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Published: January 2nd 2011
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So, after leaving Salta catching the overnight bus to the Bolivian border, leaving at midnight we arrived less than fresh at 6.00am after a couple of hours sleep. After waiting in line for 3 hours, finally we had our stamps and set off along with our friends from the hostel, and some guys we were chatting to in the queue, to the trainstation in order to buy our tickets for the town of Oruro, which is a 3 hour drive away from La Paz, our final destination for New Year´s Eve.
We were all keen to get to the station as soon as possible to ensure we had tickets for the train leaving that afternoon, as the train only runs 4 times a week!! Naturally! The train was our preferred option as opposed to the bus as we had heard that the roads in Bolivia are pretty much dirt tracks and wind through the Andes with sheer cliff drops! Not only that but the drivers like to pass the time with a beer or 12!! However, upon arrival we discovered that the train to Oruro was fully booked and the only tickets that were available were to Uyuni, which was
halfway. After deciding that halfway on the bus is better than the full way, we bought the last 6 tickets left for the train that afternoon. Although it was quite frustrating as one of the spanish speaking guys overheard the locals buying tickets for Oruro on the lower classes when they had told us it was sold out! We did tell the ticket office that we knew they were selling tickets but they refused to sell us any!
As none of us had eaten, we all made our way into the small town in order to visit the only cashpoint (crossing our fingers as we had heard this runs out of cash quite quickly!) and to hunt down some food. On the way James got hit by a deflating balloon that left a load of green stuff on his hands and trousers!! God knows what is was but luckily I had some wipes at hand, it´s safe to say that he was not impressed!! Our food was OK but not amazing and we had to wait over two hours to be served (whilst locals came in, ordered, ate and had left before we could even order) but for 7
meals plus beers the bill came to B$181 - which is about 18 quid! So cant complain too much!
The scenery along the journey was amazing, massive canyons and huge red rocks along with mountains that are different colours all over, plus a couple of rainbows!! We had heard that it may be possible to buy onward tickets from Uyuni once we arrived at the station and decided that as soon as we got off, James and Louise (one of the Irish girls we met in Salta) would take all the passports and money and try to get us some tickets whilst Maggie (Irish), Drew (Aussie) and I would get all of the bags. When we arrived at midnight the military operation started as we only had 15 minutes!
The ticket office was sold out, although one lady said she had two tickets to sell. After pleading with the conductor he managed to find us another two seats on the train, however this was not enough for all of us. After 20 minutes we still did not have our tickets, all the passengers and bags were on the train and we were the only ones left on the
platform, looking quite sorry for ourselves as we were already sleep deprived and had nowhere to stay for the night. James decided to follow the conductor one last time to see if he would let us sit in the restaurant carriage and success!! The conductor found us five seats on the first carriage (the bargain bucket option) - he shouted us over so we all grabbed our backpacks and ran down the platform to jump on the train, with the locals staring at us like we were nutters and wondering why on earth their tain had been held up for so long!!
The overnight 9 hour journey was awful. The carriage was very cramped and as it was the first carriage so the fumes from the diesel engine seeped though which smelt awful and made everyone feel queasy. There was also a Bolivian guy who was sleeping on the floor next to my chair and was the loudest snorer I have ever heard!! I could hear it through my iPod it was that loud! Needless to say none of us got any sleep for the second night in a row!
Upon arrival in Oruro we were so pleased
to be getting off the train and excited that it was only a 3 hour journey to La Paz where we could check into our hostels, have a shower, eat and sleep!! After enquiring at several bus companies and mini-buses, it seemed nobody was going to La Paz which was strange, it being the capital city and all. We continued asking around until it became clear there were no buses due to the national protest against the government´s timely decision to remove fuel price supplements, resulting in a 70% increase in the price of petrol! No buses could get though as the protestors had blocked the roads. We were told that this could last at least 24 hours, but to wait as the situation might change. After speaking with other travellers we discovered that some private mini-vans were making the trip for about B$600 (60 quid), so we had high hopes that we might make it for the New Year!
The whole time we were in Oruro, we could hear loud explosions but figured that there might be building works nearby. At one point when we were waiting a couple of TV crews came along and tried to interview
us, giving up after realising we had about 10 words between us. 10 minutes later, James was speaking to a taxi driver who ran off mid-conversation, suddenly everyone was going to their cars and buses were rapidly reversing back to the bus station. Then we heard a massive bang and then lots of shouting and saw about 1000 protesters marching and shouting, throwing rocks and fireworks heading to the main square - where we were sat!! The locals started running away, shop shutters were slammed down, so we grabbed our backpacks and pegged it with them!! This would be the second time that day that we would be running with the backpacks on!!
We waited in a quiet side-street for a couple of hours and then managed to find ourselves a mini-bus to La Paz. The journey took about 4 hours as we had to go off-road (in a Toyota Previa!) in order to avoid the many blockades along the route, until the driver dropped us at the main blockade, 15 miles away from La Paz. He could not drive through as the protestors would have wrecked his car, later we had seen news footage of protestors pulling scabs
(drivers who worked during the protest) from their vehicles and whipping their legs. In short, we had to get about 4 taxis from this point, passing several checkpoints, until we were FINALLY at our hostel!! After 48 hours of mayhem, no sleep and one meal!! But we made it for the New Year and now feel like proper travellers!!
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