Cheaper is not always better

There are only two ways one can get to Torotoro Nacional Parque (I’ll have more on Torotoro in the next post): the expensive way (tours leaving from Cochabamba) or the cheap way (public bus).

Now the price tag for leaving from Cochabamba on a hassle-free organized tour to Torotoro is about 350$ US for two nights, including food and a guide. Now many of you may think that 350$ isn’t that much money. That sum is all fine and well for those traveling for three weeks. Unfortunately budget constraints are real for those of us who are traveling for a year.

Ania and I did the math and realized that we can save a lot of money by organizing each segment separately. The public bus to Torotoro costs 3$ per person. The hotel costs 36$ per night. A guide maybe 15$ per day. It was an easy choice. We opted to organize our trip to Torotoro by ourselves.

Was this a good decision?

Let me break the suspense for you: the ride to Torotoro was the stinkiest, stuffiest, most inefficient, dangerous and crowded ride of my life.

We immediately realized that the ride was going to be long, very long (7 hours for 160 kilometers) when we arrived at the bus station. The locals from Torotoro essentially go to Cochabamba once a week to do their groceries. Dozen of heavy bags full of vegetables and even live animals stuffed in plastic bags (what a sad sight) were put in the cargo area and on the roof of the bus.

We got in the no-frills bus and so did everybody else. The problem is that the bus didn’t stop receiving passengers once the seats were full. At least 20 people crammed the aisle as well. Two guys who arrived late had to walk on seat armrests to reach their seats all the way at the back of the bus! The bus was so full that people standing up in the aisle had to lean on those of us who had aisle seats.

Of course none of this is legal. A short while after we left Cochabamba we arrived at a border crossing to Potosi. The driver yelled “get down!” in Spanish and Quechua and all the locals who were standing up in the aisle ducked down and stayed low until we cleared the border.

Our guide in Torotoro told us that it was a very dangerous affair, too. Accidents involving overweight and overcrowded buses are not uncommon in Bolivia. Also the fact that most of the ride took place near a precipice in a high mountainous area mean that accidents of this type leave passengers no chance. Here’s even more reason to dislike this ride.

Now I suggest that anybody interested in visiting Torotoro does NOT take this bus. Of course the more adventurous of our readers may see an exciting side to this story, coupled with the fact that the public bus is so much cheaper. But think again. You may be saving money by traveling with the locals, but saving your life is probably a better proposition.