A familiar logo caught my eye. A poster in the window of a bank in the centre of Cochabamba. I double-backed for a closer look. It was advert for Special Olympics. My first involvement with Special Olympics was at the National Games in Ireland back in 2002 and I´ve been a volunteer ever since. Now travelling in South America I find out the National Games of Bolivia were taking place in the very same city from tomorrow? It was not to be missed. A quick change to our travel plans and we´re set...we are going to the Games! As soon as [View Full Entry]

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So meine Lieben, übermorgen geht mein Flieger zurück nach Hause - 3,5 Monate Bolivien sind vorbei…irgendwie ist es doch schnell vergangen und trotzdem kommt es mir so vor, als wär ich schon ewig hier… In meinen letzten Wochen war ich noch ziemlich unterwegs, war zum Beispiel am Dienstagsmarkt in Punata - hab mich natürlich gleich auf den ersten Metern verlaufen, bin dann meloneessend von Autoreifen zu Unterhosen, weiter zu Hüten, Kochtöpfen, Röcken und piepsenden Kücken gestolpert. Irgendwann bin ich zwischen Kartoffeln und Bohnen stecken geblieben und hab von weitem eine K [View Full Entry]

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Jedes Jahr Mitte August wird in Quillacollo (Vorort von Cochabamba) 4 Tage lang die Fiesta de la Virgen de Urkupiña gefeiert. Ich weiß nicht viel über dieses Fest, nur dass es einen ziemlich großen Umzug geben soll, eine Pilgerwanderung von Cochabamba nach Quillacollo (13km) und dass bei diesem Fest hauptsächlich gefeiert und in erster Linie getrunken wird… Wenn ich schon das Glück habe, genau zu diesem Zeitpunkt hierzu sein, lass ich mir das Spektakel natürlich nicht entgehen. Ich fahr mit der argentinischen Biologin Jamilia, die eine Woche bei Alan im Büro wohnt, hin. In Quillaco [View Full Entry]

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Leaving La Paz was not as easy as we had thought it would be. Firstly our alarm was somehow accidentally turned off instead of snoozed, then when we did manage to get out of the hostel, the town was packed with locals who had turned out for the Independance Day parade. What was supposed to be a direct walk to the bus station turned into a maze as we twisted and turned to avoid marching straight through the parade. Thankfully our local knowledge picked up during our wanderings in Paz proved invaluable and we made it to the station in one [View Full Entry]

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Well once leaving the hard to leave La Paz we boldly moved on to see the other attractions of Bolivia. We were unsure of what to expect from the next few places we would visit and were more than pleasantly suprised with what we found. First stop was Cochabamba, a fairly large city outside La Paz and on the way to Sucre. Reasons to visit this place appeared to be limited, and our main reason was that it was home to the fictional drug lord who hanged his enemies from Helicopters in the film Scarface ( or it was my reason [View Full Entry]

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Bolivia has been amazing. The people so kind. [View Full Entry]

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Ok so I am back in Cochabamba, I went to Villa Tunari and the animal place, but I left a day later. It was pouring rain when I got there, and to make a long story short, I wasnt feeling it. Got to see some monkeys up close though, that was kinda cool. I am now starting to volunteer through an organization called sustainable bolivia, and started working yesterday at an orphanage called La Colonia. It is an awesome place, ran by a bolivian couple, Kiko and Carmen. They started out watching a few kids from the neighborhood, and it has [View Full Entry]

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Jetzt bin ich seit circa einem Monat hier in Cochabamba - Zeit, eine kleine Zwischenbilanz aufzustellen :) Wie die meisten schon wissen, wurde mir in der ersten Woche meine Tasche geklaut, samt Digicam, Diktiergerät, Handy, USB-Stick, Bankomatkarte… Der Kulturschock hat mich kurzzeitig etwas überrumpelt, als mir meine Tasche geklaut wurde, ich hab dann aber beschlossen, meinen Frust beim Weggehn zu ertränken - hat ganz gut funktioniert, mit 1,5l Flaschen Bier um 1,20 Euro. Als ich dann noch bolivianisches Kniffeln gelernt habe, war ich wieder versöhnt und als ich um 4 Uhr morgens vo [View Full Entry]

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So, went on a 4 day 4X4 trip through southern Bolivia and up to the center. Rough road. 4 days in a jeep for 7-12 hours a day, getting out to stop for a few minutes at certain sights. Cold as hell. Hell of an experience, though. Most of that part of Bolivia is desert, so the landscapes were amazing to say the least. Certain points I could have sworn I was on another planet. Variations of red mountains all around, scattered with huge boulders that looked like someone placed them there for an art piece. No plants or signs of [View Full Entry]

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I am now in Cochabamba, a few hours bus ride from the animal reserve. I haven´t felt so out of place on this trip so far. Apparently not many tourists come here as there is not much to see, so for the locals to see a gringo is strange. Walking down the street people stare at me; they find me just as interesting as I find them! Mostly the older people, they stare at me and I stare right back, both of us analyzing the differences between us. So far I think I´ve seen 3 other people who are not bolivian. [View Full Entry]

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