La Paz

Now, on the drive into La Paz I was getting a bit worried. The outskirts of the city look like a war zone… decrepit buildings, hardly any street lights and there was even a couple of tires on fire at the side of the road. However, on our first day we went on a walking tour and it was the best thing we could have done!

We booked our tour through the hostel which use a company called Altitude. Unlike all the other walking tours, this one wasn’t free (35 Bolvianos) but it was by far the best we’ve been on! Our guide, Berni, spoke fantastic English and the focus of his tour was to get us to understand what its like to be a Bolivian living in La Paz. He, of course, took us to all the main spots – Murillo Square, San Francisco church the Witches market, Rodriguez market and San Pedro prison, but the stories he told about their history, their culture and some of the more taboo subjects (human sacrifices that apparently still go on in rural towns) was incredibly interesting. He told us about the human scarifies which are an offering to Pachamama (Mother Nature), while we were in the Witches Market with dried lama foetuses hanging by our heads, take that as you will. He also gave us local phrases to use when bartering for prices and how to flip off drivers if they’re being aggressive, which apparently happens quite often (you call them lamas).

Also, in January they have a huge fair in town (Alasitas Fair). Part of it is to buy offerings for the gods – this is called the market of tiny tings – you can literally get anything in miniature version e.g. a car, money, a specific job (acted by ants) and even a specific degree you’re looking to obtain. The second part of the fair is full of games, shops and places to eat. We tried a couple of the games and then our guide took us to get an Api, a cheese filled pastry, and their traditional drink Tojori. The Api was delicious, the Tojori less so – it was made from purple corn and a custard like substance and was warm!

The tour ended with a cocktail class back in the hostel making a traditional Bolivian cocktail called Chuflay. This is their national spirit (Singani) with smashed strawberry and lime, ice and ginger ale – they were really refreshing, I was a fan. The hostel had a BBQ on so we grabbed food there and then headed out to a bar – it was a really great first day in La Paz.

The next morning we had a long lie and then did some fun bits (like book tours and do laundry) before going to the Cholitas Wrestling show – traditional Bolivian woman wrestling! If you’re in La Paz, you have to go to this show. It’s so funny and gets so aggressive, I didn’t know what was going on most of the time but it was very entertaining. The locals get very involved which adds to the hilarity. We had an early night that night as we were up early for Death Road the next day.

Death Road

Now Death Road is an experience but one thing it is not, is scary. It’s called Death Road because it used to be the main road connecting La Paz to the Bolivian Amazon and its a pretty sketchy road if you’re in a car or a bus and lots of people died driving it, but, you’re on a bike which is significantly smaller! As long as you don’t get cocky, it’s pretty safe.

We booked through South Treks by sending them a WhatsApp but as with most things in South America, we didn’t actually end up going with this operator and instead Red Line picked us up from the hostel in the morning.

To be honest, the tour was very well run. They picked us up from the hostel, we had a short stop on the way up the mountain to grab water and snacks and then made it to the top at around 9:30am.

It was absolutely freezing at the top so make sure to bring warm clothes! Here they gave us elbow and knee pads, full protective outfits, gloves and helmets before we jumped on the bikes. The first part of the cycling is probably the scariest because you’re not on Death Road yet, you’re on the new highway, so although the road is mostly lovely tarmac and smooth, there are cars and trucks flying past you – just keep to the side and you’ll be fine!

After about 15-20 minutes you turn off onto Death Road which is now not open to the general public. We had a snack at the top and got some photos before heading down. This road is not tarmac so is very bumpy – this is the most uncomfortable thing about the cycling and your hands will hurt but they stop every 15 mins or so to give you a break and regroup. The whole experience lasts around 5 hours and the scenery is stunning!

At the end they take you to a hotel (very random) where they give you lunch and you can swim in the pool for an hour or so, before the 3 hour drive back to La Paz. If I’m honest, I’m glad I did the trip just for the experience and the scenery but I wouldn’t be rushing back to to do it again! Lewis loved it though, I just don’t think I like mountain biking. That evening we were knackered so just got food in the hostel and went to bed.

The next day was a very admin filled day – as I mentioned, Bolivia is a fully cash economy, so we had to go get out so much money to pay our hostel bill. After check-out we went down back to San Pedro prison to listen to the talk by ‘Crazy Dave’. If you have read Marching Power, although Dave isn’t mentioned, he was in the prison at the same time as Rusty and has some crazy stories. He tells his story at 1pm in San Pedro square, just turn up and he will find you. He is an American drug addict that got done for drug smuggling but just go along and listen to his story, he’s a real showman. We then went grabbed a Pizza at Philly’s and went on the cable cars. We did a 45 min loop which gives great views of the city, each ride is 3 Bolivianos.

Once all of that was done it was time to head to our overnight bus to Uyuni where we were doing our salt flat tour from. We just booked our tour through the hostel but booked our bus separately as they didn’t use the bus company (Todo Turismo) we wanted to use. This was probably the best bus we’d been on in South America – the seats were comfy and reclined, they give you a meal, tea and chocolate. If you book this bus pay extra for the downstairs seats, its worth it. The only hiccup in our night was that there were protests on (Bolivians protest every other day against their corrupt government) so we had to change buses at 2am to avoid them, but it was fine as the buses pulled up next to each other and the staff moved all our bags. We heard from people who had got the bus the previous night that they had to walk for 20 minutes through the protests with their bags to get to the other bus, so we clearly lucked out.

La Paz Summary

• Length of stay: 3-4 Nights
• Where to stay: Wild Rover is a good place if you want to party, otherwise I heard that The Adventure Brew Hostel and The Rooftop were nice
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Walking tour, Day 2 – Cholita wrestling, Day 3 – Death Road, Day 4 – Crazy Dave and the cable cars
• Top tip: Get as much cash as you can at every opportunity, you’ll need it! Also doing the walking tour on the first day is a great way to get your bearings in this huge city.

The Salt Flats

We arrived early into Uyuni and our guide from the tour operator (Perla de Bolivia) was already there waiting for us. She walked us to a cafe where we could get breakfast and chill before the office opened. Once we made it to the office they gave us a briefing and we had half an hour to buy water etc. before setting off in the cars.

The first stop on the tour is the ‘Train Cemetery’ and it’s exactly as you imagine it to be. Basically, there used to be a huge amount of silver mining in Bolivia and during this time the British built trains to help move the cargo – once the silver ran out and tin was found to be more useful during the world wars, they abandoned the mines and the trains, leaving them to rot in the salty desert.

After lunch we headed onto the slat flats themselves. I’ve never seen a landscape like it – so white, so barren, so hot. We got all the classic perspective photos and drove through the flats until sunset. We didn’t get to our accommodation until 8pm, we were all tired, cold and hungry so it was dinner and then straight to bed! Side note, the food in Bolivia is not great – the food on this tour can’t even be compared to the Inka trail so bring some snacks!

On the second day you move from the salt flats into the desert. Again, such a cool landscape – it looks like you’re on another planet. You get to see loads of volcanoes, lagoons and flamingos! You spend a lot of the day in the car but the scenery makes it bearable.

It was a 5am wake up for the third and final day but it’s worth it. First you head to the geysers which are really cool, seeing the steam bellow up out from the ground was a first for me and then we went to the hot springs. It’s only 6 Bolivianos and such a lovely way to start the morning so definitely get in! We were also treated by flamingos in the pool next to us which was pretty special.

After that we headed to the Chilean boarder. If you’re not going to Chile the rest of your final day is an 8 hour drive back to Uyuni and most get the overnight bus back to La Paz, lucky we were going to San Pedro de Atacama!

Salt Flat Tour Summary

• Length of tour: You can do day trips, 2 days and 3 day tours. If you’re planning to go down into Chile or up into Bolivia, do the 3 day tour as its the easiest way to get across the border.
• Tour operators: We did ours through Perla de Bolivia and they were as expected, the accommodation was OK but the food was meh. I’m sure there are nicer operators out there but these guys were organised and our driver and guide were incredibly friendly.
• Top tip: Bring a lot of sun cream and your hat, but also a beanie and a jacket! The desert is wild.