We left La Paz on Wednesday afternoon to head to the airport, and after experiencing La Paz traffic on the way into the city, we didn’t expect anything less to be stuck in even more traffic this time round. The reason for the traffic however, was a bit different this time round..
The city was pretty much at a standstill, with hardly any shops open (the city is usually full of busy market shops with ladies in their traditional boiler hats selling everything under the sun). It was a stark contrast to the previous day when we’ve had to wait a few minutes before grabbing a few quick seconds to cross the road. Here we were free to wander at leisure. As we got out of the bowl of the city and to the outskirts, that’s when we saw the madness that was gripping La Paz. Cars and buses in their hundreds trying to enter the city in anticipation of the Pope! He was due to arrive by plane around 4pm, and our flight was at 5pm…the word ‘delays’ went through our heads a few times!
We got to the airport, and sure enough our flight was going to be delayed. We arrived early anyway, so a lot of time was spent waiting around that afternoon.
We didn’t exactly get to see the Pope, but we got within 100m of him when his plane went by us after he landed! I guess we’ll have to make that trip to Rome someday after all!
After arriving to Uyuni in the evening, we got to experience what was going to be ahead of us for the next few days…the cold!! The difference in temperature in contrast to La Paz was obvious. But we didn’t have it too bad that evening, as we had the best pizzas that we’ve tasted for a long time at our hotel. It amazes me that I could go to a remote, cold, high altitude location in Bolivia, but still come away with a food experience that I’ll never forget. And that was what happened at Minuteman Revolutionary Pizza, a pizza restaurant inside our hotel, Toñito. It’s run by a guy called Chris, originally from Boston, who for some crazy but cool reason decided to pack up and move to the cold of Uyuni and open up his own pizza place. It was a nice introduction to the place, and the perfect start to what was going to be a tough few days. Thank you Chris!
After breakfast on Thursday morning (North American influenced with pancakes, waffles and of course maple syrup!), we geared up for our 3-day 4×4 adventure down Bolivia, and across some of the most beautiful landscapes we were ever going to witness. We were certainly going to be in for a ride! We said our goodbyes to Uyuni city, and began the journey down south.
Lima to Mumbai 