Hey all, this is going to be a long post because the internet outside La Paz is pretty shitty and I haven´t had a chance to post some stuff. However, there were some pretty cool things worth reading about that happened, particularly in Sorata.
Showing posts with label Bolivia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bolivia. Show all posts
08 February, 2011
27 January, 2011
Bolivia, Uyuni and the High Andes
Last I wrote, I believe I was on my way to Bolivia. Well, lets just say that it's been quite a ride from then till now.
I'll start with getting to Bolivia. I caught the bus in Salta around 10pm. The bus, which was supposed to be 7 hours, was in fact 9. This ended up being a good thing because it allowed me extra time to sleep, which I needed because they played Preditors (in Spanish) at full volume starting at about 11pm. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it is the most recent shitty installment and 60% of the movie is yelling and gunfire. So, you may be able to imagine the difficulty a light sleeper may have had, even with earplugs. We did finally make it by 6:30 ish and it was a good thing I wore my warmest clothes cause it was freezing and drizzling.
I opted to walk to the border hoping to cross paths with a ATM on the way to pay for the Bolivian visa. Nope. Fortunately, every Argentine (including border officials) I asked said that there is no cost, which is incorrect by the way. I arrived exactly at opening of the border 6AM. I know, timing seems wrong, but Bolivia and the border are 1 hour behind. The wait was 1 hour to get stamped out of Argentina. I found out that yes, you need to pay for the visa from a border agent, so I headed into town with directions to a cajero de cambio (ATM). That's right, I just walked into Bolivia without any hasle of getting stamped in, similar to what the border was like between Costa Rica and Panama. Naturally, these directions were way off. So, I asked around. Some people had no idea what a bank or cash machine was??? A very helpful bus official pointed me to the nearest one that of course didn't know what an ATM card was. So, I wandered some more. Finally, at the second hotel I stopped by, the manager gave me directions to the only working one in town. Turns out there aren't any banks in Villazon, just a couple ATMs and a million casa de cambios (cash exchanges). By this time I had burned about 2 hours and having heard stories about train tickets, decided it was in my best interest to buy a ticket before attempting the visa back at the border.
I'll start with getting to Bolivia. I caught the bus in Salta around 10pm. The bus, which was supposed to be 7 hours, was in fact 9. This ended up being a good thing because it allowed me extra time to sleep, which I needed because they played Preditors (in Spanish) at full volume starting at about 11pm. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it is the most recent shitty installment and 60% of the movie is yelling and gunfire. So, you may be able to imagine the difficulty a light sleeper may have had, even with earplugs. We did finally make it by 6:30 ish and it was a good thing I wore my warmest clothes cause it was freezing and drizzling.
I opted to walk to the border hoping to cross paths with a ATM on the way to pay for the Bolivian visa. Nope. Fortunately, every Argentine (including border officials) I asked said that there is no cost, which is incorrect by the way. I arrived exactly at opening of the border 6AM. I know, timing seems wrong, but Bolivia and the border are 1 hour behind. The wait was 1 hour to get stamped out of Argentina. I found out that yes, you need to pay for the visa from a border agent, so I headed into town with directions to a cajero de cambio (ATM). That's right, I just walked into Bolivia without any hasle of getting stamped in, similar to what the border was like between Costa Rica and Panama. Naturally, these directions were way off. So, I asked around. Some people had no idea what a bank or cash machine was??? A very helpful bus official pointed me to the nearest one that of course didn't know what an ATM card was. So, I wandered some more. Finally, at the second hotel I stopped by, the manager gave me directions to the only working one in town. Turns out there aren't any banks in Villazon, just a couple ATMs and a million casa de cambios (cash exchanges). By this time I had burned about 2 hours and having heard stories about train tickets, decided it was in my best interest to buy a ticket before attempting the visa back at the border.
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