across the road is La Orilla which has a 21 year legacy of great food. If you do happen to find yourself with a good dose of the 3-4 day Bolivan Belly take a visit to the local hospital which is great and extremely cheap. The Doctor and staff were friendly and the we walk out we medicine all for about $4.
In terms of things to do in Copacabana, we walked around the lake and also up to the Miradour Cerro Calvario which takes about ½ hour but is very worthwhile as it has an amazing view. Had our health been better we would have attempted the 5 hour hike to Yampupata Village. For a list of hikes see http://double-barrelledtravel.com/hikes-in-copacabana-bolivia/.
Isla Del Sol; we decided to stay overnight on the Island of the Sun and I’m so glad we did. We caught to 8.30am ferry from the wharf which cost 25 Bolivianos. Upon arrival we were pleased that we had chosen a hostel at the bottom of the hill (Hostel Phaxsi) and the hike to the top with our luggage would have been near impossible. That’s the reason they say pack light I guess. After settling in to our lovely room we headed up the hill. Steep in an understatement but the views at the top are magnificent. At the time of our visit the Middle and North of the island were closed due to ongoing disputes. The first community meeting in 1 ½ years was held the morning we were leaving but its understood that the North does not want to reopen to tourism so it could be awhile before it happens. There’s enough on the South thou to make it worth a visit. We hiked to the highest points in the area and had lunch at the famous Café Velor which is set in amount the gum tress. It took about 1 ½ for lunch to be cooked but it was well worth the visit. The only downside of staying down the bottom of the hill is there isn’t many options for eating in the evening but if you have a lot of luggage like us then really its the best option. We loved staying on Isla Del Sol and wished we had stayed 2 days but that probably because we prefer the quiet to the busy.
From Isla Del Sol we traveled back to Copacabana on the 10.30am ferry, where we caught the 1pm bus to Puno to start our Peruvian adventures. The Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca is also worth a visit and we stayed on a floating Island of Uros which was an awesome experience for the kids and us. For more information check our the Peruvian page.
