Bolivia with Sol International

Bolivia was the only South American country my wife, Virginia, and I hadn’t visited, so we contacted Cecilia at Sol International (Kodak, TN; 800/765-5657, http://solintl.com) and she arranged an 8-day/7-night trip for us for March 6-13, 2008.

Wanting to give ourselves a chance to become accustomed to the altitude, we chose to fly into Santa Cruz (1,365 feet). Our overnight at Hotel Cortez gave us time to recuperate. The next morning we flew to Sucre (9,000 feet), the judicial capital of Bolivia, where we stayed at a converted town home in the city center, Hotel de su Merced.

After a full day in Sucre, we were off on a 2-hour drive with our most competent guide, Viviana (contact through Sol International or at

vivichacami@yahoo.com), and driver, Wilmer, to Potosi (13,000 feet), where the Casa de la Moneda (house of money, i.e., the mint) is the largest museum in Bolivia.

The current stone building, constructed in 1773, replaced an earlier (1572) mint. The machinery the Spanish used for minting silver coins is a large portion of the museum’s exhibits. The Spanish conquistadores began mining silver from El Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain), which overlooks Potosi, in the 16th century. The mine continues to be productive, and we arranged to visit it with Viviana and Wilmer.

A guide at the mine prepared us for the tour by outfitting us with foul-weather gear, knee-high boots (for the mud) and a hard hat with a light plus a battery pack that strapped around our waists. Believe me when I say we needed all this equipment, for the tunnel was very messy.

We shared the narrow tunnel with a hand-pulled-and-pushed ore cart (one miner pulled and two pushed; the cart could carry nearly a ton) that ran over rails. Whenever the workers got close, we had to back up against the cold, clammy wall of the mine. The tour is not for the claustrophobic.

Bolivia’s administrative capital, La Paz, is at 13,000-plus elevation. After a day there we spent a day and a night at Lake Titicaca enjoying the reed boats. Our hotel there, the Inca Utama, proudly displayed a sign in its elevator: “You are now riding the world’s highest elevator, 3,825 meters.”

Cecilia put this trip together in the briefest of time (we like to travel on the spur of the moment). The cost, including a guide and driver in each city, breakfasts, two internal flights, airport transfers and three lunches, was about $350 per day for the two of us. Our flight from Miami to Bolivia and return was about $450 each plus taxes and fees of $150 each.

Hotels in Bolivia ranged from $45 to $90 per night. A grand lunch or dinner for two, including wine, could easily be found for less that $15.

My feeling is that of all the countries in South America, Bolivia is best able to combine the very old with the very new in a most idylllic fashion.

RICHARD SKINGER

Palm Coast, FL