Why YOU should go to Bolivia!

The Bolivia trip I did last year was truly a life changing trip.  Its likely I will be going back to Bolivia this year and I wanted to post some photos to show you why Bolivia really is one of the best trips a person who enjoys the outdoors can do.

To start with Bolivia is safe.  I travel everywhere with a lot of expensive camera equipment, and Bolivia last year was no exception.  The first couple of days I left it all in my room rather than carry it around, because I was worried about having it stolen.  On day three I realized that even in Bolivia's biggest city there was a surprisingly small amount of crime.  To put it simply, if you use common sense in La Paz you are likely safer than you would be in any major American city.  The people are kind warm friendly and honest.  No one on our trip had anything stolen or heard of anyone having things stolen.  This does not mean we were careless, but I was no more careful here than I would be North America.

Bolivia is cheap.  When I say cheap what I mean is once you get there it is really inexpensive to buy things.  If you are willing to eat street food then you can get lunch for a lot less than a dollar.  A good dinner at a very nice restaurant is likely $10.  Hotels are also a  good deal and there are plenty of hotels that would meet that standards of North America for cleanliness and comfort. 

Bolivia is Beautiful.  I don't need to say anything here.  Just look at the photos.

Bolivia is fun.  The people of Bolivia are some of the happiest people I have met.  They add to the enjoyment of what would be a great vacation anyway.  La Paz is a big city and the night life is a blast!  Great bars, great restaurants and great clubs. 

Bolivia has great trekking.  Just look at the photos.

Bolivia has great climbing.

So sign up for a Bolivia trip on the AAI website and join me in the country I have fallen in love with.

http://aai.cc/Programs/Location/South-America/

See you there!

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Wildlife of the Bolivian Andes.

I try not to post photos of marginal quality on this blog, but this post will break that rule. For the last two weeks I have been climbing and trekking in the Cordillera Real here in Bolivia. I don't consider my self a birder, but I do like to know what the birds and animals I am seeing around me are. Having never been to South America and having no field guide, my only chance of identifying the birds I am seeing is to try and shoot a photo of them and them and hope it is good enough to identify later. Here are some of the photos I shot in the last couple of weeks. Some are quite good from a photo standpoint, some are really bad, but hopefully they will help me identify the birds. Some of the birds were pretty easy to identify so I have labeled them. Others I am still searching for.

Andean Geese



Bar-winged Cinclodes

Andean Flicker

White winged diuca finch.

Juvenile Caracara.

Not a bird. Some type of funky kangaroo rabbit hybrid. These things would make a great "b" horror movie subject.

Rufous-Collared Sparrow?

Not a bird, but I thought it was kind of cool.

Some type of coot? It looked like a coot, but its call and behavior was very different from ones I have seen in North America.

Mountain Caracara. Our local guide Juan informed us that this bird is said to bring good luck, which is always nice when you are sitting on the top of a 17,000ft summit and one glides by.



Some type of waterfoul. Yea that does not narrow it down much, but I am a crappy birder.

Puna Ibis

Andean Lapwing.

A beautiful bird that I only saw once on this trip. I know its a really crappy photo, but it should do.

Andean Gulls on Lake Titicaca.

Short Winged Grebe

Crested Ducks

Andean Condor. This guy flew withing 30ft of our camp, but unfortunately I did not have the 200mm lens at 18,000ft so this picture kind of sucks.

If anyone knows what any of the question mark birds are I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave it in the comments.

Thanks.

American Alpine Institute Bolivia Trip: Part 1 Treking in the Cordillera Real

Just got back from part 1 of the American Alpine Institute Bolivia trip. This year we had to change the trek due to a landslide making the regular trek impossible. This trek was so good that we may never do the old trek again.

Sheep herder.
One of our hardest working members. We used mules burros and horses to carry most of the load.
After a short climb we were on a vast plateau at 14,500 ft.
An Andean caracara, said to bring good luck.
Susan on the other side of the plateau where we head down to our camp deep in the valley in above her head.
The group heads down.
Lots of stars.
Danny getting to know the burros.
A locals home.
Climbing out the other side of the valley.
Our camp.
There is a hut system being developed here in the Bolivian Andes. This hut was newly build and not open yet.
The group crossing over a high pass at 16,000ft. Huayna Potosi in the background.
Group shot.
Heading down into the next valley and our camp for the night.
The vast dry valleys are amazing here.
The group.
Heading down to a lunch spot.
Mamerto and Juan.

Juan and Susan

Jim

Jim and Danny

Nancy and Margen
One of the many areas of the trek that has no trail.
Llamas
Condoriri with some young locals in the foreground.
Baby llama.
Local kids at our camp.
Sunrise near camp.
The final day of our trek.

Heading back to La Paz.