Crossing the Border: Hola Boliva

We were told we needed a photocopy of our passport, a passport photo and $135 US dollars in order to be allowed into Bolivia. So before leaving BsAs we got passport photos and photocopies of our passport, but figured we could get the $135 US eventually from an ATM. Well, of course, we didn’t think to do it until we needed to cross the border. So we walked towards the border with our heavy backpacks and when we arrived 20 minutes later we were told that we needed to go to the bank and get money because there was no way to get US dollars at the border. So Amy and I trekked back into La Quiaca and asked a few people about where the bank was and finally got there. We were delighted to see that the ATM dispensed US dollars, but we were terribly disappointed to find out that they had no US dollars to dispense. So we got AR pesos and hoped that Bolivia would accept them. We were told Bolivia would accept just about any type of currency, which by the way is true, except for…you guessed it… the border! Conveniently, there was a casa de cambio right at the border so for a very poor exchange rate Amy and I were able to get the long awaited US dollars! We later learned that we were the only travelers that did not have US money on them and of course all of the other travelers were not from the US!
So finally, we made it to the bus station in Villazon, Bolivia. We were hoping to go to Uyuni for a tour that Melissa recommended, but there were no busses going there from Villazon so we went to Tupiza instead. We knew we could catch a tour from there too, but we knew zero details about this place. So we purchased our bus tickets for $2 and then had about 6 hours to kill before we set off for Tupiza. Since we had our heavy packs with us we basically sat in the main plaza all day and eventually wondered into a restaurant for some lunch. The plates were ridiculously cheap so Amy and I didn’t think that they would be big, boy were we mistaken! They were huge and I could not finish it, but don’t worry the women next to me had a Ziploc bag and took my leftovers home with her. This was our first real clue to how poor Bolivia was. While I was a bit shocked that she took the leftovers right off my plate, it felt good knowing that the food wasn’t going to waste.

The meal I shared with my new Bolivian friends in Villazon.

So the bus was hanging on by a thread and I really have no idea how it was still in operation, but nevertheless we boarded it. At first we were the only tourists on the bus, but eventually 3 other tourists got on. We got to talking and it turned out they wanted to do the same tour that we did, so we were relieved that we had some other travelers to go with. While sitting there, a guy posed as a person working for the bus asked to see our tickets, he then put our bags in the compartment above us. For Amy and I this wasn’t a big deal because our bags were huge and mine was bright orange, but for the people we were soon to be traveling with, this turned out to be a HUGE mistake. They handed the man their day packs with all their important things in it (cash, passports, credit cards, etc) and next thing they knew their packs were gone. This apparently is big scam in Bolivia, there is some sort of partnership where the one guy pushes the bags towards the back of the bus and somehow someone either (a) walks off the bus with them or (b) throws them out the window to their partner. Needless to say, they got off the bus and found the police, they asked me (ME) to translate to the police officer which I did. However, when I got back on the bus I realized I only used the first person in past tense to describe the events. So I successfully used the past tense, but I basically told the policeman that I robbed them. Fortunately, he got the gist of what I was trying to say and told me “tienen cuidado,” which meant they should have taken better care! The officer wasn’t too sympathetic to say the least. Obviously, we bid adios to our new friends. Fortunately, during this whole robbery debacle, two other tourists came on the bus: Nadja and Jay. Nadja and Jay are traveling for an entire year and had already seen so much in India, Asia and Australia. We were very lucky to run into them because they were extremely accustomed to traveling and even had a guidebook. So for the first time on the trip we were able to look at a book and figure out how we were going to accomplish our journey! Also, they knew of a great tour that left from Tupiza and ended in Uyuni, Bolivia, which was perfect for us! The four of us had a great time together in Bolivia.
We used Hotel Torre tours and signed up for a four day tour- the four of us along with a driver and cook set out for a journey around Bolivia. We saw so many incredible landscapes and sights that I cannot even use the right words to describe them so I will just post a lot of pictures. On the last day we ended up at the Salt Flats where we were able to take a lot of really fun shots. We should also let you know that the accommodations were very rustic. There was no shower, no hot water, no heat and the food made all of sick at one point or another. However, with that said, I would do the tour again because the people were great, the sights were beautiful, and I will remember this experience forever.

Shots from the tour:

Flamingos- there were so many flamingos on the tour. They were so pretty, but a little camera shy, so we could not get too many close up shots.

Maria, Nadja, Amy, Henry and Jay up at 4855. One of the highest altitude spots visited. Fortunately, none of us got altitude sickness too badly, but we definitely experienced headaches and nauseas.

Jumping in front of the rock tree in the middle of a Bolivian desert.

More photos:
The jeep that we pretty much lived out for the first four days and Henry.

Me in front of the Geysers which were at 5000 meters. The highest place we were.

Me and Amy in front of the Laguna Colorados. As you can see the Laguna is red- this is where the flamingos get their beautiful color from!

Shots from the Salt Flats. We have a bunch more of these, just let me know if you want to see and I will email them!

After the four day tour we arrived in Uyuni, Bolivia. Amy got a great tip from the guidebook and saw that there was a 1:45AM train that left Uyuni and arrived in Oruro, Bolivia at 8:30AM, where we knew we could catch a bus to Cochabamba, which was our next destination. We asked around and we were told that the 1:45AM train was safe. We got a hostel directly across the street so there were no problems getting there. Well there was one problem, the train was pitch black and had been in operation for about 100 years. At one point when we were trying to find our seats, I stepped on the train and it jerked as if it was about to take off, I had visions of Amy running to catch the train as I looked on. Fortunately, we both ended up on board and Amy had a small flashlight that I took from her and started flashing in other passengers’ faces until I eventually found our two empty seats- as you can imagine I made a lot of friends. So 9 hours later we arrived at Oruro and found a bus to Cochabamba. Like most busses in Bolivia this one was overbooked and Amy basically had a Bolivian woman in traditional dress sit on her lap for the entire 4 hours ride. Finally, after 2 more bus rides, 5 more hostels, one train ride and jeep tour we made to beautiful sunny Cochabamba!