From Potosí we drove to Oruro. It is not a long trip and the road is excellent, but there are so many mountains and curves that it took us some 8 hours-drive. Unfortunately Oruro is such a bad place that we stayed just one night and run away.
From Oruro we targeted La Paz, where we planned to spend a couple of days. However, we were affected by the altitude and didn’t like the La Paz traffic at all, so we decided to keep moving north and cross to Perú at Desaguadero. The border crossing has two aspects. On one hand the work of the officials in charge of immigration and customs on both sides of the border, is excellent, fast and professional. The bad aspect of the crossing is the multitude of people that crowded the streets. There was a feria a few meters from the border on the Bolivian side but we couldn’t proceed because the police cordoned the streets to protect the feria. Finally we risked a bit through the crowd and crossed to Perú.
Roads in Perú are no as good as in Bolivia. A shocking detail: if there is a pot hole, they cover it with rocks, come as big as 18 or 20 inches diameter. If we are not aware and hit them we can destroy the front of the car. One never know what is worst, whether to hit a pot hole or a rock.
Our next stop was Puno, on the shores of lake Titicaca. It is a tourist destination, well kept and with several things to see. That will be the subject of my next post.
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Andean flicker (colaptes rupicola) on Tiwanaku ruins (West of La Paz)
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Thanks for the posts and the great pictures! It is so interesting to see the landscape, people, culture, and hear about the adventures!
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