From El Chaco in Paraguay, it took me around 2 days to reach Tarija in Bolivia by hitchhiking. In total, I had 7 rides and met my first Bolivian friend, a truck driver who spoiled me with beers & coca leaves while taking me to Villa Montes, my first step into Bolivia. At the border between Paraguay & Bolivia I met a refugee from Venezuela (there are thousands of them all around South America right now), who was nice at first while hitchhiking two rides with him but then got annoying and was hard to get rid of.
I think out of all the countries I have traveled to so far Bolivia has been the most happening country for me. I spent 50 days there and there was some crazy stuff going on nearly every day. Those 50 days were filled with exploring, hitchhiking, reaching the highest point of my life, ending up in hospital twice with nasty injuries, having weird Couchsurfing experiences, meeting awesome other travelers & locals and Christmas & New Year. But one after another. This country is just so incredibly interesting with some of the most impressive landscapes I have ever seen. It is also the most indigenous country in both Americas with 60 percent of the population being of pure Native American ancestry. On top of that, it was the first country of my time in South America with tasty & creative food.
Most of the Native people are Quechua & Aymara and I found them incredibly nice to talk to and spend time with. Something that really stood out in Bolivia was how much Bolivians don't care about you being a foreigner. You can visit the most remote villages where there haven't been any travelers for years and people just continue with their daily lives treating you pretty much the same as their buddies or neighbors. I loved that since that extra attention can be exhausting at times (even though it comes with a lot of advantages as well). In general, I have found people in Bolivia really honest, calm, warm and respectful. Hitchhiking was super easy too even though most people didn't really get the idea of me traveling alone in those random towns.
The first city I visited in Bolivia was Tarija, a quite pretty ciudad with a perfect climate and a beautiful center. I spent a week there improving my Spanish, resting and working. Bolivia's cities have a lot of street food and tasty dishes in their mercados that I really missed. The food is tasty, mostly healthy and with 10 Bolivianos per meal (1,30 Euro) really cheap. I had a wonderful hike 30 km out of the city and continued hitchhiking to Tupiza then, which took me pretty much the entire day for a 4-hour ride since there was no traffic at all.
In Tupiza I got bitten by an aggressive dog in my ass (the first time in my life after dealing with hundreds of stray dogs and shepherds (the worst!) in the last years) and ended up in a hospital's emergency department for some sewing.
But then I met great people, Jójó from Germany and Kiki & Hugo from Algeria and France with whom I went on a 4-day jeep tour around the beautiful South West of Bolivia. Together with Erico we explored some of the most beautiful & diverse landscapes I have ever seen in my life. From stunning colorful Lagunas filled with flamingos over red canyons & beautiful valleys up to the spectacular Salar de Uyuni with the best sunset of my life, this tour was amazing and a highlight of my 5 year long trip so far. Normally I never like tours & groups and I try to avoid them as much as I can (only in some National Parks where its obligatory to go with a guide) but this time the guide Erico and the group were perfect.
Salar de Uyuni is one of the most amazing natural attractions of our planet and please do yourself the flavor and don't just do a day trip from the town of Uyuni with all the crowds & combine it with other sights of the region which will allow you to spend more time in Salar de Uyuni without the constant crowds. The reflection of the sunset & sunrise was so magical and driving around the largest salt flat in the world feels like driving on a gigantic frozen lake.
Another highlight of that region was the crystal clear skies with a million visible stars during the night that reminded me of the night skies in the Outback of Central Australia! Just do yourself a favor and do that tour or drive the itinerary by yourself if you have your own vehicle (ask me for details).
After 4 eventful days touring Bolivia's southwest and a day resting in Uyuni town, I continued to Potosí, which used to be one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas thanks to its rich silver deposits in the mines. The mines of the Cerro Rico are the richest mines in all of world history and may have produced 60,000 tons of silver! Hundreds of thousands of indigenous laborers & slaves from Africa were used and mistreated by the colonial power in three long centuries. I did a super interesting tour into the mines (where I forgot to take my camera :( ). It was really shocking to see the conditions of work & most miners die of silicosis in their 40s. The Western overmoralizing countries should do a drama here instead of Qatar or Saudi Arabia. But that won't happen since Bolivia is poor and there is no prestige to get for them :D
Sucre was my next stop. I spent 8 beautiful days in Bolivia's official capital with charming streets, good food and a UNESCO center. The atmosphere is super peaceful and many foreigners have Spanish classes here since the prices are cheap and the city is really pleasant. All the churches, plazas and parks were beautiful during Christmas time in Bolivia with hundreds of colorful lights and decorations. Some evenings I spent hours just sitting at the plaza, watching people, enjoying the atmosphere and having snacks. My CS host Alberto taught me a lot about Sucre & Bolivia during this time, thank you for that!
I decided to spend 10 days during Christmas in pleasant Cochabamba then. Cocha is Bolivia's 4th largest city and the so-called "City of Eternal Spring" because of its pleasant temperatures all year round at around 2,500 m of elevation. I loved my time there! I took an Airbnb there for the entire time, met with Jójó again who did volunteering there, walked around the endless amount of parks, had delicious Christmas dishes, worked quite a lot and met my best Bolivian friend Andrea. I hiked up a hill to the second-largest Jesus statue in the world, enjoyed the beautiful view and hurt my knee very badly on the way up. Somehow I made it down the 1,300 stairs again and went to the emergency department in a hospital (again). I guess Jesus wanted to send me a sign after ignoring him for 29 years of my life.
Diagnosis: "Esguine de ligamento coleteral medial & Sinovitis suprapatelar" - A sprained knee and a long-term condition I did not even know of. The doctor told me to recover in 6 to 8 weeks and don't walk much. And that in hiking paradise Bolivia and just before I wanted to go to Peru. The first week I could not really move my right leg or walk at all and I got 2 daily muscle injections into my ass. Andrea helped me so much during this time by going to the doctor's appointments and supporting me in my immovable state - thank you so much for that!!
A week later I started to walk again (like a senior tho) and decided to continue my treatment in La Paz. La Paz and El Alto are incredible cities, the highest (administrative) capital in the world (up to 4,000 meters!) and exploring the cities with its Teleféricos (cable cars) is just amazing. My ability to walk was pretty much limited (La Paz is probably the worst city in the world to be with a condition like that) but I made the best of that and really enjoyed the beautiful views, markets and special atmosphere there. Andrea came to visit me on New Year and we celebrated in a nice bar and watched the fireworks. In El Alto, at more than 4,000 m in height, we visited one of the biggest markets in the world, watched a wrestling fight and enjoyed the views.
Bolivia was just amazing and easily one of my very very favorite countries I have visited in the last five years. If you ever plan a trip to South America, please include Bolivia and plan enough time there. I could have easily stayed another 50 days there and for sure I will come back to visit this beautiful country again!
5 Highlights:
- Salar de Uyuni, a natural highlight of our planet
- Exploring La Paz and El Alto in Teleféricos / cable cars
- Sucre, the official capital of the country with its pretty center
- The beautiful Lagunas of the South-West filled with flamingos
- My time in Cochabamba, a city I could have spent several months in
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| Visited places in Bolivia |
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| Rolling into Bolivia with beer, coca leaves and the first trailer of funny Bolivians |
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| Niki Lauda tiger memorial |
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| Relaxing in Villa Montes after 2 days of hitchhiking |
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| Trufi to Tarija |
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| The scenic & adventurous road from Villa Montes to Tarija |
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| Tarija |
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| Mercado Central in Tarija |
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| Christmas time! |
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| Empanadas and Saltenas, delicious in Bolivia too |
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| Streets of Tarija |
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| My favorite breakfast spot in Tarija |
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| Saice, a local speciality in Tarija |
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| Hike to some waterfalls 30 km out of Tarija.. |
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| .. with those two boys who guided me, .. |
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| .. swam with me .. |
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| .. and showed me the best way |
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| Relaxing & journaling at the end of the hike with my new friends |
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| Clay oven in a Bolivian village |
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| They have very tasty soups in Bolivia, often with fries in them |
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| Hitchhiking Highway No.1 to Tupiza with 39 degrees |
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| The unpaved road to Tupiza where I struggled to find a ride with 2 cars passing in one hour |
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| First dog bite of my life, don't mind my white ass |
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| Emergency department in the humble hospital of Tupiza |
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| The landscapes around Tupiza reminded me a lot of Central Australia |
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| Isn't that the most beautiful cactus ever? |
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| Starting our 4-day tour around Bolivia's wild Southwest |
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| Plenty of Llamas |
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| Sometimes stopping the traffic |
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| A village in the middle of nowhere |
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| Jójó buying stuff |
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| Ruins of mining settlements |
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| 4,855 m, my new life record that was beaten a day later at an altitude of 5,100 m |
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| My favorite Llama ever |
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| Our camp for the night |
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| Funny idiots |
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| Hundreds & hundreds of Flamingos |
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| The endless landscapes of Bolivia's Southwest |
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| Geysires at 5,000 m altitude |
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| Laguna Roja with a volcano in the background |
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| Bolivia is so so beautiful |
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| Diverse landscapes |
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| With Erico, Jójó, Hugo & Kiki - the best possible group |
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| Llama paradise |
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| Cactus beer - quite explosive |
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| Entering Salar de Uyuni |
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| Dancing on Salar de Uyuni during sunset celebrating life |
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| Sleeping in a salt house |
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| The favorite sun set of my life - yes I am sure about that |
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| Mirrored sunset |
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| Isla Incahuasi |
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| Hugo marking his territory |
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| A very unique place in the world |
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| Lunch break |
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| Hot springs |
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| Erico aka Que Rico |
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| Behind the scenes of touristy photos :D |
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| City of Lyon |
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| Planning the day |
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| 2 mainly Vegetarians meeting for a Llama meat dinner |
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| "Playing" pool in Uyuni after the tour |
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| Llama Asado |
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| A beautiful guest house in Potosí |
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| I met this guy during my lunch and he ended up buying me beer after beer just because I am German |
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| Potosí city center |
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| In a church in Sucre |
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| All parks in Bolivia were beautifully lighted during Christmas. Here: Sucre |
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| I couchsurfed and slept in this blue tower for 2 nights :D |
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| Mercado Central in Sucre |
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| Sucre is one of South America's most beautiful cities |
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| Exploring the parks of Cochabamba with Andrea |
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| People having a pilgrim up to Cochabamba's Cristo for Christmas |
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| Sunset above Cochabamba |
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| The second-highest Jesus statue in the world |
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| Jesus did not bring me luck, just sprained my leg under his arms on top of the hill |
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| The doctor told me to recover and take it easy for 6-8 weeks - how? |
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| I got all those injections in my ass until I decided it's enough |
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| Picana, a typical Bolivian Christmas dish |
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| Andrea was the best possible help with my injury in Cochabamba -thank you!! |
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| The bus terminal between Christmas and New Year in Cochabamba |
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| Arriving in La Paz, the highest capital in the world |
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| Thimpu, a dish that I liked quite a lot |
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| Teleféricos above La Paz |
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| El Mercado de las Brujas |
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| La Paz, never lacks of amazing views |
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| In a teleférico to La Paz |
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| Made in Switzerland |
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| Imagine having the open back door of your house at this cliff |
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| Wrestling in El Alto |
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| La Paz and El Alto at night, just before the fireworks at New Years evening |
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| Celebrating NYE in La Paz |
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| The beginning of one of the largest markets in the world in El Alto |
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| La Paz is all about climbing stairs and all of that with one functioning leg |
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| Lake Titicaca! |
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| Floating in a bus to Peru |
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