Archive for the 'Bolivia' Category
Bolivia is a country that does not experience a large volume of tourist traffic. Their neighbors of Peru, Brazil and Chile certainly have more tourism. However, Bolivia does offer an excellent opportunity to experience South American culture at a reasonable cost. The heart of Bolivia is La Paz, which is its largest city. La Paz is a large, modern metropolis of a million people. The airport at La Paz is the world’s highest at nearly 14 1/2 thousand feet, which is even higher than the airport at Lhasa, Tibet. Flying into La Paz airport is a unique experience. As the Captain announces that he is landing, you expect the plane to descend, but you do not, You just land! After departing the plane a number of smokers who have waited 5 to 7 hours for a cigarette try to light one using matches or a lighter, but find that they won’t light. There is not enough oxygen! That happened to my wife.
A large portion of Bolivia is at very high altitude, so if you are susceptable to altitude sickness you should use caution. Acclimation at a lower altitude for a few days is recommended before staying in La Paz, which has an altitude of over 14,000 feet. Cochabomba is ideal for this at a mere 8000 ft. Staying in Cochabomba offers a great way to experience the South American culture, to shop and to interact with the local people. All the while you are doing this your body is acclimating to the higher altitude. In Cochabomba you can visit the huge statue of Jesus on a hill at the edge of town. Its not as large or high as the one overlooking Rio de Janeiro, but it is certainly large.
After acclimating in Cochabomba, you can fly to La Paz and stay there as a base for touring the area. You can rent a taxi for the day (cheap)and and tour all areas of the city, or you can go up in the Andes mountains to the Craters of the Moon area. It seems odd to be saying ” go up out of La Paz” which is already at 14,000 feet, but it is true. There are Andes mountains nearby which exceed 20,000 feet of elevation. All roads out of La Paz go up to even higher elevations, such as to the Alti Plano (a high desert region at 15,000 feet) and into the foothills of the Andes. The Alti Plano is an interesting region. It is a very large, and high desert that is interspersed with a number of small villages. One main railroad runs through it. The white or light-colored landscape is generally flat, with an occasional outcropping of small hills. Roving bands all of llamas may be observed, along with many dust devils. One road out of La Paz that you could take, but definitely should not, is the “Road of Death” through the Andes, which has been named as the most dangerous road in the world and has been documented in a TV documentary. Avoid that road! Another road goes up to Lake Titicaca on the border with Peru. This is not a long drive from La Paz. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world.
As you can tell from all these descriptions of “the world’s highest …”, this is high country. Bolivia should be considered as a lower cost vacation for experiencing South American native culture, or as a vacation with Bolivia and Peru combined. Peru is easily accessible from La Paz, Bolivia. If you go there you will notice that most of the adult population regularly chews coca leaves, and bags of such leaves are for sale in every market. My wife and I tried chewing one and they were horrible tasting. We did not see the attraction! The weather and Climate in Bolivia is very pleasant. Although Bolivia is not far from the equator, it is mostly at high altitude, so the weather is not hot. The political climate and stability of the country is not quite as good as it was 15 or 20 years ago, but it is still a safe place to visit.