Settling In 121toiletry item. If you’re staying for a long time, have
visiting friends and family bring care packages from
home. Our family’s sole import was Mexican tortillas
from Los Angeles, California. Buying locally is the
best policy, and it’s ecological!
HOTELS
Less expensive family owned hotels are much more
conducive for getting a feel for the country than the more
expensive and generic chains.
In a family hotel, all rooms
will probably differ. You might
fi nd a hard bed in one room,
a soft bed in another; a large
colour television in one, a small
television with ‘snow’ on the
screen in another; a spartan
bathroom in one, a beautiful mosaic bath in another.
TRANSPORTATION
Within cities, micros ( buses) are the cheapest collective
transport, about US$ 0.15 per ride. Slightly more expensive
but still only about US$ 0.20 to US$ 0.30 depending on
the distance is the minibus—a van. The newcomer learns
through behaviour modifi cation, after the fi rst hard thump
on the head, to watch his or her head when descending from
the minibus.
Next in line is the collective, fi xed-route taxi labelled trufi ,
and regular taxis without a fi xed route, whose base fare for
reasonable distances is double the minibus, or only US$ 0.40.
Radio-taxis,except for the ones that operate out of Radisson
Hotel, do not always stick to the fi xed rate of US$ 1.00 to
US$ 2.00 depending on the length of the trip. So you might
need to bargain.
The above description provides a handy frame of reference
for rates, always subject to change. The cost of rides to more
distant zones on any mode of public transport will rise
accordingly. Public transportation is cheaper and easier on
the nerves than driving. An automobile becomes expedient
If various rooms are available,
ask to see them first before
making your choice. Unless you
are arriving in Oruro the day of
Carnaval, rooms are frequently
available without reservation.