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 Roberto's Mine Map by AlbuqRay
Having kala phurka with Roberto at the Dona Eugenia restaurant in Potosi (see my restaurant tips and Richiecdisc's General Tips). Leave a Comment
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Mario Nina used to guide people for Fremen Tours but he now has his own company, Zig-Zag Eco Tours & Treks and has a partnership with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking. His office (Illampu Street 867 Office 5) is located near the northeast corner of Illampu and Sagarnaga Streets close to the Witches' Market. If you are going south on Illampu from the Hotel Rosario and come to Plaza Gaston Velasco, you have gone too far. You may also e-mail him at info@zigzagbolivia.com or mario_357@hotmail.com. Mario is very knowledgeable and his English was the best of any guide I have had in Bolivia. He knows the history, the flora and the Aymara legends; he is a real gentleman and it is a pleasure to travel with him. I recommend Mario highly. His partner, Caesar, is an excellent guide also and really knows a lot about Tiwanaku. Zig-Zag offers tours and adventure travel throughout Bolivia.
One of my better memories is when Mario made me make a surprise visit to the house of an internet friend (that I had never met in person) on the very first day I was in Bolivia during his half day La Paz tour. I knew Cecy was in Canada on business but her parents and brother showed us the warmest hospitality. Having La Paz's best saltenas with Mario at the La Fiesta restaurant near Plaza Obelisco and watching a huge, but peaceful, political demonstration is also a unique memory. However, the absolute best memory is going to a small, remote school in the mountains outside El Alto (Collpani School) with Mario to donate childrens' books. Leave a Comment
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When I decided to go to Bolivia, I looked online for tour companies. I chose Fremen Tours because they are the only ones with the floating hotel on the Mamore River and they were highly recommended in the Rough Guide. They did an excellent job. They are not cheap (about $200 per day for everything) but they have the contacts to handle the logistics, which turns out to be very important. My primary contacts at Fremen were Winston Ford in their Atlanta office and David Fernandez in La Paz. I also met two excellent guides through Fremen, Mario Nina and Roberto Mendez. I'll tell more about them in subsequent tips. Fremen used Colque Tours for the 4WD tour out of Uyuni and Raices Turismo in Cusco, Peru.
Mario Nina and David Fernandez are two excellent guides. They also became my friends. Both are Aymara and I learned much from them. Mario's English is excellent and he is very knowledgeable about northern Bolivia. He probably knows the rest of Bolivia as well; however, David was the guide that accompanied me to the South. David even walked 20 blocks to the airport to meet me one time when the roads were closed by demonstrators. Mario knows computers and let me back up my pictures to CD at his office. These are examples of the outstanding service I received. Leave a Comment
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 Itinerary for See-It-All
Tour of Bolivia by AlbuqRay
Hard to pick between the 4WD tour of southern Bolivia and the riverboat trip on the Mamore River, but probably the former. Leave a Comment
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 going nuts? by utttz
(only exception are: a bar in sucre and the "change corner" in santacruz)
a question, a preguntita, always get an answer and everyone will do everything he can to help you.
the man with a cart, dick.. the panamerican congress of mechanics which repaired one of our moto in santacruz, angel, the old lady speaking about che while feeding us with papa reillenas and the lady next door.. The cambas girl who lived in italy with all her suggestion about police (the most likely to rob you) and restaurants... lot of people. Leave a Comment
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 repairing the carter by utttz
I do think that the best way to travel through bolivia is with a car or motorbike or anything mechanic pretending some new fault any new town just to have it repaired! Leave a Comment
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 Doctor from Centro Sant
Juan Bautista by monica_pons
In Bolivia and many other developing countries, the lack of money, tv, cars or expensive things does not necessarily indicate poverty. The people of rural Bolivia have animals, food and homes that provide sufficient food, clothing and shelter.
When short-term visitors give money, they impose a foreign system of values and upset a well-established balance.
If you wish to be accepted by local people, perhaps share a conversation, teach a game from home or share your own meal. If you wish to make a bigger difference, you can donate money or better supplies to organisations working to improve rural condition. Bring a supply of bandages, rehydratation mixture or other medicines and leave them with local health-care nurse, or buy a handful of pens and a stack of exercise books and give them to the school teacher. Leave a Comment
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 Happy to reach the end of the
dry hike by richiecdiscLeave a Comment
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 Salt mines of Colchani by richiecdisc
Bolivia seemed so incredibly cheap the first day we were there that I never thought to ask how much it was for the Internet. We had secured a room for $3 and just had a huge trout dinner in a fancy tourist restaurant for less than that price each. The Internet was never more than a dollar in Peru and I just assumed it would be even less here so we both went on for an hour with little thought. I was a little light on money as there were surprisingly no ATM's in Copacabana, which was our first Bolivian stop. Traveler's checks had proved of little use as large commissions were charged to exchange them and we had only emergency funds in cash so I had exchanged only a little and hoping for an ATM in La Paz. The day started out so inexpensively that it seemed $20 would last forever but the splurge meal had cut into it, and we had an early morning departure for Isla del Sol planned. When I went to pay for the Internet I was stunned when I was told I owed 60 bolivianos for the two of us. This was the equivalent of over $8 and though a typical price for an Internet cafe in Europe, it was highway robbery in South America. I forked over the money and walked out with about 2$ in my pocket to now empty nighttime streets devoid of money changers and still lacking an ATM to save the day. (continued below in MY Fondest Memory) Leave a Comment
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 Sucre by Pietro_4wd
It,s difficult to take only one memory of Bolivia, because the fully unforgettable moments lived on my travels to this beautiful land. Please, left me bring you three of them:
-1- The really splendid historical buildings on Sucre
-2- The incredible magnifiscence of the Oruro Festivities devoted to the Virgin of the Socavon (always last weekend before ash-wednesday, previous to the Holy Week Memories)
-3- Visit to Tiwanaku pre incaic archeological site. Leave a Comment
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