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Published: February 24th 2006
Feeding the Stegosaurus
I can't believe Bolivia have their own Jurassic Park! I was just giving it some Rice Krispies...Welcome to Bolivia!
After 24 hours of travelling after leaving the Pantenal we made it to our first stop, Santa Cruz. This hasn't got its own entry because we were only there a day and half of it was spent recovering from the long journey. However, it was a pretty town and the afternoon was spent in an Aqua Park having loads of fun! We loved the swimming pool as I was a bit fed up of sharing my water with fish and Eric had loads of fun playing on the slides. They managed to coax me onto 2 of them once, one involved a vertical drop and the other a swirling tub where you drop down the middle. Not particularly my idea of fun but it was ok!
The people in Boliva look a lot more indigenous than in Brazil. Although the men don´t seem to have set clothes, 90% of the women have long black hair in pigtails, heavy dresses with colourful cardigans on top and a straw hat. We've all been told not to wear short skirts or low tops, as the men catcall and they don't really like it. Bolivia's much more conservative than other
Eric and the T-Rex
Scary I know, it wasn't even in a cage! South American countries. It's not too bad as its only about 30 degrees and not the 40 we're used to 😉
The taxis are also pretty funny. A standard taxi has the steering wheel on the left-hand side, with the speedometer, mileage and petrol gauge on the right (none of which work!), along with a gaping hole from where the steering wheel used to be!! All cars have a few cracks in the windscreen, one wing mirror if you're lucky, and absolutely no tread on the car's wheels. The one law of the road - if you beep your horn first, it's your right of way!
Next stop was a 40 minute flight to Sucre. Apparently the tours always fly because the alternative is an 18 hour bus ride, with hardly any stops, and when you do you have to be careful they don´t leave without you! So we arrived in Sucre and immediately felt the altitude - 2,800 metres above sea level leaves you short of breath, particularly when climbing stairs or going uphill, but today's been fine, and we will hopefully be used to it by the time we reach Machu Picchu.
We spent yesterday
Rock on the site
The green bits are aqua plants and algae, and the brown bits - dinosaur bones!! just walking around the town, it's really, really pretty - the second capital of Bolivia and loads of old shops. This morning we went to see a set of dinosaur footprints set in limestone. They are pretty cool, and in the Guinness Book of Records for having the longest continuous footprints of one dinosaur - nicknamed Jonny Walker (they're 400m long). Unfortunately, the owners of the land are still extracting the limestone nearby (it's a poor country and the cement they make from it is crucial to their economy), and so explosions every day continue to destroy some of the footprints, but also uncover new ones. The best ones are protected by Unesco, and they are in the process of building a museum to help safeguard them.
What was also cool, was that although the land in the area was flat all those millions of years ago, over time the layers of rock have become almost vertical so that the footprints are set into a wall of limestone. It's just a shame that they keep damaging them....
Tonight we're going to a restaurant/cinema to watch The Motorcycle Diaries over dinner. Also, it's carnival time here, and the mayor
Touching the multi-million-year-old footprint
You're allowed to touch them, as erosion from human hand is far less likely to damage them than a nearby explosion! made it legal from today for adults and kids to throw water balloons and squirt super soakers at as many people as possible. Twice today we fell victim to the little blighters!
There's the update. We may not have much chance to update again for a week, a slight change in itinerary has meant we will be visiting the best place in Bolivia for the start of the Carnival on Saturday (Uroru), before visiting the Salt Flats at Uyuni, where they have no phones, internet, or multiplex cinemas! It's really the middle of nowhere!
See ya in a week!
P.S. Tash - sorry I forgot to warn you about the snake pictures!!
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Appsie
Claire Apps
Hey Guys Greetings From Hong Kong
You guys look like your having a great time and great photos. Glad your ok, we are fine and just about to hit Singapore. Maybe meet up in OZ? Love Claire and Will