Helen's Andean Adventure

The trip to the tropics

Ok, Im finally back to civilization and since Im in bed recovering from an upset stomach caused either by something I ate or the altitude, I have time to write a lot.The past few days have been really eyeopening in many ways. So here is the day-by-day account of my trip.

Monday
The bus ride to Cochabamba was really long (7 hours), and the bus kept stopping to pick up more people even though there were no seats.I wasn't bored by any means though...looking out of the window to see the changing scenery kept me occupied the whole time.I think Bolivia is the only country where in the span of 7 hours you can see the mountain ranges, the altiplano (mountain valleys), and the tropics.To get to Cochabamba,we had to climb over the Andes even higher than La Paz, and then go down on a fairly narrow and curvy mountain road.(For those who are interested: La Paz is between 3300-3800 meters above the sealevel, then we climbed over some mountain ranges to about 4000 meters, and then descended to about 2300).Needless to say, you can definitely feel the altitude change in your body. Upon the arrival to Cochabamba, I was immediately welcomed by the warm valley sun. After meeting the PCI people in this regional office, I was put in a nice hotel ($20!!) and watched cable TV all night. Cochabamba is famous for its big statue of Christ on top of the hill...I had a perfect view of it from my hotel balcony.

posted by HM @ 9:10 AM