Whats this place like, and mainly, what do i need to go tere? what kind of shots, etc. I am in the process of getting a passport. the trip is proposed to take place in april. thanks in advance
High and dry and poor.
I was never before beaten by carrying my bag from the terminal to the limo. I Bolivia I was. Then the locals challenged us to a football match! They won.
Cold in the mountains, dry about everywhere.
Check with the State Department website for the latest.
Avoid the Bolivian Marching Powder.
Depends on where you go. The landscape varies from cold and dry in the Andes to hot and humid in the Amazonian Basin. I can’t give you very current info since I was last there about ten years ago, but you should check out the Lonely Planet guidebook, and probably the Thorn Tree (discussion forum) section on their website for recent postings. (Personally, I prefer the Rough Guides, but they don’t have one for Bolivia, though their website does have some journals available.) Another resource for current stories is bootsnall.com.
But anyway, I was in the Altiplano, which is a high plateau between the ridges of the Andes. Dry, cold, poor, and sparsely populated. Lots of llamas. There is a forbidding, moonscape-like beauty to the desert environment, if you’re into that kind of thing. The stars are spectacular at night. I’d guess that you’ll probably be flying from Miami to La Paz, which is 12,000 ft. above sea level, and physical exertion will become very taxing until you’re acclimatized to the thinner air in a few days. I can’t remember what kinds of shots I got – check the guidebooks.
Finally, a very entertaining read, from a couple of folks chasing a solar eclipse in this barren land.
Get a copy of yesterdays (Jan. 8) Wall Street Journal, front page left column if you’re looking for reasons NOT to go.
Points of interest:
There is a declaired anti-free trade and anti-American revolution from the 40% population of native Indians. The president of Bolivia has fled for asylum to the U.S.