Photo trip Bolivia and Argentina

You are not doing the Road of Death? Don't miss it!

Buses are very good in Bolivia. Tourist places try to get you to take more expensive over night buses and claim there are not day buses available. Just go to bus stations yourself and you will find that there are lots of buses available at all hours.

Only thing I heard about the cemetery is that it is the home of local druggies and alcoholics. When building a bridge pier or other large structure, local contractors go to cemetery to get two people to be buried alive in the excavation as an offering to the local gods. Locals claim that it is not an urban legend.

I'm counting 14 items on your list and you're saying you have 28 days (4 weeks) to do all that... Even though I suppose Buenos Aires and its cemetery can be done in one day I suppose, I'm not too sure that Chacaltaya and Zongo can be done in one day too. So you're planning to do an item per 2 days roughly and even hurrying I don't think that's a very realistic itinerary considering the huge distance you're planning to travel and the general quality of transport, especially in Bolivia.

Xinloi is absolutely right in saying that there's lots of busses to choose from at all hours if you're willing to lower your standards somewhat and travel as most of the locals do (I'm a fan of that too) but you will also have to take into account that busses (both the 'luxury tourist ones' and the regular ones!) tend to break down every once in a while, leaving you with a day or more less on your schedule. I remember once leaving from Potosí on a bus with 3 pairs of wheels and after an unplanned pitstop in the middle of nowhere in the freezing cold in early morning getting to Tupiza just barely, on only 2 pairs of wheels and with six hours of delay...

That November 1 or 2 Cemetery thing you're talking about must be the festival of the ñatitas+ , the adorned skulls (some) people keep at home and once per year take to the Cemetery to go to mass and celebrate? Google -ing about it I get the impression that that festival is actually on the second weekend of November. Howeve, our forum expert on the subject is jamesbrunker who shoots some wonderfully weird pictures of the event every year (keep in mind if you go, you'll probably need to shove a 2 meter long Englishman out of your way every time you want to take a picture!) So maybe he can tell us on what date the festival is held this year?

@Xinloi - regarding the theme of burying people under the buildings there is an interesting movie called "Elephants' graveyard" filmed in La Paz that is about this subject and based on fact (its all n spanish but i think you can find it with subtitles). In certainly isnt an urban legend and it is meant to be a blood sacrifice to pacha mama. Those llama fetuses you see in the witchs market are part of the same thing - they are meant to be buried under a building of a house or new business as a sacrifice, richer people will sacrifice a live llama and it moves on up to the utlimate sacrifice of a human for larger building and the very richest people.

Not a bad idea--wish they would do it in the US.

Hi all,

thanks very much for your wonderful and interesting feedback. Of course we would like to do our trip in 3 months - may be next time when we are retired.

Are there a lot of bus companies. Can you give us a recommendation for day buses. Do they take a credit card or only cash Money.

Up to now no Feedback of jamesbrunker - hope this expert reads this message before 1 November. Thanks for your feedback in advance. May be you can assist us there as a guide.

What about mosquitos at our stations. Is this already rainy season or late summer. We read of snakes, spiders and other animals.

Can you help us with internet-links to this Locations - especially the small ones.

What are the most interesting markets in La Paz and Buenos Aires.

Thank you very much for your help.

Best regards from Germany

Paul
www.bossenmaier.de

#5:
No jamesbrunker yet, but fortunately there's other experts on the subject too, like doña Tomasa who's a friend of my wife and has one of those adorned skulls in her house and who happened to drop by here just now :)

Here's how she's explained me:
The Festival of the ñatitas+ is always on the 8th of November and it is a week after +Todos Santos+ (All Saints) which is on the 1st. And while the +ñatitas+ definitely is the more bizarre sight of the two, +Todos Santos+ is a lot bigger festivity. Lots of people go to the cementeries (not just the central +Cementerio of La Paz, but any cementery where people's family and loved ones are buried), bringing food and bands and (if police and/or guards are not around or can be avoided) lots of booze to share with the deceased.
Also, on the day of and in the days before Todos Santos+ there's lots of colorful, specialized items on sale on the markets, like the +Tantawawa (if that's how you spell it), plaster masks and faces that are used on dollshaped breads that are baked for the meal to be shared with the dead.

So whether you're around on the 1st or the 8th, there should be some good photo opportunities on either date.

Hi friends,

thankx for your helpfully feedback - that's really fantastic to get insider news.

We want to leave from La Paz direction to Sajama, Lauca and Salar de Uyuni. So we will use the bus. Are there lots of compagnies, can you give us a recommendation. We think there is a central bus station in La Paz where we will start.

To be in contact with the internet we will use a smartphone from Europe and want to buy a telephone card in Bolivia/Argentina therefore. This is much cheaper. Are this cards easy to get - what are the best compagnies with the best connection. Do we need an adapter for the power.

Can you help us to find a good GPS map of South America - may be you know the internet link.

How is the climate in the end of October/beginning of November. Is this rainy season, cold - this is interesting for our clothes.

Thanks very much for your great help.

Best regards

Paul :-)