Bolivia Part I / La Paz & Sucre

The bus ride to La Paz, Bolivia was one of the worst... The air conditioning on the bus was not working and they had the heater on - of course I was sitting right next to the heater by the window. We were sitting in the upper part of the bus and besides the paid ride, we also got a free sauna. We couldn't cross the border by bus, but had to walk across the bridge. On the Bolivian side, we stood in line for passport control for almost two hours. This was under the blazing sun at an altitude of almost 3,300 meters. I burned my nose (yes, even I can get sunburned)!

La Paz

Once we arrived in La Paz, we strolled through the Witches Market. There are stuffed animals hanging everywhere in the shops. At the market, you can buy a 'Witch Portion', which is a liquid in a small container that is supposed to enchant the person you give it to and make them fall in love with you. Of course, I bought a whole pack right away ;) That same evening, we got to know the nightlife of this city. The parties take place in the hostels. First, food is served and ping pong is played, but after a while, the hostels turn more and more into clubs. We also took a ride on the longest and highest cable car in the world. Up in 'El Alto', we had a magnificent view over La Paz. A little note about the gondolas: they all come from Switzerland!

Before we traveled to Sucre, we had to say goodbye to a large part of the group.

Sucre

To get to Sucre, we took another night bus. The 14-hour journey flew by. After the first movie, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until we were in Sucre.

Since our rooms at the hotel were not ready yet, a few of us went to 'Parque Bolivar'. A paradise for children and a nightmare for parents at the same time. The children's playground is huge and hardly manageable due to the many children.

Sucre is an extremely beautiful city. Everything is in close proximity to the main plaza '25 de Mayo'. The food is really good (almost as good as Europe) and I finally ate real bread again!

We also had some action in Sucre. We booked a half-day quad bike tour through the mountain landscapes of Sucre. I thought it would be boring and that we would just drive around the streets of Sucre. But I was pleasantly surprised!

I got a fully manual quad bike! Fun factor +100 :) Since our guide was busy with the girls from the quad bike group, I could ride completely freely. Of course, I was called back several times and warned about leaving the group. Once again, I was able to use my X'trem camera. I attached it to the quad bike and raced through the landscapes of Sucre. I reached the speed limit of 80 km/h - of course, we were wearing helmets and protective gear.

In Bolivia, we will now go to Potosí & Uyuni (Salt Flats) and from there make a short detour to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile).