Getting There and Away:
Once your two week volunteer program finishes, don´t rush out of town, stay put for a little bit.
Once your two week volunteer program finishes, don´t rush out of town, stay put for a little bit.
Places to Stay:
The Resedencial Familiar has saggy but firm beds, in rooms that may have far too many beds in them for your party (of two). The female staff are the nicest people you have ever met, and the male staff give you looks that border on hatred, and pretend that they are running a locutorio when you ask to use the phone for a local call. Water is hot, reception will open the door at 5 AM when you first arrive, and packages can be accepted by the front desk and held for you without charge (should you leave a bag consisting of your lonely planet book, peanut butter, and a jar of jelly with your volunteer coordinator. Losing the lonely planet "bible" is not recommended...). If you want to upgrade, the Hotel Renata might give you a room with a kitchenette...a perfect place to concoct the fruit salad you are longing for.
The Resedencial Familiar has saggy but firm beds, in rooms that may have far too many beds in them for your party (of two). The female staff are the nicest people you have ever met, and the male staff give you looks that border on hatred, and pretend that they are running a locutorio when you ask to use the phone for a local call. Water is hot, reception will open the door at 5 AM when you first arrive, and packages can be accepted by the front desk and held for you without charge (should you leave a bag consisting of your lonely planet book, peanut butter, and a jar of jelly with your volunteer coordinator. Losing the lonely planet "bible" is not recommended...). If you want to upgrade, the Hotel Renata might give you a room with a kitchenette...a perfect place to concoct the fruit salad you are longing for.
Places to Eat:
The so-called "Gastronomy capital of Bolivia" has no shortage of good eats. El Prado is filled with American, Bolivian, and Argentinian restaurants that are a little more spendy, but tasty (and the ice cream for dessert is always large and outstanding). One restaurant in particular on this glitzy street, Dumbo, has an excellent outdoor front patio where many proud Bolivians will gather to watch their national squad suit up, and beat 2 to 0, for a World Cup qualifier against Brazil in La Paz (you will be extremely upset that your volunteer program does not start 1 day later!).
The so-called "Gastronomy capital of Bolivia" has no shortage of good eats. El Prado is filled with American, Bolivian, and Argentinian restaurants that are a little more spendy, but tasty (and the ice cream for dessert is always large and outstanding). One restaurant in particular on this glitzy street, Dumbo, has an excellent outdoor front patio where many proud Bolivians will gather to watch their national squad suit up, and beat 2 to 0, for a World Cup qualifier against Brazil in La Paz (you will be extremely upset that your volunteer program does not start 1 day later!).
Salon de Te: Cheap but delicious pastries and yuca filled goodies accompany amazing fresh fruit shakes, all for a 2 or 3 dollar breakfast that goes perfectly against the grain.
Eli's Pizza: American style, Bolivian input.
Salteñerias: These little juice'filled delights are a Bolivia specialty. They prepare a saucy mixture full of cooked meats, onions, carrots, potatoes, sometimes peas, and typically a kalamata olive and a quail egg, and they insert it into a magical empanada like shell, which they then bake until warm and slightly crispy on the outside. Not to be missed, unless you are prone to addiction!
Pluses:
Whats not to like? The weather is always warm and sunny, there are loads of markets and interesting walking destinations, there always seems to be a rally going on, the food and lodging is cheap, the people are nice...its the essence of Bolivia.
Minuses:
Public transportation is messy and there are a hundred cabbies for every person that is looking for a cab. Therefore, it is recommended that either you memorize the number and company for the cab you are in, or be 100% sure that you have not left your money purse in the cab (with your atm card in it) when you get out. If not, you will run after the cab with a bum heel in sandals, screaming and waving, only to stop because you wont catch him, check your pockets again, and realize you actually have what you thought you lost. Good times.
Pluses:
Whats not to like? The weather is always warm and sunny, there are loads of markets and interesting walking destinations, there always seems to be a rally going on, the food and lodging is cheap, the people are nice...its the essence of Bolivia.
Minuses:
Public transportation is messy and there are a hundred cabbies for every person that is looking for a cab. Therefore, it is recommended that either you memorize the number and company for the cab you are in, or be 100% sure that you have not left your money purse in the cab (with your atm card in it) when you get out. If not, you will run after the cab with a bum heel in sandals, screaming and waving, only to stop because you wont catch him, check your pockets again, and realize you actually have what you thought you lost. Good times.
La Paz, Bolivia
Getting There and Away:
Hop on the 9, transfer to the 6, and finish off by going north on the L...ok fine, just go to the bus station and buy a ticket to the capital. Get a double decker bus to ensure you wont be kept up all night by the lack of a bus cama and someone playing music on their phone (not to mention something resembling climate control).
Places to Stay:
Hostel Milenio has cheap private rooms, a TV with the most uncomfortable couch on the planet, and offers breakfast in-house (not in bed, that would be too perfect). The travel agent at the desk is nice and the book exchange will do in a pinch, although the titles are overwhelmingly in German.
Places to Eat:
Salteñas for days! There is also a pizza stand where slices of "chorizo-jalapeño" go for 1$, but actually are chorizo-locotó. Even better.
Pluses:
Tied with Quito, the most amazingly beautiful city at night. Looking up from the bottom of the "bowl" (the whole city is sunken into a depression with house-laden hills and mountains on all sides), you see various greens and yellows and reds (what do you know, the color of the Bolivian flag), and could stare at it for hours if you werent at 12,000 feet and freezing! Easy to walk around, with destinations on the other side of town actually only about 10 minutes off.
Minuses:
Getting to those destinations means invariably travelling uphill. Good exercise, but leaves you short of breath and exacerbating foot injuries. Construction on the central avenue will leave you finiding altenrative routes to restaurants you have read are yummy.
Copacabana (Lake Titicaca), Bolivia
Salteñas for days! There is also a pizza stand where slices of "chorizo-jalapeño" go for 1$, but actually are chorizo-locotó. Even better.
Pluses:
Tied with Quito, the most amazingly beautiful city at night. Looking up from the bottom of the "bowl" (the whole city is sunken into a depression with house-laden hills and mountains on all sides), you see various greens and yellows and reds (what do you know, the color of the Bolivian flag), and could stare at it for hours if you werent at 12,000 feet and freezing! Easy to walk around, with destinations on the other side of town actually only about 10 minutes off.
Minuses:
Getting to those destinations means invariably travelling uphill. Good exercise, but leaves you short of breath and exacerbating foot injuries. Construction on the central avenue will leave you finiding altenrative routes to restaurants you have read are yummy.
Copacabana (Lake Titicaca), Bolivia
Getting There and Away:
Everyday, a bus leaves from the cemetary in La Paz at 3 PM to the beautiful city of Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. If you dont know where the cemetary is, go to the bus station, and get your ticket! This trip involves any or all of the following: a short bus that they will pack twice as high with car seats (the kind you take out of a van for more cargo room), annoying Americans behind you that think they have to talk every waking moment, a ferry ride that you have to disembark for (weight restrictions?), and spine-tingling cliff side driving.
Places to Stay:
When you get there, 10 different people will solicit you for their hotel. Go with a young man who looks like he is about 10 but could be 30, or submit to him after he follows you to your first 2 disappointing locations, to his uncles establishment about a block from the water on the central street. Hotel Paris will charge you 10$ total for a double bed, a single bed, a nice and clean in-room bathroom, a balcony that sort of permits a lakeside view, and cable TV. Warning: the shower water-heating element is attached at the head, which for some reason means that there is a ridiculously strong electrical current running through the pipe penetrating the wall. If you want to adjust the location of the pipe, think twice: either do it wearing thick leather gloves, or dont do it at all! Hotel Paris has a resident bunny infestation, which, aside from a koala bear infestation, may be the cutest infestation ever.
Places to Eat:
Every restaurant in this little town has everything. Do not go here if you are expecting specialties, and do not be fooled by the "mexican food" sign outside one of them. The menus are extremely multinational and multicultural, which doesnt mean they serve bad food, it just means that they have very eclectic tastes.
Pluses:
Isla del Sol is freakin amazing. Take the ferry and walk from one end to the other. Eat overlooking the ridiculously azul water and get down and dirty with some alpacas before you reembark (passing floating islands) to Copa.
Pluses:
Isla del Sol is freakin amazing. Take the ferry and walk from one end to the other. Eat overlooking the ridiculously azul water and get down and dirty with some alpacas before you reembark (passing floating islands) to Copa.
The sunsets over the water are so alluring you will find yourself structuring your days and nights around sipping a $2.50 bottle of red out of plastic cups on the pier between the hours of 5 and 7.
Minuses:
The water looks amazingly inviting but it is FREEZING. Swimming is only advised after a good 45 minute walk around the lake as the green algae off shore in Copa looks and smells slightly suspicious.
Minuses:
The water looks amazingly inviting but it is FREEZING. Swimming is only advised after a good 45 minute walk around the lake as the green algae off shore in Copa looks and smells slightly suspicious.
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
ReplyDeletekeep it up team!
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