SEPTEMBER 2018: LIFE ON THE ROAD
Last month I left you debating whether I'd be exploring Chile or Bolivia. Toss of a coin and Bolivia became next month's adventures. And boy, were you an adventure Bolivia!
Spending my last few days in Salta, Argentina I felt ready to move on although somewhat teary-eyed. I love to get comfortable whilst I travel, finding my favourite hangouts and coffee shops, local fruit and vegetable markets and friends with whom to chill. Salta had given me a grounding, a routine and in a lot of ways security and certainty.
Moving on put everything into the unknown all over again.Unsure and if I'm going, to be honest, a little terrified of travelling to Bolivia, a couple of weeks easily turned into a month of travel. Bolivia opened my eyes to so much and no doubt I questioned my previous presumptions of the country.
After all, that is what travel is all about. Right?One of the poorest countries in Latin America, yet rich in mesmerising landscapes, cultures and heritage. From luscious green amazon rainforests in the east to saline lakes glistening in ruby, emerald and sapphire hues in the south, volcanos active and extinct, bustling cities, rainbow mountains and the turquoise glows of Lake Titicaca. Bolivia, you are just beautiful.
The Highlights
So many!Where do I start?!If I could talk about one, it would have to be the people. Albeit with my limited Spanish and owing to the fact that Bolivians speak a much more comprehensible version of Spanish, I found locals some of the friendliest, welcoming and open-minded people. Walking around El Alto, reputed to be a dangerous area, I asked a local Pizzeria the best way to visit the miradors. More often than not, locals will look out for you. Taking an endless number of photos from within the teleferico, I was reminded to keep my camera and bag close to me.
Bolivia stunned me. Literally. On the Salar de Uyuni tour, I was surprised, mesmerised and stunned by the overwhelming beautiful landscapes.It's hard to believe that so much diversity and natural beauty all belong under the same banner.
Oh and have I mentioned the alpacas?! It was my first introduction to these furry friends. Staying at Hotel La Cupula in Copacabana where they keep a few to keep the grass trim, I had so much fun feeding them popcorn!
So cute!
The Lowlights
As beautiful as you are Bolivia, I'm really not a fan of your night buses!!As a solo female traveller, I can't lie. Paranoia totally kicks in. Not only were the buses freezing!!
I didn't always feel safe and tried as hard as I could not to look like a tourist. Thankfully both journies went well. However be cautious, as people have been known to have had their belongings stolen whilst sleeping.It's probably some of the few times where it would be nice just to have someone travelling with me. Just to feel that little bit more secure.
Next...the altitude hit me hard in Copacabana. Really hard.Plans to visit Isla del Sol along many other hiking plans went out of the window. Curled up in a bed in Copacabana, vomiting and with diarrhoea and running to the bathroom throughout the night every 20 minutes. I felt horrendous! I decided the only solution was to descend a few hundred metres to La Paz. It's amazing what a difference it made!
My only view of Lake Titicaca was hiking Cerro Calvario, it was worth the photo but it was one heck of a struggle!
Recovering in La Paz, it didn't quite fix my stomach but at least the altitude sickness was gone. In fact, I felt acclimatised! Whoop! Finally, I could walk up a hill and breathe like a normal person! Or even better... eat and breathe simultaneously!The trip to Copacabana had been a total blow. However, at least it prepared me for the Uyuni tour where we climbed to altitudes of 5000m!
Stats for the month!
Life on the Road | Travel Expenses
My second month! Bolivia was a relatively cheap country to travel in. And my overall daily costs dropped a little. However, due to taking Spanish lessons and paying for Salar de Uyuni, my daily expenditure remained relatively unchanged!After getting sick, I stayed a number of nights in a private room. Mainly to be close to a bathroom! My cheapest private room was $5 and the most expensive was $24.
Where to next?
Part of the reason for doing the Salar de Uyuni tour from Uyuni instead of Tupiza was being dropped off in Chile. From Chile, I'm undecided on whether to go to Patagonia or to hop off to Peru.The cold is what's slightly putting me off Patagonia. And I know the rainy season begins in November in Peru. It's not ideal but I'll probably switch the two around opting for Patagonia in November and Peru in October.