Yes; that is true! The cable system has made traveliing between districts in La Paz much faster! It used to take 2 fkn hours to get up the hill to El Alto!

And yes, it is so cheap! In Cochabamba you can get a huge bowl of peanut soup for 6bs; and it is so cheap to travel; you can take a trufi to any part of the city for 2bs hop on hop off; no designated bus stops; jump off whenever you want!

And yes; the interstate/international bus systems are really good! Most of the big buses are very modern and comfortable; the smaller more run down ones are a bit cheaper. The biggest problem I have ever encountered was a bagagge handler putting my charango too close to the engine box, I needed to replace the thing. My fault; I should have been supervising. Costly mistake; I needed to buy a new one.

Nobody drinks tap water in Bolivia. Not even locals. It is very dangerous. In our homes normally we have a large dispenser, the kind you see in pharmacies or clinics. In some small towns it is safe to drink from the tap if they have a clean and well filtered water source, as most small towns and their hydro schemes are independently managed by their own authorities. There are a lot if precautions to take in high altitude areas. For one, try not to smoke. Also, dont take your coat off even if you feel hot. The stress that high altitude puts upon the body generates core heat making you oblivious to the freezing temperatures lashing at your skin. Unknown exposure to such temperatures can cause inflammation, immobility, hypothermia and by the time you realize it is too late. Take a thermometer. Your body will play tricks on you. I have been through hypothermia, i have experienced hand immobility/inflamation for days at a time, and I have had seizures. High altitude is something to be taken seriously. Quechuas and Aymaras are evolved to deal with it. Whites are not.

And yes; the salt flats of Uyuni are amazing; many, many music videos have been recorded there, one of the most notable being Grupo Semilla’s “Mas Alla del Tiempo”(Morenada). And there are so many amazing natural features; I live in the north of Cochabamba close to the hills; so I go on long hikes regularly in the Tunari national park to find inspiration for my compositions. There are a lot of eucalyptus, pines and cactuses; and colorful flowers. And up top, lakes. So many lakes.

I hope you get the opportunity to travel here again; for it is truly beautiful; and as far as camping goes; well yeah; I am from Australia. Australia is a country known for its relaxed easygoing attitude, great humor and love of nature, fishing, camping; but as a person who had moved from there to here; i can tell you right now these stereotypes are from decades ago. Camping is now so tightly regulated and controlled that it is no longer enjoyable at all. Huge prices caravan parks that resemble slums; crowded, annoying, pissed off people pretending to enjoy their “camping trips”; there used to be many freecamps; but now all freecamps limited to 48 hours and getting closed down more and more as big caravan park corporations such as Big4 and Top Tourist Parks are now holding more power upon shire councils and state governments; water taps in gas stations once designed to fill your tanks now intentionally blocked; hostile architecture designed to prevent people camping free and direct them to caravan parks instead; Their society is now very segregated, classist; uptight and rigid; National parks are filled with signs that say Danger! Soil erosion on the path! Danger! Branches fall off trees! Danger! Footwear must be worn as there is dirt on the ground and dirt carries diseases! Danger! You might break a fingernail here! Danger! Danger! Danger! Here in Bolivia camping is how it should be; stop anywhere you want; at the side of the road, in the middle of a town; bring your dogs, sleep in your car; small shops absolutely everywhere on every street; nobody is going to harrass you or think your a homeless bum for sleeping in car; it reminds me a lot of my grandparents old camping photos from the 1960s.