Tag Archives: Bolivia

The deception of Bolivia

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(Offline- tuesday 7.02.12) It’s 7am, I’m about to have breakfast. I’m in the remote town of Alota. I’m in the middle of my tour through the South West of Bolivia and it’ll end in Chile. It started yesterday at the ‘Salar de Uyuni’. A surreal place where the horizon line seems just to fade away. Simply fascinating. Then, we crossed into the region of Altiplano where I witnessed some of the most beautiful landscapes of this country.

(Offline-12 hours later) It’s 7pm. We’ve got to the Natural Reserve of Eduardo Avaroa, close to the border with Chile. Today we travelled for 8 hours through a variety of topographies and micro-weathers. I’m more than convinced that I’ve seen some of the most beautiful landscapes of this planet! (photos coming soon in another entry)

After leaving Perú, the first stop was Copacabana. In theory, it’s one of the most touristic towns of Bolivia because of Lake Titicaca, but in reality it’s an ugly, dirty, expensive and unwelcoming place.

The following morning, I took the first bus to La Paz. Again, dirtiness and mess were everywhere. Because of its altitude, the pollution is condensed heavily and although there is a lack of oxygen, there is a surplus of CO2.

I took a night-bus to Sucre, the capital. After a short time on the road, the guy sitting next to me opened his bag and took a black plastic case out. He opened it and guess what? It was a gun! I was traveling with an armed guy next to me, do you think I was able to sleep? Do you?

After all this, Sucre was a breathe of fresh air. For the first time, people were friendly. Sucre’s surroundings are as messy and dirty as La Paz but its town centre is a gem. It’s full of colonial architecture all painted white, delightful! It has one of the most beautiful cemeteries I’ve ever seen. So much care seems to be taken over the dead ones, and hardly any with the ones who are alive

The following day I took a bus to Uyuni. This time, the guy next to me was an educated adult person who I had great conversations with. I have so much to say about Bolivia but at the moment, I’ll only say that I’m happy that I’ve seen it, I felt it and I left it.