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  • Mary Kieran Gap Year

Bolivia

A 12-day adventure by Mary Kieran Gap Year Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 3, 2024
    Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler

    Day 24: Downtown Santa Cruz De La Sierra

    February 3, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ 🌙 82 °F

    So excited to be in Bolivia! We booked an economy class flight from Brazil and checked in at 10pm before our 6am flight. By checking in late, we got premium first class seats without paying for it, which included champaign and coffee!

    Obtaining visas at the Bolivian border was a little hard because they didn’t understand how Kieran could be born in Canada, but have a US passport and how his name wasn’t on the hostel reservation.

    We walked 2+ hours around downtown and had an amazing dinner at La Casa del Camba (which might be Mary’s favorite meal thus far). We hadn’t realized the restaurant included live music and a show.

    Hostel: Hostal Independencia
    Restaurant: La Casa del Camba

    Traditional food:
    Somo Frío (cold corn drink)
    Picante de Pollo
    Silpancho
    Majao de Charque
    Chuño
    Plátano Frito
    Yuc Frita
    Huevo Frito

    Spots:
    Plaza 24 de Septiembre
    Catedral Metropolitana Basílica Menor de San Lorenzo de Santa Cruz
    Parque el Arenal
    Plaza Ñuflo de Chavez    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler
    2

    Day 25: Biocentro Güembé

    February 4, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ 🌩️ 91 °F

    We had a very relaxing day at the Biocentro Güembé which was an ecological park with swimming pools.

    There was an awesome mini thunderstorm and the birds and turtles were going crazy. We ended the day with some Pokémon Burgers which we saw on our bus ride back to the hostel.

    Restaurant:
    Cafe Tostado
    Pokémon Burger

    Food:
    The Pikachu
    The Charmander
    Jugo de Frutilla
    Jugo de Piña

    Spots:
    Biocentro Güembé    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler

    Day 26: Sucre and Altitude Acclimation

    February 5, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Today we traveled to Sucre (2810 m) in preparation for extreme elevation changes in Uyuni (3656 m). On the flight, we saw really strange cloud formations and enjoyed the southern highlands.

    We walked around and relaxed at La Mezcla Cafe so our bodies had time to adjust. We took the night bus form Sucre to Uyuni and it was super hard to sleep with all the crazy roads, turns, elevation changes, and switch backs. We arrived at Uyuni at 5:30am disoriented and bus lagged.

    Cafes:
    Wistupiku - Irala
    La Mezcla Café

    Traditional Food:
    Salteña de Carne (it was amazing!!!!)
    Tamales
    Wistu de Roja
    Lomo Ahumado sanwhich    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler

    Day 27: Uyuni Downtown

    February 6, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We arrived at 5:30am, disoriented from sleeping pills and a crazy night bus ride. We immediately started searching for an open cafe, and were followed by two Italians who thought we had our shit together. Most cafes were closed, but after the 4th cafe stop, we had success and enjoyed breakfast with Sarah and Anna (our stalkers).

    We were able to check into our hostel early, got in a major nap, and then enjoyed walking around Uyuni. The local food was amazing, and I finally got some much needed soup!

    Also neither of us got altitude sickness at 3656 meters 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

    Hostel: Alojamiento la Gran Estacion

    Restaurants:
    Memo Cafe
    Lithium Club

    Food:
    Caldo de Pollo
    Brocheta Mixta

    Spots:
    Uyuni    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler
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    Day 28: Mummies and Tunupa Volcano

    February 7, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Max and Julia from Patagonia recommended that we book a 4 day/3 night tour with Andes Salt Expeditions.

    Day 1 started with a drive through the Uyuni Salt flat (largest in the world) and we stopped where the natural carbonation of air under the salt bubbles up. We then continued on to see the mummies of Coquesa in their resting place. Many mummies from the Inca civilization are considered to be stolen by foreign governments and their own Bolivian government for museums. The local people are very proud to let the mummies lie in their final resting place and to share their stories with us. From the mummy caves, we climbed up to extinct Tunupa Volcano and the viewpoint was at 4000m!!!

    Our accommodations through the tour company was a beautiful hotel with furniture and some walls made of salt.

    Hotel: Hotel Katchi
    Cafe: SABORES CAFE-BAR

    Spots:
    Uyuni Salt Flats
    Tunupa Volcano    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler
    2
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    Day 29: Uyuni Salt Flats

    February 8, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    We woke up at 2:30am to stargaze and catch a beautiful sunrise. The tour provided professional pictures so we struggled through candid shots until they let us go back into the car. We went back to the hotel to sleep, and then met with our new group for the next three days.

    We explored more of the salt flats, played with reflective perspective, and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset with wine and music (convinced the driver to play Mars Volta). We then headed to the wilderness and stayed in a small town for the evening.

    Food:
    Grilled Lama

    Spots:
    Uyuni Salt Flats
    Train Cemetery
    Incawasi Island
    Village of San Juan    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler
    1

    Day 30: Andes Highlands

    February 9, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    We woke up early in San Juan to learn about quinoa, which is a staple ingredient in Bolivia. We tried their quinoa, cactus, and coco leaf beer which were delicious.

    The road trip continued across the Andes mountains where there was a lot of volcanoes and desert landscapes, including active Ollague Volcano which is shared between Chile and Bolivia.

    We ended the night at the Laguna Colorada Simple Moutain Lodge inside the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina “Eduardo Avaroa” (national park). The food was excellent, and we learned a new card game from some British medicinal students called Irish Snap. The lodge owner had a young kid who loved chasing us around and playing Darth Vader vs Augomon vs Paw Patrol.

    Hotel: Laguna Colorada Simple Moutain Lodge

    Food:
    Llama burger
    Vegetable Soup

    Spots:
    Ollague Volcano
    Cañapa Lagoon
    Hedionda Lagoon
    Ramadita Lagoon
    Stone Tree
    Colored Lagoon    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler

    Day 31: Sol de Mañana

    February 10, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ 🌬 50 °F

    Last day of the Andes Salt Flat tour was the best day because there were so many geothermal features and volcanoes to explore. Our wake up time was 4:30am and we drove to the Sol de Mañana mud pots and fumarolas park. We hit our highest elevation of 4900m!

    Next we hit a natural hot spring and soaked our achy muscles. Finally we drove through the Salvador Dali Dessert and hit a massive older lava field on the way back to Uyuni.

    The tour stopped in the town San Cristóbal where Carnival was taking place. There were three different bands playing and kids/adults would throw water and foam at each other (including us).

    Once in Uyuni, we ate dinner with Alex and Grace from the UK and then hopped on a night bus to La Paz.

    Food:
    Llama Sausage
    Llama Steak

    Spots:
    Sol de Mañana: fumaroles, gueisers
    Polques Hot Spring
    Salvador Dali Desert
    Green lagoon
    LIicancabur Volcano
    San Cristóbal    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler
    1

    Day 32: La Paz Sopocachi and Super Bowl

    February 11, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    We absolutely love La Paz!

    We arrived at 6:00am and could check into our hostel and sleep immediately. We started walking around the Sopocachi neighborhood and fell in love with the buildings, streets, colors, and beautiful mountains surrounding the city.

    Sky trams are part of the public transportation system and would like to see America implement this form of movement through its cities.

    Kieran was insistent we watch the Super Bowl so we found Texas Bar, which is the Buffalo Wild Wings of Bolivia.

    Hostel: Rendezvous Hostel

    Restaurants:
    Typica Cafe
    Texas

    Spots:
    Sopocachi
    Parque Urbano Central
    Puente de Las Américas    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearBoliviaTraveler

    Day 33/34: Rest and Death Road

    February 13, 2024 in Bolivia ⋅ 🌧 59 °F

    Day 33 we were finally hit with a stomach bug and spent the day in the hotel room recuperating for our next athletic endeavor. Everyone we met in Bolivia recommended riding the Death Rode, which is 64 km bike ride down the most dangerous road in the world. It was 22km paved and 44 km mountain biking!

    With it being the rainy season, we were biking through pelting rain drops, clouds, and fog. In the end, the fog was good because if we truly saw the height of the mountains, probably would have been more nervous.

    Absolutely beautiful and most terrifying experience. We will have more pictures once the guide company (Barracuda) shares the photos.

    Spots:
    Death Road    Read more

    Trip end
    February 14, 2024
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