SC may be a good place to find a traditional, marriage material woman. I was there a few years back, just for a day and a half since I needed to catch a flight out of Bolivia. I second everything papi rico wrote about the city being run down and boring, but with some stunners. This shocked me even more than one would expect, since I had come on an overnight bus from La Paz.
I hope, for your own sake, that you're looking into flights, not buses. From Cuzco until you come down from the Altiplano nearing Santa Cruz you're travelling through some of the highest mountain roads on Earth. Then comes the sweltering heat and humidity of Eastern Bolivia, so you're waking up sweating bullets after falling asleep with your coat on since it's quite chilly at 4000m. Last but not least comes dry, desertic Chaco once you're near the Paraguayan border, almost the whole way to Asuncion. If you're on a bus there, bring plenty of water and pray to god your vehicle doesn't break down.
But wait, there's more!
Cuzco to La Paz is an overnight bus (over 10 hours), as is La Paz to Santa Cruz. Sucre is off in the mountains to the South, out of the way if you're going straight La Paz-SCZ, so going there doesn't save any time. Tack on another overnighter if you decide to see the capital. Santa Cruz to Asuncion is 18 hours, it's flat, but hot as balls. That's plus border controls in the night, stops for food, toilet, pickups, dropoffs, people coming on to sell you food, water, etc. It's doable, but rough. Keep in mind you probably won't be feeling 100% to begin with due to food/water issues, motion sickness, difficulty sleeping on a bus, stress of travel, etc. Also there's certainly a risk of having your bags stolen or stolen from while you're asleep.
Personally, having been to Bolivia, I see no reason to return. Even without having to pay the outrageous visa fee, and speaking fluent Spanish, it was not an enjoyable place for me. There are so many other places on the continent that are easier to access, cleaner, more interesting, and overall better places to spend your finite time on this planet. Santa Cruz also has endemic malaria, unlike the Andean region's highlands, which is another negative you may want to consider.
Having said that, Santa Cruz does have some fine ass and is the only place in the country that I would consider returning to at this point.
Quote: (03-29-2015 10:24 PM)MasculineProfiles Wrote:
Would a Cusco to Sucre to Santa Cruz to Asuncion trip be ideal, sans the high visa fees in Bolivia and Paraguay (involved in a larger Lima to Rio trip)?
I hope, for your own sake, that you're looking into flights, not buses. From Cuzco until you come down from the Altiplano nearing Santa Cruz you're travelling through some of the highest mountain roads on Earth. Then comes the sweltering heat and humidity of Eastern Bolivia, so you're waking up sweating bullets after falling asleep with your coat on since it's quite chilly at 4000m. Last but not least comes dry, desertic Chaco once you're near the Paraguayan border, almost the whole way to Asuncion. If you're on a bus there, bring plenty of water and pray to god your vehicle doesn't break down.
But wait, there's more!
Cuzco to La Paz is an overnight bus (over 10 hours), as is La Paz to Santa Cruz. Sucre is off in the mountains to the South, out of the way if you're going straight La Paz-SCZ, so going there doesn't save any time. Tack on another overnighter if you decide to see the capital. Santa Cruz to Asuncion is 18 hours, it's flat, but hot as balls. That's plus border controls in the night, stops for food, toilet, pickups, dropoffs, people coming on to sell you food, water, etc. It's doable, but rough. Keep in mind you probably won't be feeling 100% to begin with due to food/water issues, motion sickness, difficulty sleeping on a bus, stress of travel, etc. Also there's certainly a risk of having your bags stolen or stolen from while you're asleep.
Personally, having been to Bolivia, I see no reason to return. Even without having to pay the outrageous visa fee, and speaking fluent Spanish, it was not an enjoyable place for me. There are so many other places on the continent that are easier to access, cleaner, more interesting, and overall better places to spend your finite time on this planet. Santa Cruz also has endemic malaria, unlike the Andean region's highlands, which is another negative you may want to consider.
Having said that, Santa Cruz does have some fine ass and is the only place in the country that I would consider returning to at this point.
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