There’s a handful of things I want to do and see while I’m here in La Paz and it turns out I have an abundance of days, five, to do it all.
To that end, I can kind of take it easy each day and that’s been the plan for my time here in La Paz.
It’s the middle stretch of my trip and after a hectic first week, having a nice relaxing time here in La Paz is just what the doctor ordered.
With that in mind, I went to bed relatively late in the hostel world at 11pm.
With no set time to do things today I knew that I could wake up anytime.
I also find I tend to go to bed later when I have a room to myself as I just sit in bed catching up TV or YouTube videos.
A room to myself?
While it’s true I’ve had this 3 bed dorm room to myself the last two nights, the truth two other people are staying here.
Well, kind of.
When I checked in late the other night, the bunk bed opposite me had items strewn all over them and there were backpacks laying on the floor next to it.
Two girls from the States had apparently checked in the afternoon I got here, left their bags here and took an overnight bus to Uyuni to do a Salt Flat Tour.
Yup, they booked a room for two nights that they just stored their extra bags in.
I finally met them this morning as they had arrived back from Uyuni on another overnight bus.
They’ll be staying here tonight and then they’re off again this time back to Peru.
Yup, they rented beds for three nights only to spend one night in them.
Oh, and because they’re from the USA, they had a hellish time getting over the Peru/Bolivia border as US passport holders have to have a visa to enter Bolivia.
They didn’t know this beforehand so while my time at the border control was mere minutes, they were there for over 4 hours.
Four hours!
They had to go back to the Peruvian side of the border and had to download forms to print and then copy and get passport photos and, oh my God, so much stuff to do.
Honestly, they can’t be the only ones who unexpectantly have gone through this and I’m thinking someone should just open up a little shop on the border that offers all those services under one roof.
It’s a money maker I tell ya!
Anyway, note to future travelers out there – always check if you need a visa to a country before you leave for your trip.
A couple of stops
Despite actually being awake at 7:00, I didn’t actually get my ass out of bed until 9:00.
It was cold and I was all nice and snug under my 3 blankets plus, like I said, I didn’t have to be anywhere at any specific time today.
By the time I left the hostel it was 10am.
The walk into the center part of town where everything is takes about 30 minutes.
Before I headed in though, I made a couple stops near the hostel.
First, it was laundry day again and I popped into a local laundry shop and dropped off my clothes to pickup later this afternoon.
Then, I stopped by the pharmacy to pickup some cough drops cause, man, my throat has been sore for a few days now.
Yeah, this weather in the higher altitudes of both Peru and Bolivia kind of kicks your ass.
You start the day in a pullover and jacket only to be in a tshirt with suntan lotion on by mid-day.
The constant switch from cold to hot to cold again has definately taken it’s toll on my throat and, boy, are my lips ever chapped.
I know, I know, first world problems…
Breakfast
As with yesterday, I once again visited The Carrot Tree restaurant in town.
Yes, of course I could get much cheaper food at some street stall but when it comes to breakfast, I want the real deal.
Today it was gluten free pancakes with eggs and bacon.
Yup, it was awesome!
I’ve also gotten pretty damn good at ordering and communicating in Spanish. Even if the server speaks English, I still try to order in Spanish.
On the cable cars
By the time I was done breakfast it was almost 11:30.
The plan for today was to visit the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) located about 15km south of the central part of La Paz.
Now, there’s tours that will take you down there or you could always just grab a taxi there and back.
Well, not this boy.
Nope. I was gonna do this on my own!
So, what does doing it all on your own entail?
Glad you asked…
First, I had to get to the nearest cable car station.
For me, that was the Estacion Prado which was about a 20 minute walk from where I had breakfast.
The Celeste (Aqua Blue) line runs out of that station so I took the 10 minute ride to Estacion Libertador which connects to the Verde (Green) line.
A quick transfer and I was off for my 15 minute journey to Estacion Irpavi.
Easy so far, right?
I will say that time in the cable cars is so peaceful and relaxing especially when you have the car to yourself.
No traffic, no bumpy roads, just gleefully gliding through the air.
A minibus adventure
After disembarking the cable cars I had to walk a few blocks to an intersection where minibuses come and go to different places.
Honestly, I was a bit naive when it came to this part of the planning as I just figured it was a tiny intersection with only the minibus I was supposed to catch running through there.
So, imagine my surprise when I encountered dozens of minibuses waiting on different sides of the intersection.
Oh, this might take a bit to figure out where I catch my minibus.
Naturally there was a long row of taxis also waiting but I was determined to do this without a taxi, dammit.
I finally asked a couple of guys in broken Spanish where I should go to catch the minibus to Mallasa (a town right after where I would be getting off).
They pointed me to a certain spot so I went there but then a girl who had overheard the conversation and spoke English led me to where a minibus was actually going to Moon Valley.
Thank God for friendly people. They truly are a godsend when you’re traveling.
The ride took about 20 minutes and I didn’t know exactly how much I would have to pay but I figured it wouldn’t be more than 5bs ($1) so I had a combination of coins in my hand that would cover any payment from 1bs to 5bs.
It actually was only 2bs which works out to about 40 cents.
I’m guessing if I had taken a taxi it would have been in the 15-20bs range ($3-4) which, honestly, is still a reasonable price but, hey, you can’t really beat 40 cents.
Moon Valley
I arrived at Moon Valley just before 1:00, paid my 15bs ($3), and went inside.
There were only about a half dozen people on the entire grounds so it was eerily quiet as you wandered around this strange rock formations.
Honestly, the title of Moon Valley was so apt here as you literally thought you were walking around on a different planet.
Yes, yes, I know the moon is not a planet okay Poindexter!
Anyway…
As you climb the stairs you are faced with two signs. One leads you to the right for a 15 minute trek and the other to the left for 45 minutes.
Well, I didn’t spend all this time and effort to get here just to be in and out in just 15 minutes.
Time to test lather up the sunscreen and don the ballcap. Let’s test if these really work.
Every turn you took along the route through the park was another astonishing photo opportunity. Like I said, it felt like you were on a different planet.
Before I knew it, I had come up to the exit and it was time to head back into the city.
Another minibus adventure
I exited the park and went to a sign reading Parada de Transporte Publico and waited for a minibus to take me back to where I had caught one on the way out.
On the way in I had noticed that the minibus I was on had a sign for Calacoto in reverse for his trip back so I was on the lookout for any minibus driving by that had that sign on their windshield.
As each minibus turned the corner I had to quickly scan the array of signs on their windshield to see if one said Calacoto. If it did, I’d have to flag it down to have it stop for me.
After a few minibuses drove by and none of them heading to where I wanted to go, I started to get a bit worried.
Was I in the right spot?
Would I have to walk back over to the taxis waiting outside the Moon Valley entrance with my tail tucked between my legs?
Well, the answer is no. No, I wouldn’t.
Because after about 15 minutes a minibus drove up with a Calacoto sign on it’s windshield.
Fist pump!
No, seriously, I gave a fist pump in the air.
I was so excited.
I had done it. I had accomplished getting here and back on my own.
In that moment, I felt so proud of myself.
By 2:00 I was back on the cable cars and decided to take a longer way home via the green, aqua blue, white, and orange lines just to get a view of different parts of the city.
At 3:30 I was back at my hostel ready to rest and relax.
A quick pop out
At 5:30 I finally left the hostel again.
There was no adventure awaiting me though. I was done for the night.
Nope, just a quick pickup of my laundry and a stop at a food stall down the street.
Dinner tonight was a Bolivian dish of Sipancho which is rice, potato, egg, flattened beef, with tomatoes, onions, and greens.
There was so much food and it was so filling and the kicker was that it only cost 10bs. That’s only $2 for that plate of food.
By 6:30, that was it.
The day was done for me. Just a matter of typing up this blog and heading to bed early.
I’m not 100% sure what I’m doing tomorrow.
I have one thing planned but that isn’t until 7pm so I guess we’ll just see what I feel like doing when I wake up tomorrow…