We SURVIVED Bolivia...barely

So, after4 days with 7 people packed into a jeep over the plains of Bolivia..we are back in the civilization of Chile.

Bolivia had amazing landscape, but the book was not kidding when they described it as barren and frigid. We don´t mean to undermine the hardcore backpackers, but we tried it, and we are just not that hardcore. Picture the extreme simple life: paris and nicole meet bolivia.

Oh....where to start

1. Vehicle... a 1978 toyota SUV. 7 people crammed into it, plus the driver. The smells and the amount of dirt felt like i was driving in the grain truck on the farm without a windshield. In four days we had 3 flat tires, one tire that got blown up with a bicycle pump, 4 new spark plugs, 30 stops to wash the windshield (no wipers), and the occasional roll down the hill to get the truck started again. Thank goodness we had a good driver, who was also a stand up mechanic....(even though we couldn´t understand a word he said, jolene described him as brad pitt in snatch spanish style) and we spent all day, every day in this thing, we put in a solid 7 hours of bouncing and sliding around every day. i am never going to pay for a motion simulation ride ever again.

2. roads....not much to say here, there were no roads. If we were not plowing through sand, rock, or mud, we were almost floating down the river or sliding over a cliff. Most of the actual roads were no better than the dirt road we used to take from our farm to Uncle Henrys house.

3. accomodation... again, not much to say here. we spent 3 horrible nights in freezing cold mud huts with 7 blanket and everything we owned on..even touques. Getting ready in the morning without any light (but candles) was super fun. And you guessed it, no toilets, and definately no showers.

4. altitude sickness...yup we got it, jolene worse than me. the first night we slept at 4200 meters...which we have been told is pretty high. we both felt like a vice was gripping our heads, dizziness, nauseousness, lightheadedness and jolene spent most of the first night puking in the lovely bathroom accomodations we had. it was really hard to breath, you would walk up 4 flights of stairs and have a head rush. and of course, after using the o´natural bathroom accomodations behind the jeep, you usually had to sit down before you would pass out.

5. food...well, the one thing we can´t complain about is being bloated. you could guarantee to be served rice, potatoes, random meat, cocoa leaves, and hot water at every meal, but that was about it. we actually got fed soda crackers today before the 6 hour drive home.

6. landscape...the reason it was all worth it. bolivia has the most amazing terrain i have ever seen. every 5 kilometers it felt you were in a new part of the world. when we get the pictures on here,you will understand what we mean. i have never been so glad to be from Canada, as i am right now. And I know know where all the blankets and clothing get sent to. These people really do live in mud huts in the middle of no where...no roads, no streets, no phone, no electricity, no running water. Besides cocoa farms and alpacas, we didn´t even see any other form of farming or natural resources. It really is amazing.


so overall, we are now showered, fed, and on the internet....aaahhhh we are leaving on a bus tonight for Peru!!


so glad to be back in civilization,
tenielle and jolene

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