Phil's Travel Journal | Bolivia - You Delivered in Spades!

Phil has trekked in Nepal, walked the Camino, and still found himself at home one June wondering why he hadn't booked anything. This is his Travel Journal: three months in South America, one country at a time.

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Onto our second country… Bolivia!

And I'd just declared my new favourite country to be Peru... #Awkward

I can only assume that Bolivian customs knew; maybe that's why they made it so hard for me to enter the country.

First stop, La Paz.

Highest capital city in the world (3,660m).

Magnificent.

A modern city mixed with a strong cultural heritage, jewels held in a bowl surrounded by the Andes.

Vibrant. Edgy.

The Bolivians are struggling to come to terms with the increasing globalisation of the world economy.

It shows. It's poorer, and more basic than its neighbours.

But our La Paz highlights were no less spectacular for it.

From our 12-course tasting menu (which we stumbled upon by accident), to supporting "The Strongest" in a local Premier League football game, Cholitas (Male & Female wrestling), and visiting some of the incredible landscapes nearby - Moon Valley, Valle de las Ánimas…

We soon left city life behind us.

An overnight bus journey time-travelled us into the Olde West.

Uyuni!

The Salt Flats were more visually stunning than I could ever have imagined.

Perfect blue skies contrasted with the endless landscape.

The following day our aptly named "Pile of Rocks" and "Flock of Llamas" entertained us.

This was all before the REAL adventure began…

50 miles from anywhere and the unthinkable happened: our Toyota Landcruiser made a rude noise, and stopped dead.

Minor problem: no cellphone coverage, no one to call.

We flagged down a passing 4x4 who promised to call when they returned to coverage.

Some intricate maths on my part said the best case was a six hour wait.

Valiant attempts by our driver to resurrect the jeep were increasingly thwarted, but we didn't waste our time in this stunning landscape.

From mini hikes to check out the scenery, to games we invented on the spot, to sharing stories from our lives back home, and hearing about our guide's own family…

6h:08m later, headlights in the distance of a now pitch black sub zero landscape (the stars, the sky!!)...

Plans of needing to sleep overnight in the 4x4 were put to bed, and so were we after a drive to a remote town where we'd rest up, and we devoured a bolognese.

Wow! We'll all remember that day for quite some time!

Our final hurrah the next morning was thermal hot springs for an 8am soak before heading to the mountain border with Chile.

Bolivia - you delivered in spades!

New favourite country... Hmmmm… I won't speak too soon this time.

Phil x

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Phil's Travel Journal is written by Phil Wilson, who is spending three months travelling through Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina on a DECADES Gap Year. DECADES runs small-group, multi-month trips for adults over 50, with the accommodation, routes and logistics taken care of.

Thinking about a gap year in retirement? Start with our free Gap Year Guide, or read more first-hand accounts, starting with Arthur's first diary entry.