After a devastating time in Argentina, it was time to head to Bolivia next, and it did not disappoint!
Bolivia matched our expectations of South America perfectly – chilled vibes, friendly locals, and lots of things to explore. Let’s dive right in!
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
We started our trip in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and the first surprise was our apartment. Having grown accustomed to the zero-service level in Argentina, we were pleasantly surprised to find a lovely apartment stocked with water, juice, and even some snacks.
It feels great to come from the Airport and not have to look for the next supermarket right away.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is one of the largest cities in Bolivia, and the people take great pride in their city – it’s calming, relaxed, filled with excellent restaurants, and a great place to start your journey through Bolivia.
Sucre
Sucre was our next stop – it’s even calmer than Santa Cruz, perfectly walkable, and it had some pleasant surprises for us.
Sucre is at 2,800 meters (9,200 feet) above sea level – that was something we really needed some time to adapt to.
The first couple of days were filled with exhaustion after the tiniest walks 😅
Eventually, we adapted and could finally explore this lovely city:
Parque Cretacico Sucre
There is one thing I absolutely needed to visit in Sucre, the Parque Cretacico Sucre.
It’s the place where you can see real dinosaur footsteps on a wall – a must-see if you ask me!
The Parade
After an early afternoon of exploring the rest of the city, we found ourselves in the middle of a big parade.
It was the first time we had seen traditional dances, costumes, and the whole city turned into a massive festival around the central town square – what a great experience!
That was a great way to end our time in Sucre before heading off to La Paz!
La Paz
La Paz is the de facto capital of Bolivia and the highest seat of government in the world (3,640 meters (11,942 feet above sea level).
Almost twice the height of Sucre, but at least we had some time to adjust to the altitude before arriving here.
It’s loud, it’s busy, and you will get exhausted pretty quickly, but the view from above is breathtaking.
You can even get from A to B with a gondola – it works like a metro system in popular European cities and it’s very affordable.
Want to get a sense of what it’s like to take a gondola trip above the city?
Copacabana
After some hectic days in La Paz, it was time to escape the city.
We took a bus from La Paz to Copacabana, the city right at Lake Titicaca.
It’s a small village where you can do boat trips to many little islands with Inca ruins and beautiful views all around – we decided to take a boat trip to the Isla del Sol.
We even did a hike to the top of one of the mountains inside the city – calling it exhausting is a pure understatement, but the view we’ve got made it worth it.
That’s a wrap, folks. The next update will be from Peru, where we’ll be heading to Machu Picchu – stay tuned!