Advertisement
Published: April 21st 2008
...From one side of the country to the other, Nothingness in Cochabamba, La Paz, and Chito the monkey...
Ay it
My title would suggest something of an exciting time. Alas no, not so much. The only justification for my use of the word ´Razzmatazz´is that it provides a rhyming title. But anyway, lets crack on...
So Santa Cruz. I mentioned last time round we wanted to head to aqualand. We got a taxi there to find it well and truly closed for no apparent reason. Santa Cruz seemed destined for us to do absolutely nothing there. Refusing to admit defeat, we decided to sample the night life on offer. We hit the barrio equipetrol, more specifically ave. san martin. This is a big street that basically doesnt belong in Bolivia. Because of the location of the city near the Brazilian border, the spirit here is definitely Samba. Some happy memories were returned as we headed out with a few people we had met at the hostel and celebrated (not sure what exactly) till the early hours.
A three hour drive from Santa Cruz will bring you to the small village of Samaipata. This place is apparently
Road in Samaipata
Our hostel can be seen on the righta nice little retreat for the wealthy in Santa Cruz and a pleasant tourist destination at that, thanks to some impressive views. First on our to do list here was visit the zoo. We rented bikes and headed out to this place which is actually some chaps house with a few animals in the back garden. Enjoyable all the same, as there were plenty of monkeys, and everyone knows monkeys are never boring. One particular little fella, name of Chito, would climb on to your neck and just stay there. Another kept trying to steal my watch. Litterally the height of entertainment.
Just outside of Samaipata there are some pre-inca ruins. Apparently these are a very poor mans Machu Picchu, but as we hadn´t been there yet we found it fairly worth while. After examining what was on offer we decided to try to jog the 10k back to the hostel. Unfortunately, my lack of exercise and choice of diet over the past three months conspired against me and I didn´t make it half way. Lot of work to do on that front when I get home.
After a few days in Samaipata it was back to Santa
Me in the zoo
This is the monkey who would not let me go Cruz and back on to the business of getting across this country. We had a rough schedule to keep to and La Paz was our next direction. Trouble is, 22 hours on a Bolivian bus was nobodys idea of fun. We cut up the journey in Cochabamba. There is nothing in Cochambamba. Absolutely nothing. We searched but there was nothing to do. Thankfully this was a mere one day stint and we were soon back on our way to the de facto capital of Bolivia. This bus journey proved to be rather problematic however. Despite being easily the most luxurious bus we have had in Bolivia (It had a toilet!) the day was hot, unusually hot for this country. We got on the bus and in textbook fashion there was no air conditioning. This situation was made worse as a result of my choice of clothing. Unfortunately due to a lack of...effort, I hadn´t done laundry in a few days and had no underwear. My substitue was to wear my thermal trousers (which I´d brought for patagonia) under my combats. Absolutely horrific. In the end, and to the dismay and my fellow travellers, I had to go topless. The heat
was killing me.
To my relief, the seven hours eventually elapsed and here we were. First impressions of the oft considered capital of Bolivia were impressive. Because of all the mountains, the city gives the impression you are sitting in a large bowl filled with Houses and Bolivian people. At night time this effect is amplified as all the buildings are lit up around you going all the way up the mountains. La Paz is a fairly large city but easy to navigate as there is just one main road flowing through and everything stems off that. It also seems a mile a minute kind of place. Traffic gives the impression of refusing to stop for pedestrians, and pedestrians refuse to stop for cars. My fool proof method for survival is to find some fearless local who is already crossing and cower behind them. Works a treat.
Our time in La Paz began with Aaron unfortunately being struck down with a bit of an illness. Using our combined medical knowledge he was originally diagnosed with a virus, then acute altitude sickness. After that the situation was upgraded to be a gastric problem and then later declared to be
a nasty case of the rare ´Bolivian man-flu.´ I´m just relieved he is fit and well now because I was running out of conditions to diagnose him with. After a couple of uneventful days and nights in very questionable accomodation, we checked into the adventure brew hostel. Is that not the greatest name ever? It surely encompasses all the aspects one would be hoping for in a place of lodging. In my opinion at least. Didn´t dissapoint either, as they had their own brewery, mario kart, and all you can eat pancake breakfasts. They even had a quiz on while we were there which we won. Great stuff.
La Paz has a lot to offer and while Aaron was still feeling a little rough we decided to take it easy. We therefore kickied off with a quick stroll of the city centre and found our way the coca museum. We learnt everything there is to know about that little plant. Interesting stuff, but thats all there was to it. For lunch we headed to Olivers travels, a pub that describes itself as unashamedly gringo. I had bangers and mash, and have since taken down fish and chips and a
full english breakfast. What can I say, I´m very patriotic.
The day after began with the walking tour as recomended by lonely planet. First street, we shuffled past ski-mask clad shoe shine boys who hassled everyone who moved. Wear shoes in La Paz and you can guarantee they´ll look like mirrors, you just can´t evade these guys. After we crossed the main bridge to find it full of people observing the construction site below. Seriously, no idea why, but they loved it. Its just a construction site lads, why don´t you do something constructive like getting your shoes shined?
First building of interest on our walk was the san francisco church. We took the guided tour, observed the winery and admired the roof top views. Pressing on, we took the the street which blended into the market. I heard a fact (cant remember where from and not verified it...I may have dreamt it) that La Paz has the largest street market in South America. It is huge. Try and think of something they wouldn´t have here. Nope, you´re wrong, they have it and more.
We turned into a road that was called specifically the witches market. I
believe this has something to do with the products on sale not being available at your nearest Tesco express. Aside from potions and herbal remedies, this would be the place to come if you were after a dead armadillo or frog for example.
The market, the more normal part was indeed a fantastic place and rather useful at that. Most mornings I´ve kicked off the day with a delicious fruit smoothie (trying to fix that diet problem) and I´ve picked up a number of things. On saturday we went to a beach party and this place was a life saver for my outfit. I also stealthily made it to the market alone to pick up a few things for Aaron, what with it being his birthday on the 17th. As a result he is now the proud owner of a 3-pack of boxer shorts and a ´Jose Jose- the very best of´ CD. Top gifts for any occasion.
Our next hostel was called the ´wild rover,´ accomodation with a distinct Irish feel about the place. Unfortunately Aaron didn´t feel up to celebrating his birthday but the following day we had one or two. An enjoyable night it must
be said. We mingled with plenty of friendly faces. The following day was the aforementioned beach party. For those unsure of their geography there is no beach in or around La Paz. This was simply a chance for all involved to show off their best beach clothing. Again a good night, all though I only just managed to get in the club because of what I was wearing. I´m sorry, but if you advertise for a beach party, I´m going to dress for the beach. Fact.
That basically brings us up to speed. I´m off to Rurrenabaque (watch out for the next blog- Rurrenabaque attack!) tomorrow to hunt for a bit of wildlife. Then it will be back to La Paz, and perhaps a spot of cycling down a certain road in the city...
Regards
Advertisement
Tot: 0.076s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0415s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
GrandDad Peter
non-member comment
Memories
One of the things that struck me in La Paz was the little old women - at least they looked old! Walking down a central street - probably the one in your photos - I saw women who were no taller than my waist.