Injury free days = 0

It is often said that half of the adventure of Bolivia is getting from place to place.

We had already spent 20 hours on the atmospheric death train and after a bit of R&R in Santa Cruz (place of good food and cable television) we decided to head of to Samaipata for a little bit of adventure.

In this way we encountered the "death taxi" in the sense of ohmygodIamgoingtodie and whyisthistaxidrivertryingtokillme. I sat in the front seat. The speedometer was on the passanger side instead of over the steering wheel so unlike the driver I could see what speed he was going at. And let me tell you the speed never dropped below 60kmh even on death bends around the mountain. It seems as if the honker is a substitute for slowing down around corners. And there were many times when I forgot whether Bolivians drive on the left or the right side of the road. Evana, in the meantime, was stuck in the back with two rotund Bolivian woman and their screaming child. Luckily the journey was only 2hrs.

Samaipata is the home of many ex-europeans so there is lots of yummy food around. It is also the basis for hiking, 4 wheel driving and horseriding. We decided to spend a few hours horseriding. The first hour and a half was very tranquil as we followed a little used road into the hills. Then things went a little pear shaped as our young guide took us off road. We should have known we were in for a rough ride as Evana´s horse was very reluctant to follow. In fact it actually turned around and started trotting back the way we had come. The next hour was a terrifying walk along cliff faces, down steep paths and through dense scrub. I asked Evana whether horses are known for their sure footedness and she promptly informed me it was not unusual for them to roll over and crush a man.

To our relief we managed to reach safe ground again unscathed which is of course when Evana´s horse got spooked by a wee bird, reared and Evana fell off. Luckily she wasn´t injured (except for a small burn on her elbow). And she even managed to protect the camera and her sunglasses. For the next 24 hours I kept a careful watch on her asking her many questions about her identity, where she was and who was the president of Bolivia. I am happy to report she didn´t receive a concussion. The jury is still out as to whether there is any long term damage to her brain (these things are hard to tell)

Did you know what is the Bolivian equivalent of Macchu Piccu? According to the German Hostelier El Fuete is set to be the next big thing in Incan Sites. We thought it would be a good idea to see a place before it becomes overly commercial. So we flag a taxi down with set price to take us up the mountain (the area is know as the elbow as it has 3 ecological systems all meeting here). So we take another deathly ride up the mountain side in sweltering heat. Then are pointed out a small hike (up the mountain side) to see the sight. Lets just say they have a hell of a lot of digging and remodelling to do before it enters the big leagues. Still I will say this they did manage to build some great look out points over the sight. Its just a bugger to locate a sign post to find out where to go or even the exit. We followed some psycho look-a-like into some preistly quaters and then decided enough was enough - time to go. So as we couldn´t find the exit down the mountain side we go.

And finally, the death night bus ride. We didn´t realise that there was a fiesta in Sucre so we were unable to get a seat on the fully reclining bus. However we did manage to get a seat on the semi-reclining bus - which was better than some other travellers that we met who got to ride in the luggage hold. I managed to score a seat in front of the only obese bolivian in the country (they seem to be mostly short and stocky) so I couldn´t recline. There were people in the aisles so I couldn´t stretch my feet and Bolivian school kids in the back who wouldn´t be quiet. I did manage a few hours sleep after our last toilet stop at 1:30 until we were woken up by the border police at 6. Evana of course, managed to sleep the entire time - she does have special sleeping powers.

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