Day 249 - Crossing into Bolivia

Being at this gas station with an adjacent repair shop was practical. They took care of the flat tire before breakfast, and we also filled it with gas and Kerosene.

At the Indio Market, we searched in vain for hand-woven Alpaca blankets. It was interesting to see what items they offered for sale and how the women carried all their trinkets, including tiny babies, wrapped in a blanket on their backs. Most women wore makeshift sandals from car tire profiles, but some walked barefoot.

Bumpy Route #3S West brought us to Desaguadero, where we had to wait more than an hour for a Peruvian immigration officer to arrive. The paperwork went smoothly, thanks to the help of an official who hitched a ride with us. He came in very handy at the Bolivian border crossing as well.

The Bolivian border official said we needed a Tarjeta de Turismo, which we could obtain at the Consulate in Puno. Oh my God! We explained that we came to the Altiplano from Arica and had no interest in going to Puno.

The official seemed to sympathize with us, stepped into his hut, and started rummaging through his desk drawer. After some searching and swearing, he found 1 Tarjeta and handed it to me to be filled out. Meanwhile, a busload of tourists arrived, and he got busy with them. I took this opportunity to walk over to customs to have our Carnet de Passage en Duane stamped. When I returned, the bus was gone, and I handed him the paper. Everything was fine until he insisted that Ursula needed one too. He continued searching the drawers again and miraculously came up with another Tarjeta. The cards received an official stamp, and now everything was in order.

We tipped him for his kindness and were glad we were done.

But 100 yards further was customs, where they searched us and the car from top to bottom. After that, there were three more checkpoints, the Military, the Police, and the Transit Police. It was more or less the same hassle we had to endure in Central America. Nearly a whole day was wasted with this cumbersome border-crossing.

Welcome to Bolivia!

We continued driving toward La Paz and camped overnight beside a sheep farm. The farmer was absent. His two young children led us to the main hut, where we met the mother laying in bed.

She had just given birth to a new baby and seemed very weak with signs of fever. We handed her a few Tylenol and a glass of water and promised to return in a week to check her condition.

Stats: Miles 112, Expenses $11.20Read more