La Paz, Bolivia?
So guess I got a bit ahead of myself with Tiwanaku and Puma Punko. How did we end up in Bolivia? Well, the story isn’t an easy one.
To begin with, we had checked entry requirements for ever country we planned to visit. Any place that had special requirements, we noted those and planned how to meet the requirements. Peru, for example, had a visa requirement they were implementing beginning January, 2024. Then again in March, 2024, then again January 2025, and so on. So, no problem with Peru. Also, no issues with Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Ecuador. The only hold-out was Bolivia.
To enter Bolivia, if you’re a US citizen, you need a visa. This is because the US requires an entry visa for all Bolivian citizens that want to enter the US. What’s fair is fair. There are two ways to get your visa to enter Bolivia. One, send your passport and all associated documentation to the nearest Bolivian embassy in the US along with $150.00USD. They will process your visa request and return everything back to you via snail mail. Since we were within 60 days of traveling, we didn’t want to take a chance with this option. We elected option #2.
Option #2 to get a visa to enter Bolivia is to apply at the airport once you land. Customs & Immigration will process your visa request right there. Perfect. We’re flying into Sucre, Bolivia, that’s where we’ll get our visa. That is until we decided not to fly into Bolivia, but instead we took the bus. That’s when the plan fell apart.
We arrived at the Puno, Peru bus station at 5:45am for our 6:30am bus to La Paz, Bolivia. Our tickets were pre-purchased online so we only needed to have them checked at the counter, find the bus and be on our way. Not being fluent in Spanish doesn’t help when things start to go sideways. The lady at the ticket counter spoke no English, I speak very little Spanish. I didn’t understand when she asked for my visa. You don’t need a visa to enter Peru, why would I need one to leave? This discussion went on for a while, she would say, “visa” and I would say, “no”.
Finally, a young lady who spoke some English translated and said we need a visa, not to enter Bolivia, and not to leave Peru, we just need a visa. Still something missing here. Anyway, we agreed that since we missed our bus, we would take the next bus to Copacabana, Bolivia and sort it out there. (At this point I was hoping Barry Manilow would be there to help us.) She assured us there would be another bus waiting for us to go to La Paz.
Finally, we get on the bus and take our seats for the 2-3hr ride. It’s at this point that I find I have a real dislike for backpackers. You haven’t lived until your less than 3 feet away from a group of “packers” who haven’t showered since God who knows when, and are on your bus to sleep. The seats on this bus recline almost horizontal so that means the person behind you has to also recline or look at the top of your head during the journey. Little did I know that this was the least of our challenges today.
We pull into beautiful Copacabana, Bolivia and there’s no Barry Manilow waiting for us. Matter of fact, this is where we end our ride until we get and entry visa for Bolivia. Now it makes sense. The lady wasn’t saying I needed a visa to get out of Peru; I need one to get into Bolivia. And so it began…
Border town into Bolivia. I think those are effigies of Americans hanging on the poles.
We processed out of Peru at this little shipping container building where a nice young man stamped our passports. He then sent us to the next window which was the Bolivian Immigration agent. So far, so good. The Bolivia CI agent quickly thumbed through our passports and threw them back at us saying, “visa”. Damn, there’s that word again.
We walked outside looking for a sign (not a “sign” but a sign) and across the street was another shipping container with the word “Immigration” on it. That must be where we need to go. Still looking around for Barry Manilow when this nice young man named, “Fernado” asked if we needed help. Before accepting a stranger’s help we wanted to know who he was and where he came from. Apparently, Fernando was a friend of the bus manager (each bus has a manager that rides along making sure things don’t get out of hand), and he has helped people get their visa here many times. Now, it was yes, please help us.
Fernando said there will be “much paperwork” needed to get the visa, along with $150USD each and led us to another shipping container building that had a small convenience store, a photography backdrop, a copier, and an internet connection.
We dropped off our suitcases and backpacks and went into the Immigration office where a grumpy, mumbling officer in a sweaty shirt handed us a piece of paper measuring 2”x2.5” with a list of documents required for a visa. Now get out until you have everything.
Pretty interesting list. Here’s what you need to get into (and out of) Bolivia:
Copy of Passport (including person to contact in case of emergency, or for ransom)
Trip Itinerary
Hotel Reservations (including names, addresses, phone numbers, with both travelers names on the reservation)
Tickets to leave Bolivia (bus, plane, taxi, etc.)
Copy of valid bank financial statement
2 passport size photos
No form can have any errors or changes on it. All answers must be legible and clear. If you make a mistake, start over. All forms are available for purchase at the convenience store, as are photos. Imagine that.
To say that this took a bit of time is an understatement. Make a mistake, get a new form. This guy’s got a hell of a business here.
Fernando turned out to be a godsend. He helped recreate an itinerary, helped us print screen shots of reservations, and even said he would ride to Copacabana to make sure we got on the right bus for La Paz. Not to worry.
The better part of 2 hours pass and we’ve just finished a pristine set of documents to submit for a visa into Bolivia. 20 minutes more and we have the second immaculate copy of docs to submit. Fernando takes our docs into the Immigration building while we follow. He says a few things to the officers, and one begins to review the documents. I think they built the Great Wall of China faster than this ass reviewed our docs, but they were complete and without mistakes thanks to Fernando. We’ve now been in a shipping container for 3 hours.
Finally, we make our payment to the Bolivian government, $150.00 each on our Visa, for the visa. Got our visa and stamp in the passports, and ready to get a taxi to Copacabana to catch the bus to La Paz.
Best news, the Bolivian visa is good for 10 years! We can come back anytime we want and no border dance! All this so we could see Puma Punku and Tiwnanaku. We gave Fernando 200 soles for his help, $54USD. Money well spent.
We board a smallish school bus painted yellow and red, no signs, no English but Fernando assured us it is going to La Paz. (loving referred to as a “Chicken Bus”) The first 3 or so rows on the bus are filled with Andean Indian women in their traditional clothing and packs. Didn’t see any chickens but this sure did remind us of Romancing the Stone and Joan Wilder’s bus to Cartagena.
Chicken Bus
Four hours later and we’re pulling into the big city of La Paz. Barely. We’re on the outskirts of the city when the bus stops and everyone has to get off. Fortunately, there’s a taxi waiting who offered to take us to our apartment, another hour away. Good deal for the $2.50USD that it cost.
Checked into our apartment on the 21st floor, got a bottle of wine and enjoyed the view.
And that’s how we got to Bolivia.