El Patio Spanish

The most dangerous encounter you’re likely to have is a constant battle with nature: altitude in the Andes, glaring sun in the salt flats and mosquitos, piranhas, alligators, bird eating spiders (I repeat… BIRD EATING SPIDERS!) in the Amazon.  

Maybe you’ll be lucky and avoid the worst, but stay wise and be prepared for anything – don’t skimp on insurance out here. Use common sense; listen carefully to guides and locals (and wear a hat in the jungle… trust me on this one: insects + scalp = nope).

On top of that, Bolivian tourism seems to get a kick out of making everything the most dangerous ever! It started with the most dangerous road (a must-do bike riding tour) then expanded to the most dangerous Vindaloo, and the most dangerous prison tour. Not sure about these claims objectively but that curry certainly FELT extremely dangerous! 

Zebras on the roads

Bolivians are simultaneously the best and the worst drivers in the world. So much so that the Bolivian government has been leading a strong campaign to educate drivers as to what the heck a Zebra crossing is! To assist in this aim, helpful young students donned with full Zebra costumes often assist pedestrians to cross the road. Make sure you give them a big smile and a gracias for their efforts.

Remember those unique opportunities I was talking about? If you’re a bit curious of what it might be like to walk with a puma around in the jungle, take care of a jaguar or swim in the Amazon River with pink dolphins then Bolivia is the place for you, my friend. 

Inti Wara Yassi runs 3 wildlife custody centers in Bolivia which you can volunteer at and work extremely closely with a huge variety of animals – mostly rescued from the horrendous animal smuggling trade. The famous park is Ambue Ari, which is the closest to La Paz and has the most comfortable amenities (hot water, electricity).  If you want to go a bit further out Jacj Cuisi (7 hours north of Santa Cruz) is an almost entirely big cat dedicated center, where most volunteers are assigned a big feline to take care of, involving daily walks through the jungle with a puma, jaguar or ocelot attached to you with a carabiner. Staying out here is pretty rough though – you’ve been warned.

Yes!

• Death Road mountain bike tour (Not so dangerous on a safe bike and with the right tour guides, be sure to use Gravity who have the safest bikes and best track record).
• Salar de Uyuni To get the full experience most travellers either start or end at the Chilean border near San Pedro de Atacama - an entirely different and equally remarkable landscape. This is generally a 3 day tour.
• Rurrenbarque
• Madidi national park
• La Paz
• Sucre
• Santa Cruz 
• Isla del sol / lake Titicaca
• Oruro carnival
• Potosí