Bolivia Experience

Banana Bread in the Bolivian Jungle

Advantages: Lots of Wildlife; the Amazon; very relaxing
Disadvantages: The humidity; Illness

Rurrenebaque is a small town set right in the heart of the Bolivian rainforest (La Pampas) Getting there from La Paz generally invloves a flight, and a breathtaking one at that. Taking off in a small 12-seater plane, you really get the impression of how big jumbo jets and interntional ariports are! As you soar over mountains, and lakes, slowly the scenery becomes greener and before you know it, you are looking out on the Amazon Basin with endless ...
...the odd river twisting its way through them. The plane begins to descend towards the canopy and everyone begins to look slightly nervous as there is no sign of civilisation let alone an airport. When you seen as though you are just close enough for the wheels to touch the trees, suddenly a long clearing appears and the plane bumpily touches down on a large stretch of grass before ambling slowly up to the airport - a small one roomed hut. On stepping ...

Garth87 08.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Rurrenabaque

Copacabana - far more than just Barry Manilow!!!

Advantages: location, tranquility, things to see
Disadvantages: no ATM

Copacabana is a must for anybody travelling through Bolivia, situated on the beautiful Lake Titicaca it offers a tranquil resting place either en route to or to recover from the pains of the Inca Trail! It is ideally situated between La Paz and Puno in Peru to break up an otherwise 8 hour bus trip. Anyone with experience of Bolivian bus travel will appreciate the desirability of this!! It is a small town but it offers a lovely beach with plenty ...
...travel in and we used Copacabana as a place to recover from the perils of eating Lama steaks!! The blazing sunshine along with the cheap food and drink you come to expect from the continent really adds a touch of relaxation to the trip and the obligatory day trip to the Isla del Sol offers great views and kodak moments! The beach itself is relatively clean and spacious with many boats for hire. There is a cheap boat ride over to the Islands where ...

leroyisourking 24.05.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Copacabana

Believe in Bolivia

Advantages: Some fantastic food and nice friendly people
Disadvantages: The rich and poor divide

...Cochabamba, Bolivia. About Cochabamba This city is actually in the centre of Bolivia and is popular due to the nice weather it seems to have all year round. Cochabamba actually lies 2,558 metres above sea level and has around 608,000 as a population. The actual destination comprises of two words which mean lake and open plain. The city is located in a valley between a very tall hill known as the Tunari Hills and a nice lagoon. Cochabamba ...
...The good points to Cochabamba are mainly about the attractions. I think the attractions are quite unique because how often would you be able to visit the refuge monkeys and birds and even touch them all for free? I do love that part and it was my favourite part of the entire holiday as I love animals and seeing this small city in my eyes look after these animals and bring them back to health. There is also a good part to the market which I found ...

tink-er-bell 02.01.2010 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of Cochabamba

Titicaca - Visitng the world's highest navigable lake (allegedly)

Advantages: Local people, local culture, Tranquility, Beauty, Location, Adventure
Disadvantages: Altitude sickness

Lake Titicaca is situated on the border between Peru and Bolivia and is famous for being (arguably) the highest navigable lake in the world (3812m above sea level). Even though that definition may be a tiny bit subjective, (there are higher lakes in the world and some boats can navigate in only a few inches of water), you shouldn't question that claim too loudly it if you visit - this lake is home to the flotilla of the Bolivian Navy (pretty impressive, ...
...the second out onto the lake must have been superb! There is no transport on the island, so you have to walk everywhere. As we were still adjusting to the altitude, this is an extremely slow and painful process, particularly since this place is very hilly. We wandered around slowly being shown the sights and spent sunset visiting pre-Columbian ruins of local religious significance. As in the rest of Peru, the religion here is a mixture between Catholisism ...

beckyXX 08.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Lake Titicaca

A spiritual pole of the Earth

Advantages: Idillic location; very relaxing; plenty of trekking
Disadvantages: Hard to get to; very few creature comforts

...as a village square. Sorata is centered around this square with a couple of shops several café/resatuarants and a few hotels dotted around it and (along with one internet café, which costs around 15p for an hour - a slight contrast from the $4 for 15mins in miami airport on the way over). Trekking: The primary activity in Sorata is definately the trekking and there is cerntianly plentiy of opportunity in the surrounding area. We were embarking ...
...through the valleys. In sorata itself, there are most things that any trekker would need, and if you look around then you can find shops selling fresh fruit, cheese and eggs, as well as plenty of centres to hire guides and mules for the more arduous portions of some of the treks. Trekking up to just over 6000m was truly breathtaking and if you have the time it is well worth doing. It is also worth climbing half way up, as there is space to camp ...

Garth87 08.02.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Sorata