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Public transportation in Bolivia is like a journey within a journey. Traveling with locals is one of those experiences often precluded on organized trips or if you are moving with a rental car. The latter scenario is among other things unlikely given the road conditions. Traffic lights are rare, traffic circles pure. It almost seems that certain huge craters are left on purpose for people to go slowly.
Bolivian buses
The bus is the most frequently used vehicle and goes everywhere. In the noisy Bolivian stations, as in the Peruvian ones, you hear constant shouting. You think it’s your president of the board and instead it’s the ticket sellers. Among the many companies, competition is fierce.
The railroads are as good as gone. On a tour to the Salar de Uyuni, we stopped at what they call a train graveyard. Next to the track going to the border with Chile, used decades ago to supply troops during one of the many wars between the countries, are old locomotives.
I had read that traveling by bus can be dangerous; for the drivers are drunk there are accidents and if you don’t watch out they steal everything. Frankly, I never felt any dangerous situations. In fact, they are so comfortable that on the overnight journey I had a remarkable sleep.
Traveling by day allows one to enjoy spectacular scenery, as certain people are. Like my neighbor in the classic Bolivian women’s dress and distinctive hat.
Of course, it’s not all good, you can also have the one who all the time listens to Maria Bolivian radio at maximum volume and sings litanies at the top of her lungs.
If you get tickets at the last minute you can get bargains, but considering the Bolivian cost of living, I booked all routes from home. Only once did I worry. Due to a mistake there was no more room for me in a bus (chosen from the
The top of public transport in Bolivia, the cable car in La Paz
If buses are modern, super modern is the cable car in La Paz. Ever since I was a kid, I had always wanted to visit the highest metropolis in the world. Not beautiful and without even too many attractions for a capital city, but in a unique environmental setting.
It had always struck me that the often-weak national soccer team here puts its opponents through their paces by taking advantage of the altitude. Indeed, even just walking around the town can be challenging because it is located in a very deep valley surrounded by beautiful mountains, including 6462-meter-high Mount Illimani.
To go from the lowest point, which is at 3200 meters to the highest point, which is the neighborhood (with more delinquency, to be avoided even during the day) of El Alto, at 4100 meters, you travel by cable car built by an Austrian company. In La Paz I chose to take a guided tour that took me, all by cable car, to the outskirts of the city, called the
In autonomy I visited the witch market, where among the many original souvenirs, llama fetuses, which by tradition, are buried in the foundations of new houses as they bring good luck, stand out.
A couple of messes all my own
On the other hand, speaking of evil, in the La Paz museum, while photographing a roundup of masks of traditional magic, going backwards in the semi-dark hall, I tripped, ruining on the ground and pulling a panel behind me. Fortunately, I was not hurt, did little damage, and most importantly, no one saw me!
Far worse damage, but which I made up for thanks to my organization, I did at the airport in Sucre, when, leaving a pocket open, I lost my wallet with my credit card. I realized this when I arrived at my destination. As usual, I had money, passport and ATM in different places; therefore, I went a little crazy to report the loss, but on the trip I had no problems. The biggest problems I had on the return, with the delay of the new card messing up my weekend in Bucharest.
The flights also gave me a chance to enjoy some splendid views, especially the approach from Santa Cruz to Sucre and then to the high plateau of the Andes and the imposing peaks.
Previous leg Tour for Bolivia’s lone gringo
Next stop In the Salar de Uyuni, also the salt hotel.
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Countries visited in my travel stories
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
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