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Published: July 15th 2013
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We enjoyed a further day all together in Bugan Villas sitting by the pool, playing tennis, watching tennis eating and drinking. As Thursday night came there was a sense that it was time to get back home. We had a lot ahead of us. The biggest of these being packing up all our home and shipping it all out through Chile, via Panama hopefully to be reunited in Birmingham. This tour of the South of Bolivia had been a welcome distraction from all the packing up and leaving Bolivia we've been doing both emotionally and physically. Now it was time to get on with it and get it all done.
The breakfast at Bugan Villas is huge, so we stocked up well for the journey ahead and climbed aboard. I'd filled up the night before and Andrea took the wheel for the first 2 hours. The journey across the big flat lowlands was uneventful. I was conscious that this would be the last time I'd make this journey and tried to drink in the huge rivers, little tiny villages and not get wound up by the ever unhelpful Bolivian officials at the always increasing amounts of tolls. We changed over
somewhere around Bulo Bulo and were aiming for lunch in a restaurant we know.
Villa Tunari is a popular weekend retreat for Cochabambinos. It's close enough that you can get there and back in a couple of days and is completely different to the city. It's tropical and one of the Coca growing capitals of Bolivia. The huge rivers and jungle give a very different feel to the high valley we live in. Even though it's winter it can still get to 30 degrees with high humidity.
The last leg before we got to Villa seemed to take for ever. Nady was getting restless but we pushed on. The big food in Villa Tunari is Catfish (Surubi). They haul them out of the tropical rivers at anything up to 85Kg. All the traditional Bolivian meals are available but done with Surubi. I had to smile as I ordered Sweet and Sour Surubi, Joe a large Pique de Surubi (usually a delicious mound of diced steak with tomato, onion, egg and chips...this time replace the meat with Surubi) and Ben Chicharon de Surubi (usually fried chicken of pork). As usual we ordered too much and as usual said we
need to remember next time to order half as much. All washed down with some delicious fresh pineapple juice and lemonade.
After one last look at the stunning view across the Rio Espirito Santo (Hold Spirit River) Andrea took her turn but there was one important stop before the climb up from near sea level to 14000ft. There's a little market where ladies sell all sorts of tropical fruit, including tiny little bananas on brances cut straight off the banana tree. Lots of lorry drivers pull in throw the bananas up onto their roof rack. Having now fitted a roof rack it would have seemed rude not to aprovechar. So I paid the £1.50 and threw the bananas on the roof. (I'm writing this a week after we got back and we've just finished them...very sweet). At the top we pulled over to stretch our legs, fill up with petrol from the can on the roof. Then the drop down into Cochabamba that sits at 8500ft above sea level.
We arrived home just after dark, tired but satisfied from our final tour of Bolivia. We've all come to enjoy travelling together but all agreed we've had our fill
of long journeys for now.
Now onto packing up, selling the Xterra, finalising the hand over of Tunari Treasures and lots of goodbyes.
Thanks for following our travels. It's been emotional!
Gray
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