Rarely has a day been so rotten.It starts with a long wait at the airport of Sucre: because of the heavy rain in Santa Cruz, our flight is two hours late. Having a flight to Paraguay the next day, our only wish is to arrive in Santa Cruz on time and not to miss our flight to Asuncion.The landscapes seen from the plane are incredible. I have never seen so many mountains (as far as the eye can see). Unfortunately we also see a lot of dry rivers.Arriving in Santa Cruz we discover a huge city, very very big compared to La Paz or Sucre.On Saturdays, life comes to a…

Sucre, the white city, is world-renowned for its Spanish courses. Sucre is also home to Bolivia’s best university, which even attracts many Brazilians and Argentines. Sucre is the Bolivian capital but this pretty city is in a cold war with the current government, which prefers La Paz. Compared to La Paz or Santa Cruz, Sucre has a country feel, quiet, traditional, very pleasant to live in and not too polluted. Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary 12 hours from La Paz We take a cama bus (El Dorado) from La Paz at 7pm and arrive in Sucre around 7am. The bus stops near the…

This is the second time we are in La Paz. This city still doesn’t manage to seduce us Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary From Puno (Peru), we take two buses: the first one to go to Copacabana. And a second one from Copacabana to La Paz. We were fooled by the name of the bus: Pullman Bus. In Chile, it is a very good bus company, but here, it is a local bus having the external appearance of a tourist bus. We are given the last places of the last row, so that during 5 hours, we feel every irregularity of the road.…

Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) is considered the cradle of Andean civilization. That’s all there is to it! Some even claim that Atlantis is swallowed up there. We will make a trek from the North to the South of the island, called “Sacred Road of the Eternity of the Sun”. This hike will cross 3 villages: Cha’llapampa, Cha’lla and Yumani. At the entrance of each village, you have to pay the visit fees for the different communities (between 10$B and 15$B/person) Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Budget Part 1: Travel Diary Finally a place where we are a little cut off from the world. Implied: no Wifi,…

Copacabana is the gateway to Isla del Sol, considered the cradle of Andean civilization. Unlike Copacabana in Brazil, here there is no beach, bikini and hot water, but a more traditional atmosphere Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips How to get there From Potosí, we take a night bus to La Paz at 9:30 pm, arriving in La Paz at 6:30 am. We will spend one night in La Paz (for practical reasons: I needed a good Korean meal too much). The next day, we take the bus at 7:30 am with Bolivia Hop to be in Copacabana at 11:30 am (Bolivia Hop is a hop-on hop-off bus…

Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world: 4070 meters above sea level! It was founded in 1545 by the Spanish colonists to exploit the silver mine of the “Cerro Rico” mountain (rich mountain) that dominates the city. The miners were Indian and African slaves. Between 1545 and 1825 (date of Bolivia’s independence), an estimated 8 million miners died in this mountain due to lack of oxygen or because of the landslides. 8 million! Nearly 80 deaths per day for 280 years! Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary This mine filled the coffers of the Spanish crown during this period known as…

JB will tell you about the inhumane working conditions of the miners in Potosí. But I will talk about Potosí with its beautiful churches and casas dating back to the time of the conquistadors. The city isn’t only one of the highest in the world (4070m above sea level), it is also one of the most deserved because all the streets are sloping Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Day 1 : Route Uyuni – Potosí The Uyuni – Potosí road is very picturesque. You can see the salar of Uyuni from afar and observe its “giant mirror” side. It is incredible! We then…