I never thought about how long it may take to ride in a bus from Peru to Bolivia…let me tell you- now that I have done it, it takes a little over 63 hours!
Here is the short version breakdown of how our travels went:
Day One:
5:35pm: left Chao, Peru on bus #1 to head North to Trujillo to meet the rest of our squad.
11:15pm: left Trujillo on bus #2 heading south along the Pan-American Highway- around 12:30am we passed thru Chao.
Day two:
9am: arrived in Lima, Peru where we ate lunch at a grocery store and stretched our legs on the busy streets of Lima! I also treated myself to a Venti-Americano with an extra shot of espresso! I have to say, that was excellent after 2 months of instant coffee.
9pm: we boarded overnight bus #3 to head towards Arequipa, Peru.
Day three:
3:20pm: arrived in Arequipa had about 10 minutes to transfer our bags (no bathroom or snack break).
3:30pm: we were quickly on bus # 4 to Puno, Peru!
10pm: arrived in Puno, Peru. Transferred our bags to a taxi and found our way to our hostel. We were STARVING and were so lucky we found a place that was open to eat around 11pm. As our team sat at the table, we felt like we were still moving on a bus. Puno is host to Lake Titicaca, which is the highest altitude lake at 12,000 feet! Some squad mates fought some altitude sickness, but drinking Coca de Mate tea really helps with the sickness aspect. I also found some candies that had the Coca leaf, which tasted good and helped!
Day four: Spent a day exploring: Lake Titicaca which is known for the floating reed islands, where natives live like they did hundreds of years ago. We had the chance to check out the islands and learn more about the Peruvians who dwell there. I feel blessed to actually get to know the history of the places we have been.
Day five:
6:40am: loaded bus #5 in Puno
10am: arrived at the boarder of Peru and Bolivia
11:30am: left the boarder (where you actually walk across it)
12pm got to Copacabana
12:30 pm: Boarded bus #6 to take us to La Paz, Bolivia (the capital of Bolivia- also the highest capital in the world!)
2pm: Got off of our bus and watched as our bus got on a wooden fairy to cross a lake. We had to take another wooden boat for people. It was interesting to watch our bus cross the lake on a boat.
8:15pm: arrived in La Paz. We were hungry and needed to eat. All but 3 teams were able to rest in La Paz for the night, but we had to board bus #7 to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Santa Cruz is the largest city in Bolivia. This bus ride was interesting because they stored luggage in the restroom. This may be okay for an hour bus ride, but a bus full of gringos and Boliviano’s requires a potty break.
11:40pm: bus pulls over in dessert-like Bolivia and it is announced that we are stopping to go to the bathroom. Well, I had to go, so out the bus I go- to pee on the side of the road in the full moonlight with complete strangers and busses driving by. Let’s just say- there weren’t any places to hide! We all had a GOOD laugh.
Day six:
1:20pm: We arrived in Santa Cruz. We were met by David, our contact, who loaded us in Taxi’s and took us to get lunch and see the offices of the camp Monte Blanco. It was a quick stop because we had to load onto bus number #8.
2:30pm: got on bus #8 to Monte Blanco!
7pm: arrived in Monte Blanco and finally got a great meal with the campers. We attended the camper’s show and then a bonfire. We got to bed around midnight after being on busses for a long time!
Besides peeing on the side of the road, bus travel also allows you to experience things that you may not otherwise get to experience.
Such as:
- Being SO cold in the night on the bus that you have to get inside your air porter (the large bag we put our packs into on airplanes so the stuff doesn’t fall out).
- Sleep one eye open to ensure your belongings to get stolen.
- Being so hungry that you eat everything of substance in your snack stash.
- Man coming on the bus selling ice cream out of a white Styrofoam cooler.
- Random sales pitches of herbal products that can prevent worms from coming out of your nose and mouth…
- Passing other busses and trucks on hairpin turns with a straight drop and no guardrails.
- If you do stop to go to the bathroom, you have to pay money and it is still a hole in the ground.
- Beautiful views of lakes, mountains, deserts, and foliage.
- Swollen ankles from lake of movement (see picture)
- Ladies selling stuff when the bus slows down in small villages. They are yelling, “Mandarinas (oranges), agua, Coca-colaaaaaa” as loud as they can!
- Laughter with teammates
- Realizing the fact that you are in a bus in the middle of the night, in South America, experiencing something that you never thought you would do- EVER!
Now that we are finally here, we love our ministry here at Monte Blanco. We have LONG days of serving in the kitchen and cleaning. It is a huge blessing for us to be able to serve at such an amazing place.
My teammate and friend, Nicole, created this awesome slideshow ALL about our bus journey to Bolivia! It is a great video and I highly suggest you watch it! Hugs!
