For example, there is the highest city in the world as well as the highest watering lake, the largest salt flat, the highest ski area and also the most dangerous road on earth. It’s great to return to this fascinating destination after years; It was way too long ago.
This time with three teenagers to Bolivia, an entire enterprise
Bolivia is also the most isolated country in South America, and this is reflected in the cumbersome flight connections. Because a start in la Paz, which is almost 4,000 meters high, is not advisable, we spent the first night in low-lying Santa Cruz. Although this is not the most exciting city in the country, it turned out to be a good move. Many travelers who arrived in Santa Cruz after a long international flight and planned to fly to the much more attractive Sucre faced cancellations and hours of delays.
Colonial Sucre, colorful Indian market and coca leaves
Sucre, the legal capital of the country, is situated at an altitude of about 2,700 meters, has a lovely climate, a beautiful white painted colonial center and a friendly atmosphere. In short, the ideal place to acclimatise. Moreover, it is the base for a visit to tarabuco’sfantastic Indian market. This market is held every Sunday and is listed in every travel guide. However, there are only a handful of tourists to be found. Beautiful colourful costumes and headgear reminiscent of the old Spanish helmets. Couple of bags of coca leaves bought from a friendly cholita, an excellent remedy for fatigue and hunger… Sucre, a lovely city for a first introduction.
Pachamama and El Tio
For some travellers, the salt flat of Uyuni is planned after Sucre, but a stopover in Potosi is definitely advisable. In the highest city in the world (4,100 meters) with the famous silver mines, our children were confronted with the hard lives of their Bolivian peers. With hammer and chisel in dark stuffy corridors and chewing on coca leaves, minerals such as tin, zinc and lead are sought. Most of the silver was already stolen by the Spanish and also our own Piet Hein took a piece of the silverware by conquering the Silver Fleet. Because the devil or also called El Tio (“the uncle”) is considered ruler of the mine, his image can be found in every mine in a niche. As usual, coca leaves, alcohol and cigarettes had to be sacrificed here. In doing so, a part of the alcohol (99%!) is first poured on El Tio and then crushed to the ground to satisfy Pachamama (Mother Earth and also wife of El Tio). Every month a llama is also slaughtered to avert misfortune but here we arrived just too late for… It is these traditions and customs that make everyday life in Bolivia so special and have no such strong presence anywhere else in South America.
In retrospect, it would have been better to spend two nights instead of one for Potosi. Potosi shows you more of the raw Bolivian life compared to Sucre. In addition, there are beautiful churches, squares, interesting museums and nice restaurants.
Infinite salt flat of Uyuni, a valhalla for photographers
Until recently, the journey to Uyuni took about seven hours on a terrible mountain road. In the meantime, there is a good asphalt road that almost halves the journey time. A beautiful route, winding past Indian villages and herd of llamas with vistas on beautifully coloured mountains… Enjoy! Uyuni itself is a dusty town with a few colossal statues that wouldn’t look out of place in the former Eastern Bloc. From Uyuni, however, impressive multi-day jeep tours can be made along green and red lagunas with flamingos. Because of the long journeys with overnight stays at very high altitudes this would be just a bit too heavy for us so we limited ourselves to a day trip to Salar de Uyuni. What a great trip! In a jeep crossing over an infinite salt flat with a dimension of a quarter of the Netherlands… Incredibly. In the middle of the plain bizarre cactus islands. A valhalla for photographers; what a reflections, bright light and silence. A long day that ended with an unforgettable sunset. One of the absolute highlights of the trip!
1,000 caimans and piranhas
At the special request of the children who wanted to be presented not only with Indian culture and plateaus but also a wildlife experience, we travelled to the jungle town of Rurrenabaque. The famous “Death Road”, located between the Andes and the Amazon basin with waterfalls that clatter down on the narrow road, is nowadays mainly used by mountain bikers looking for an adrenaline rush. A good asphalt road on the other side of the valley is a great alternative but on one particular route it is still shivering for hours on a dirt road along deep steep precipices. A perfect alternative to a minimum 20-hour bus ride is a relatively comfortable 40-minute flight in a 19-seater. The desired wildlife experience has been everyone’s… Much more than in the jungle, the wetlands offer an unforgettable experience. Sailing in a motorised canoe across the Rio Yacumo to a basic accommodation it is from the first minute to enjoy. I can’t believe what’s on display; We’re short of eyes. Every few meters there are caimans and black alligators sunbathing on the river beaches. A quick calculation shows that we must have seen at least 1,000 during the three-day tour. There are also numerous skull monkeys, spider monkeys, capybaras, turtles, touccans, birds of prey and freshwater dolphins. Not to mention the primitive hoatzin; a bird with extra claws on the wings for more grip in the trees. Part of the tour is a hike through the wetlands in search of the anaconda. Unfortunately, this one was hiding. We did come across the equally spectacular cobra. With piranha’s fishing on the program, this adventure was unbeatable…
“Samuel in the Clouds”
The literal highlight of the Bolivia trip was of course the excursion to Chacaltaya. From La Paz, a spectacular mountain road leads to club andino’s mountain hut within an hour. Not so long ago, skiing was done here on the highest piste in the world. As a result of global warming, this is no longer possible. This much to the disappointment of Samuel, the manager of the hut. Samuel used to serve the ski lift, nowadays he is limited to welcoming the groups of tourists with a cup of coca leaves tea. Samuel pointed out that a documentary about his life has recently been made that has been shown in various film houses for the past two weeks. “Samuel in the Clouds”, highly recommended!
Although there is hardly any snow on Chacaltaya, it is breathtaking. In a relatively simple way, a walk is possible to an altitude of 5,400 meters. Resting every ten steps and catch your breath, enjoying the unparalleled views of the vast plateau, the Altiplano,La Paz and the peaks of the Cordillera Real, which are covered with snow along the way. Even in the distance you can catch a glimpse of Lake Titicaca, the most humid lake in the world… To show our children this legendary lake we have to go back; Unfortunately, there was no time for it now. Perhaps next time in a route through Peru, the country with which Titicaca is shared. We can’t wait…
