If you are travelling through South America, Bolivia is probably on your list.
From the Uyuni Salt Flats to cycling the Death Road, to lakes with pink flamingos, and cheap Amazon tours, this small country has a lot to offer.
We were excited to visit and experience these things, not to mention the fact that everyone said it was ridiculously cheap to travel in Bolivia.
Coming from the more expensive countries in Latin America like Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, we needed to save some money. As South African citizens, we had to apply for visas (more about it here) but we knew this. We planned our dates, got our visas and off we went in search of adventure and cheap travel.
As travellers, we have the unique opportunity to really experience a country, not from TV shows and pretty Instagram pictures and other people's online blogs. And what we often find, is although inspirational and super helpful, these pictures or blogs don't always portray the real sentiment or conditions of a country or place.
Different people have different experiences - we look at things with different eyes- but we feel that it is also necessary to sometimes report on the other side, the not-so-pretty side, and thus 6 things no-one tells you about Bolivia:
1. Altitude Sickness could be a serious problem
Yes, most people know this, and talk about this, but few travellers realise how dangerous altitude sickness can actually be.
Some people told us how they literally would black out in an instant without any signs of trouble. Some had to go to hospital and were treated for a while before they could travel again.
So don't take this lightly.
Potosi is situated at an elevation of 4 067m above sea level. La Paz, the administrative capital, is at