Travel Blog Posts
A little thing that happened to me...
Published: July 19th 2007South America » Bolivia » Cochabamba Department » Cochabamba
July 19th 2007
So, yesterday Im on the bus from Villa Tunari to Cochabamba. Im just sitting by the window, minding my own business when this little boy and his sister come and squeeze in next to me. Its a tight squeeze, the boy is nuzzled up against my leg and they are a bit smelly, but they are pretty cute so I think, what the hell, I dont mind. The boy is looking up at me so innocently with these huge, brown, almond shaped eyes. We make eyes at each other for awhile, and then I turn back to the window and try to fall asleep. The next thing I know, I wake up to a warm, wet sensation spreading across my leg. I look down, the boy is still looking at me as if butter wouldnt melt. ... read more
Sucre (again), and Lake Titicaca
Published: July 6th 2007South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » CopacabanaJuly 6th 2007
After finishing our tour in Uyuni, we (not liking to slum it), hire a jeep to take us the 8 hours to Sucre. It is great to show mum Sucre (although I am tired, and therefore moody for most of it!) We go see the dino tracks, which are cool but a bit of a let down. You cant go and put your feet in them or anything! You have to squint from about 50ms away. Bit boring. On sunday we go to the market in Tarabuco, and we buy a lot of stuff! Helping the local economy and all. That evening we fly back to La Paz (feels like home now!), and then head to Copacabana by the morning bus. Its pretty amazing, Lake Titicaca. A lake in the sky. And its huge. We get ... read more
July 5th 2007
After exploring Tiwanaku, that evening we jump on the night bus to Uyuni. This is pretty horrid, although we have opted for the tourist option, its bumpy bumpyness into high altitudes make me run to the toilet, although this may have been the extra large pizza i ate a few hours before...who can tell. anyway, neither of us get much sleep, and rolling into freezing cold Uyuni at 6 in the morning is not the nicest experience. But, thanks to pre-booking, we are whisked off to our luxury salt hotel (yes, thats a hotel made of salt) for breakfast, shower, and a little well deserved nap. Then its off on our day tour of the salt flats. Totally bonkers. Thats pretty much all i can say. Our hotel borders the salt flats, and it is ... read more
July 4th 2007
Two weeks seem to have flown by, has it really been that long? Mum left this morning, which was sad, and am feeling slightly homesick now, but Im sure it will pass! So, how have we filled in the last two weeks? Its definately been busy, some up, some downs (mostly me being moody!), but mainly its been great. It began two fridays ago, when mum arrived in the morning to La Paz. I hadnt planned anything, all prepared for mum to be jet lagged, struck down by altitude, etc. Silly me. With almost no signs of illness or tiredness, she of course is raring to go. So we spend most of that day in the travel agent, sorting out the details of our trip, and then its off to explore la paz. It is ... read more
Back to La Paz, Death road and jungle living
Published: June 19th 2007South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » Coroico
June 19th 2007
After leaving Puka Puka, we return to Sucre and then on the morning of the 15th we fly back to La Paz. We have a scrummcious sushi lunch, at La Paz´s best Japanese resturant, a huge lunch for under 5 pounds. Awesome. Then we do various jobs, namely digest, then go and have dinner with Alberto, the head of the school in Cochabamba. It is nice to see him again (especially since despite my inability to understand him, or speak any decent form of spanish - i am informed over dinner that instead of saying trout (trucha) it comes out as the slang word for vagina! - he insists that I stay with him when I come back to cochabamba), and Lisa and Galen tie up their loose ends. We are also very sadly foiled ... read more
Taxi of death and return to Puka Puka
Published: June 18th 2007South America » Bolivia » Chuquisaca Department » Tarabuco
June 18th 2007
To escape Valle Grande, it is necessary to take a 13 hour taxi to Sucre. This is hellish. We say a sad goodbye to the students and Mario, the teacher, and get into our chosen driver´s very comfortable, new, great big van (it has already taken us 2 hours to choose a driver, so we dont actually leave until 5 in the evening. whilst this driver doesnt drink, which is a plus, he also doesnt chew coca...eek). The seats go back, it is clean, the windows are electric, i start thinking this isnt going to be so bad. Lisa is ill, she has an ear infection and is almost crying from pain, but we all think best to just let her curl up and sleep and get her to Sucre as quickly as possible. We ... read more
June 17th 2007
After finishing up at Pablo and Betsabe´s, we made tracks early in the morning. We decide to hire a car to take us to the next location, the home of David. In typical Bolivian style, 15 of us cram into 2 cars, plus all our equipment and the toliets, and we start our journey. Valle Grande is about 5 hours drive away, and over those 5 hours we move from lush mountains into dry desert. Valle Grande is the location of Che´s last stand, and the town is filled with Che memrobillia. I dont like Valle Grande, the town itself is rather depressing, nothing to really like about it. It is in cowboy country, very dry, there are cactuses and canyons everywhere. David´s house is about 20 mins from the town, not very picturesque. Whilst ... read more
June 16th 2007
So the bus drops us off at 2 in the morning, and we stand on a dark, deserted road, clouded in bitingly cold fog, surrounded by trees, toliets, bags etc. What do we do? Apparently there was supposed to be a car to pick us up. The student who´s home this is, Betsabe (i think that is how you spell her name, if not apologises), runs off into the night to look for someone to take us to her house. Betsabe is actually a former student. When she was at the school, she met Pablo, another student, and they are now married. They live in Pablo´s family home, despite the difficulties of Pablo being Quechua amd Betsabe Aymara. After a wait that seems like forever, Betsabe comes back with bad news that there is noone ... read more
June 15th 2007
Ok, so lets go back a few weeks. I am writing from the mountains in Coroico, but I havent really had a chance to update until now. So apologises if it sounds vague, or incorrect, or exagerated (!). I met Lisa and Galen in La Paz, on around the 28th May I think, and in the morning we got the bus to Cochabamba. After going for what was promise to be, and perhaps was, the best pizza in Bolivia, we went to the agricultural school that they work with (called Aldeas SOS). Slightly ambivalent about cochabamba seen at night, I crashed out in one of the student rooms (after putting up my tent on the bed to make it feel more like home!) When I woke up, I felt slightly better. The school is quite incredible. ... read more
June 10th 2007
Ok, just typed out a really long entry and managed to loose it. Have just returned to Sucre after a long stint in Bolivias back and beyond. We arrived this morning at 6, after a 13 (were told it was 8 hours) hour night time taxi ride through the mountains (filled with adventure, floods, avalanches, dust storms, roads that would make your hair stand on end...im not normally scared of heights, but my god. was torn between forcing myself to open my eyes and talk to the driver, or at least nod and smile to his spanish monolgues, or squeeze my eyes tight, risk the driver falling asleep but hopefully i would be unconscious when we went over the edge!) Anyway, with lisa stretched out on the back horribly ill and in pain with an ear ... read more
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