Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. On Saturday, I flew back home from Liberia, Costa Rica after a short, but relaxing stay at the Andaz Papagayo Resort (3 blog posts coming regarding the room, the resort and the food).  I am also working on a few blog posts about cable cars in La Paz (pss, it is this post), the salt flats at Salar de Uyuni, the Courtyard Marriott Guatemala City, the Guatemala City Zoo, the Sheraton Presidente San Salvador, my volcano and papusas tour in San Salvador, sleeping in the Managua (MGA) airport because I was not allowed to enter Nicaragua without a Yellow Fever Vaccine (YFV), my short 14 seater Lacsa flight from San Jose (SJO) to Liberia (LIR), and a PSA on why you should check your existing flights a few days before departure. Phew, that’s a lot of blogging to do over the next few days, but I hope you will enjoy those posts.

With all that said, let’s start off with a short post from the start of my South / Central America week-long adventure. My friend, Jim, and I flew into La Paz, Bolivia as our jumping off point down to the salt flats at Salar de Uyuni. We stayed in La Paz for 1 night and wandered around the city during the day. The coolest way to see the city is on their aerial cable car urban transit system called Mi Teleférico (My Cable Car). The cable cars quickly (and cheaply) take you from the mountain peaks to the valley floor with several stops along the way. Each ride is 3 Bolivianos (~$0.43) per person and transfers are not allowed.  As of January 21, 2018, $1.00 = 6.9 Bolivianos.

We went from our starting point (ticket #1), to the top of the first peak, got off, bought another ticket (ticket #2) and took the cable car all the way to the end of the line near the valley floor.

At that point, we got off, bought another ticket (ticket #3) for the connecting line and took that line all the way to the end of the line. Then we got off, bought another ticket (ticket #4) and headed back to the valley floor.

At the end of that line, we got off, bought our last ticket (ticket #5) and made our way back to our starting point. After spending 15 Bolivianos total (~$2.17), we were able to see some of the city without walking up and down the steep hills. I can understand that this doesn’t sound like the most fun way to spend your time, but we were both tired from our overnight flights and getting used to the altitude in La Paz (11,942 feet). We were hungry, so we went to a local pizzeria, ordered some pizza, drank a refreshing Coke, then walked back toward our hotel. Our hotel was close to street markets, so we walked around a bit and I bought a Puma Llama shirt. The shirt was 35 Bolivianos (~$5.06) then we went back to our room.

We snacked in our room after that and went to bed early because we had a 5am taxi ride back to the La Paz International Airport (LPB). We then boarded our quick (and cheap) Amaszonas flight to Salar de Uyuni (UYU) in southern Bolivia.

In the next post, I will share the tour company we used in Salar de Uyuni and several amazing photos we took on the salt flats. If you have any questions about La Paz, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!

Here are all parts of my Central / South America trip:

• Adios Amigos! I’m Traveling Around Central / South America (LPB, UYU, GUA, SAL, MGA & LIR)
• PSA / Tip: Always Bring a Pen When You Travel
• Riding the Cable Cars (Mi Teleférico) Around La Paz, Bolivia for Under $3
• Salar de Uyuni: Bolivia’s Magical, Mirror-like Salt Flat Oasis (2018 Dakar Rally & Crazy Photos)
• PSA: Check Existing Airline Confirmations for Cancelled Flights a Few Days Before Travel
• Hotel Review: Courtyard Marriott Guatemala City & Amazing Guatemalan Restaurant Nearby (Casa Chapina)
• Visit the Amazing (93 Years Young) Guatemala City Zoo for $5
• Hotel Review: Sheraton Presidente San Salvador Hotel (Great Location, Lounge & Breakfast)
• Day Trip: San Salvador Volcano & Restaurant La Pupusa Loka
• PSA: Get Yellow Fever Vaccine Before Visiting Nicaragua (& Some Other Central / South American Countries)
• My Incredible 14 Seat Cessna Flight from San Jose (SJO) to Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
• Andaz Papagayo Resort Part 1: The Resort is Beautiful
• Andaz Papagayo Resort Part 2: The Room was Great
• Andaz Papagayo Resort Part 3: The Food is Expensive, but Delicious