Traveling by bus from Cochabamba to La Paz

Bus travel through Bolivia means mountains. Not just the trip down from the Cordillera to Coroico, the so called “death road”, called the most dangerous road in the world. Every trip in western Bolivia where we are involves climbing impossible roads up through the mountains with breathtaking views. Right now we are on the well-traveled route from Cochabamba to La Paz. We are inching along behind a 16-wheeler. It is an 8-hour trip, and the second driver is sleeping down below in the sleeping berth, awaiting his turn to drive. We are upstairs, on the second story. The higher level adds to the drama and the views. Evan is sitting in the front seat, perched over the front of the bus. We pass tiny villages of sheep farmers, whose mud brick houses with thatched roofs hug the hillsides. Families are out carrying water and watching their herds. Some have put their laundry out to dry on the rocks: enormous pollera skirts making a huge smile, matching petticoats, and handwoven blankets with earth tones and geometric patterns. The mountain ranges stretch out to the horizon in all directions. When we pass a town, little kids offer us soft drinks from their families’ stands. As the sun sinks behind the mountains, the houses blend into the rocks and the doors to the houses are all closed against the cool night air.