A JOURNEY IN BOLIVIA 1988

EXIT

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different. After the Altiplano we came to a sand and stones road, a dirt road. At a certain point the altimeter indicated that we were at 4500 m. The view was often beautiful and we did not have to exert ourselves on the bus. At the sign at km 106 (as far as Cochabamba) a stop was made for eating and / or urinating: males in a row, females in a row. We felt very confident , but after walking a hundred meters we noticed that we were not completely adjusted yet. We were at 4200 m altitude.

All kinds of people ordered a hot meal, which turned out to be an Almuerzo. Since we were not aware of this custom, nor did we know to what extent this food could threaten our health, we just settled for a cup of coffee and a dry bread roll.

Then the journey continued. We descended to 3900 and saw the first columnar cacti at km 96. Then we ascended again and there was no more columnar cactus to be seen. From km 65 we descended again and the number of cacti increased. A designation of a place is often done by e.g. "km 65", which in this case means that we were still 65 km from Cochabamba.
When we arrived in Cochabamba we were stormed by taxi drivers. One of them was picked out. He was the lucky one to take us to a cheap hotel, "hotel barato". It became Hotel Las Vegas, which was not that cheap after all: Bs 40, per night.

Cochabamba has a pleasant temperature. In the afternoon it can be quite warm, at night the temperature drops considerably, but we have not found it cold there. It is busy and pleasant. We immediately went into town, because we felt all right here at 2800 m. There were numerous travel agencies in the center. We first went to confirm our return flight. That was possible, but we had to do it a few more times later: "just in case".

Then we looked for the office of "Rent a-car" to rent a car. Although we had initially considered walking to look for plants, having a car seemed an attractive alternative. We easily agreed on a price for a passenger car: $ 15 per day, $ 0.25 per mile. With nine days of use, we had to pay for seven days. We accepted this. Of course, an all-terrain vehicle (four wheel drive) would be more suitable, but the price was almost double.

Our evening meal was taken in a Chinese restaurant, something we did not expect at all in Cochabamba. We also bought some postcards with stamps. The fun didn't seem to end.

Yet this day turned out to have a surprise for us. Apparently Kik's photo bag had been left in the taxi. We received a phone call from a woman who told us that the taxi driver was just making a long trip. At the same time the good man came in

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