The die-hard extreme sports enthusiast might think that Bolivia’s options are limited to mountain climbing icy peaks and biking down the World’s Most Dangerous Road, but there are other, even more uncommon options for the most intrepid of travelers….
Bolivia celebrates two new years- January 1st and June 21st. (The latter is considered the Aymara New Year.) You’ll find that the New Year’s Eve celebrations of December 31st share a lot in common with those of other South American countries.
Roast pork is the traditional dinner choice, as it represents bounty and prosperity, followed by a champagne toast. The Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes while making wishes is commonly observed, but the most important custom is the wearing of colored underwear. Yellow is for wealth and luck, and red is for love. You’ll find that underwear is a popular item for the mobile vendors on the street.
Even those who spend the evening with their
families will often choose to go out dancing after midnight. In La Paz, themed parties are popular (80s, metal, etc). However, many people do travel to the tropical yungas and Amazon rainforest or Lake Titicaca, taking advantage of the fact that New Year’s Eve coincides with summer vacation. Coroico (on the edge of the tropics) and Sun Island (in Lake Titicaca) are said to have better parties than La Paz.
However, those of you who choose to spend New Year’s in La Paz won’t be disappointed spending it with friends at Pirwa La Paz. Celebrating with other travelers is a great way to ring in a new year of adventures around the world!
Most travelers cross the Peru – Bolivia border by buying a tourist-class bus ticket from Puno to Copacabana. Almost all of these buses cross at the border town of Yunguyo and depart Puno daily, such as Panamericano and Tour Peru. Disembarking at Copacabana allows you to explore the Lake Titicaca’s famous Isla del Sol (Sun Island), although you can also opt to continue on to La Paz. The 7hr trip from Puno to La Paz boasts scenic views of the villages alongside the lake and involves a ferry ride across the the lake’s Tiquina Strait.
The direct route from Puno to La Paz crosses the border at the small and filthy town of Desaguadero rather than Yunguyo. Ormeño buses depart Puno along this route at 5:45am each day, and although you won’t have a scenic trip, the total time gets cut down to 5 hours, and you will catch a glimpse of the Tiwanaku ruins en route.
Rather than take a bus from Puno’s main terminal (the terminal terrestre), you can take a colectivo from the corner of Bolivar and 1 de Mayo two blocks away. Although these shared vans are a cheaper option, you won’t be guaranteed a seat and have to deal with overcrowding and possible pickpockets. If you have luggage with you, you will find this an uncomfortable option.
2½hr Puno – Yunguyo: US$3.00
30min Yunguyo – Copacabana: US$0.50
5hr Copacabana – La Paz: US$4.00
The cheapest way to cross the border is by colectivo vía Desaguadero. It takes about 4 hours and US$2 to get from Puno to Desaguadero, and 4 more hours and US$3 to make it to La Paz from Desaguadero (with colectivos only leaving up to 5pm).
The colectivos stop at Desaguadero’s town center, only about 600 feet from the border stations, located along the bridge over the river of the same name. On the left of the bridge is the Peruvian immigration exit station. Officials here will check and collect your TAM, and stamp your passport, at which point you can walk across the bridge into Bolivia. Once you arrive on the Bolivia side, the entry station will be on your right.
At The Border
The Peru-Bolivia border is open from 8am–midday and from 2pm–7:30pm, and crossing is relatively quick and stress-free. Although you should confirm if this applies for your own country of origin, most tourists only require a passport and an entry/exit card which is provided for them. For example, in the case of Bolivia, North & South Americans, New Zealanders, and Australians won’t need entry visas, but French nationals must arrange this ahead of time. In the case of Peru, citizens of all of the countries in North America and South America, all countries within the European Union, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are not required to obtain visas from the embassy in advance (among other exempt countries).
The card that you receive upon entering Peru or Bolivia is the TAM (Tarjeta Andina de Migración), which you will be required to produce it in order to leave the country. If you are flying into Peru, you will receive the card during the flight and must fill it in and present it upon arrival. As it is required for exit, if your card is lost during your visit, you will need to visit the local immigration office for assistance in procuring a new one. (If, on the other hand, you lose your passport, you should contact your embassy.)
The TAM will specify how many days you will be staying in the country. You will probably receive 90 days by default if you don’t ask for more, but you may request for up to 183 days in Peru. The Bolivian TAM is generally made out for 30 days, although the visa is valid for years. If you overstay the allotted days, you will be fined US$1 for every day before being permitted to exit the country.
If you are crossing the border from Peru to Bolivia, you will surrender your TAM for Peru at the Peruvian border post, and then receive a new one at the Bolivian entry post.
While most travelers will be stamped into Bolivia as quickly as they were stamped out of Peru, United States’ citizens will need to pay the US$135 entry fee- make sure you have pristine bills or they won’t be accepted. You will also need to provide a passport-sized photo for a visa which will be good for 5 years, and complete the visa application. (If you don’t have a photo they will sometimes search for a close match in the leftover pile, but you might as well come prepared if you can.) Avoid problems by ensuring that your passport still has at least six months validity remaining, and a free page to affix the Bolivian visa. If you’d like to save time, you can fill out the visa application online before heading for the border.
Technically, you can be asked to show your outbound flight or bus ticket, reservation information, or proof of yellow fever vaccination upon entering Bolivia or Peru. Most of the time these inquiries aren’t made, although you are most likely to be asked about the first.
Despite being the most popular tour in Potosí, and the reason why most people visit the city, tours of the cooperative mines of Cerro Rico are not for everybody. The experience is memorable and provides an insight that merely hearing about the miners and their working conditions never will, but it can be physically and mentally uncomfortable for some. While women were discouraged from entering the mines in the past, lest they bring bad luck, this superstition has not really had any force in the last decades, so anyone who would like to experience what life in Potosí is like for most local families are free to take part. For more than 400 years, Cerro Rico has defined Potosí, and even though so much mining means that the mountain doesn’t have much time left, it’s still that way today.
15,000 miners work in the mountain’s 400 mines, most of which have several levels. (Although most of the work takes place at the lowest levels, tours do not descend to such depths because of safety considerations and because they are quite uncomfortable.) Expect low ceilings, and steep, narrow passageways that can be muddy and rocky. If you suffer from asthma, you will not want to enter at all due to the dust particles, and claustrophobics should definitely abstain as well.
Most mine tours are guided by ex-miners and begin in the morning. (There are afternoon tours as well, but the morning tours tend to spend more time in the mines.) First stop is the miners’ market in downtown Potosí, where anyone can buy dynamite, ammonium nitrate, and fuses for about US$2 without even needing a license. Here, you can pick up some gifts for the miners that you will meet during your visit. (The miners must buy their own explosive and tools and do all of the work by hand, selling their production at the end of each week for the best price they can negotiate.) Afterwards, you head to a refining plant and then on to Cerro Rico itself. Your safety equipment will be provided, but you will want to bring water and a handkerchief for your mouth.
Upon entering the mines each day, miners salute the statue of Tata Kaj’chu which sits in the entrance of each of the mountain’s 400 mines. In the dark underworld of the mines, this figure representing the devil is supposed to hold sway. Calling him Tío (Uncle), they ask for protection and give offerings in exchange for the minerals they take out of hell. On Friday nights, there is a cha’lla (offering), wherein alcohol is poured on the ground before the statue, lit cigarettes placed in his mouth, and coca leaves laid out. Getting into the spirit, the miners join the devil in his drinking and smoking. Most miners are Catholic, but offerings and requests to Christ are only made as far as the sunlight reaches.
Most mines which are open to tours have a small exhibit in the first level which sheds light on some of the mines’ history and the issues miners face. By level 2, you are mainly crawling, and then slide down to the following level through a sort of wooden chute. Level 3 is more spacious because often materials are sorted at this level. Temperatures in the mines range greatly, from very cold to 45C on the fourth and fifth levels. Most tours end with a dynamiting demonstration, so that you can feel the force of the explosions, noticeable even at some distance.
Although independence had been proclaimed much earlier, it wasn’t until August 1825 that the Spanish were definitively defeated in Bolivia and the independent republic was established. This is why Bolivia celebrates more than one independence day. This Tuesday, August 6th, Bolivia will celebrate Día de la Patria, the anniversary of the Bolivian Republic.
In La Paz, celebrations last for two days filled with patriotic parades, marching bands, street dances and carnivals, and gun salutes. Street venders hocking foods and alcohol add a carnival feel, while the whole town seemingly gathers for the street concert the night before.
Aside from La Paz, the second center of festivities is Sucre, which has already announced the serenata, or outdoor concert on the eve of the 6th, as well as parades which will begin this Sunday, August 4th in the 25 de Mayo Plaza in front of the Casa de Libertad. The parades will continue throughout the following days.
While in La Paz, visit us at Pirwa La Paz– we’re enviably located just a block and a half from most backpackers’ point of entry, the La Paz bus terminal, and from Plaza San Francisco, . Some of the city’s best museums and main shopping areas for souvenirs are found just a few minutes further. Besides an unbeatably convenient location, Pirwa La Paz offers affordable lodging in shared dorms, a continental breakfast, free internet + wi-fi, and more. You can even store your luggage for free while undertaking multi-day excursions like visits to Uyuni Salar, Madidi National Park, or mountain climbing along the peaks surrounding La Paz. Or, if you choose to stay and explore all that La Paz has to offer, then let our knowledgeable staff help you plan your stay!
