only now that i am in peru, could i really reflect on time in bolivia. the contrast is so strong that it was needed to put Bolivia in context. Peru is lush, easy, well serviced and clean. Everything that Bolivia wasn´t. Although these are only the surface things... it did bring the time in Bolivia into focus.
After the relaxation an beach action of rio it was time to get the real trip started via Chile. Excited at the prospect of Bolivia, I was a little thrown at check in when the girl enquired "do you know your destiny?" I wasn't sure what to say other than "no".. but it was food for thought.
Arriving at Santa Cruz airport (central bolivia) at around 2am it was pretty obvious why most tourists skip it, if visiting Bolivia. After a hell flight starting at 9pm in Santiago and making some stops on the coast and an unscheduled one in the Andes somewhere it was a tough early morning cab. Despite being a key city for the trade in minerals and agricultural produce for Bolivia there was extreme poverty on display at every turn. The streets were lined with rubbish, cars, dogs, young women plying their trade, cars and makeshift housing. It was obviously very different to Santiago.
After the introduction, in the morning it all seemed to be a bad dream. Santa Cruz, by day, is great. It has a history different to that of much of south america. Firstly, santa cruz was never completely under the control of the spanish; indigenous groups were able to adapt their fighting techniques to combat the spanish and cause a significant amount of trouble for the invaders. the locals believe they are more like the brazilians than their (according to locals) less kind and uglier neighbours in the andes. Although not really considered a tourist stop it was a facinating place to be... Santa Cruz was the centre of the bolivian cocaine trade for many years but since the DEA and bolivian police made a joint effort to stop the trade there (some may say american interference for small donations to local politicians), it has moved to a nearby town!...
Santa Cruz is now the largest city in boliva, with its growth driven by the rich mineral deposits in the nearby towns and region. in addition, there is a large grazing area to the north (trinidad) that has provided significant wealth to the major trading town! the town is a grid and easy to walk around. there isn't a lot of tourist type stuff but a nice square and loads of cool colonial architecture.
The plan was to make a trail north to the beni province. However, the area around trinidad and beni is still flooded and people there are getting pretty sick. Weirdly, many people were being infected with dengue fever and malaria - even dying from dysentery but the stories were not making the world news. There were some pretty horrific stories from locals who had left the flood zone for marginally drier Santa Cruz. Despite best efforts buses and flights were cancelled and the trip plan had to change!! - personally i think chavez took my sea on my flight...
So a new plan devised, it was off to La Paz. The flight was...interesting .. loads of turbulence over remote mountains in a smallish plane with zero visibility trying to land at the highest international airport in the world (over 4000m above sea level) was.. fun. The flight took off the day after the garuda crash in indonesia with an airline with an equally impressive safety record. Rumour has it the garuda crash resulted from high speed landing.. well, in La Paz, due to the altitude the plane has to land at around double the speed of a normal plane...
Life at 4000m is hilarious. After reading a little about the problems of altitude and not believing any of it, i thought i could just waltz off the plane and grab my pack in quick time!! well i was wrong. the thin air leads to errors of judgement, dizziness and other problems. carrying the pack to the taxi took me about 10 or so minutes with 3 or 4 rests. unfortunately, the area was clouded on the drive in to La Paz, which i later found out was spectacular. the motorway coming into town is was really empty and the trip was quick...until the realisation that being a weekend it was "protest on the motorway day" All traffic came to a standstill. the driver said he wanted to turn back (like everyone else) and drive the wrong way along the road to get off the motorway. The choice was: go with him - and risk travelling the wrong way on a motorway at 80kph at 4000m above sea level.. or walking the 1 or 2km down hill to the city. sounds easy huh? well... there was a lot of traffic still waiting and noise and pollution and protesters and i was really struggling with the thin air.. (note; the protest was in relation to a gas shortage and high prices. locals cannot afford to heat their homes or cook).
the city is pretty full on. loads of noise, poverty, pollution, really really really difficult to climb streets, witches and taxis. the setting is mind blowing. ranging from 3000-4100m above sea level and some snow covered peaks in the distance it is easy to see how visiting football teams are both intimidated and mind blown by the scene that greats them. there is a lot to see and do here but getting around is so difficult due to the thin air. anyway day two was a lot better as the acclimatisation gets going, but it is still hard to walk up the most difficult streets.
After a couple of days in La Paz it was pretty obvious that a trip to the amazon in bolivia was off - plan B was to visit the salt lakes in the andes and it didn't disappoint. the area is all over 4000m and parts are 5-6000m and it is mostly flat with the tops of the 6000m peaks like pimples on the Altiplano. the area has massive salt flats, tin mines and brightly coloured lagoons in an area stretching from central bolivia to the argentine border. the landscape changes from minute to minute with moonscapes, salt lakes, weird rocky outcrops and very little vegetation. some of the poorest people in bolivia live in the region. they work in the cold and heat extremes of the area either shovelling salt off the lake, down a tin mine or farming lamas. some of the lucky ones own a toyota landcruiser and take small groups of tourists to see these spectacular landscapes. agostino took our group. he had the worst landcruiser in bolivia but somehow it managed to survive with only 2 breakdowns and 1 or 2 flat tyres. (photos to follow when i arrive in NY in week or so).
on returning to la paz i was treated to a really great night with a friend of a friend. lisa and charles live in la paz (she for an ngo and he teaches english). they are both canadian and had never met me. that didn't stop them cooking a lovely dinner and entertaining me and some other randoms at their house. it was very funny to be so far from home but feel so welcome. anyone off to la paz: let me know and I will intro you for a free night out, some wine and entertaining conversation. i hear that after i left it degenerated into leg wrestling so you could even hang out for that.
i left early for a day of mountain biking on the "worlds most dangerous road". while it didnt live up to its reputation, it was a great day out. the instructors were excellent and the road is spectacular. it was a little sobering when we were standing at the spot of a recent death and the instructors described in a lot of detail what happens when a tourist runs off the road and falls 400m onto rock. it had happened twice in a 2 week period. after the ride it was off to the pub with one particularly interesting guy - owns some internet travel site and plans to ride a bike from mexico to canada in 3 months - to celebrate st patricks day. it was pretty funny although not spectacular. the irish had won both their cricket and rugby matches during the day so by the time we rocked up the party was pretty much dying under its own weight.
from there a quick stop at lake titicaca (a lake at around 4000m) in the andes before crossing into peru.
PS. my phone was stolen while i was in near Copacabana (bolivia), just over into peru in a small town call Puno, so I have no numbers..please let me know postal addresses and numbers!
