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Published: August 22nd 2008
Casa de la Libertad, Sucre
A procession for Independance Day, or The Referendum?So, I left you all on Sunday 03rd August, chilling on our sun terrace.
Well, that night we spoke to an Irish girl who was WELL panicking about the upcoming elections. She had spoken to several locals who all advised her to leave Bolivia at the earliest chance. She had looked at allsorts of websites that all spoke of upcoming doom and violence in all major cities in Bolivia. She went to a travel agency who charged her a fortune for flight tickets (because obviously, all the foreigners are trying to get out of Bolivia), the next available flight is for Tuesday 05th - no problem, as the Referendum is set for Sunday 10th. Phew, she's going to make it!
I personally think she's been "had" but only time will tell. We proceeded with caution however!
Monday 04th August Went to bus station to enquire about tickets to Rurrenabaque. The first office we spoke to, we asked about the roadblocks. "No problem to Rurrenbaque" she says. Her mate starts laughing in the background! We didn't believe her so we went to the actual Tourist Information, rather than ask somebody who clearly only wants to sell us a ticket! The Tourist
Guard at Casa de la Libertad
Wouldn't want to meet him down a dark alley would you? Office say, "No roadblocks to Rurrenebaque. No way!" So we ask, "What about to La Paz?" again, "No, no problem with roadblocks to La Paz either." Plus, they give you that look as if to say,
"Roadblocks? What are you on about????" So we decide to test her, "What about the road to Potosi then?" Here goes........"No. Never had any problems on the road to Potosi. We don't have any problems with roadblocks!" Ha! BUSTED - "So, what about the roadblock we were caught up in on Saturday then? Did we imagine it, or were we kicked off our bus about 10km from town?" Unfortunately, she couldn't answer. We therefore don't believe her either!
We want to leave here on Thursday but it's not possible to buy tickets in advance. We just have to come back on Thrsday morning.
Had a fondue for tea. Not what I expected. It was a mini deep-fat-frier that we dipped our own cheese/meat/spuds etc. in. It was nice though, and only 70Bs (5 quid) for the two of us!
Tuesday 05th August Went to see the 16th Century Cathedral and the Casa de la Libertad -where the Bolivian Declaration of Independance was signed
Aimee looking beautiful!
The Cathedral Clocktower in Sucre on 06th August 1825 - hang on a minute.......06th August? That's tomorrow! And if the declaration was signed here, in Sucre, then there must be a MASSIVE party tomorrow night! It's INDEPENDANCE DAY!!!! Bought "The Biggest Pineapple in the World" from Sucre's Market. It's a huge place and there are loads of stalls selling the same stuff. We played them off against each other and got the aforementioned pineapple for 8Bs.!
Wednesday 06th August - Independance Day.
Decided to take it easy this morning. It's gonna be a late night! We could hear the marching bands, processions, and (daytime) fireworks - they started at 0700!
Spent the day in the sun then went out for tea and festivities.
Oh My God!! Talk about a ghost town! Maybe it's just a bit early. Had some tea. STILL a ghost town. It turns out they don't really celebrate it here at all. Either that or everybody is staying indoors so as to stay away from any potential "riots."
Thursday 07th August Looked around more sights. Saw a monument to Simon Bolivar and the train station. Outside the train station was some sort of military parade in front of some "important
How high are their legs?
Dignitaries in the background dignitaries" - don't know who though! The soldiers march like "Germans"
(is it John Cleese and the ministry of funny walks?) I wanted to shout out "Don't mention ze var" but I daren't! Went through the Park and saw the Supreme Court. Found out that Bolivia has two Capital Cities - La Paz (the Governmental Capital) and Sucre (the Judicial Capital). Saw several of Sucre's churches then spent the afternoon in the sun. Had a hair cut - finally!
We've decided to stay in Sucre for a while longer. It's nice weather, and we don't think we'll miss much by not going to Cochabamba. Plus with the potential roadblocks it's not worth the hastle!
Friday 08th August Typical. We decide to stay because of the weather, so what do you suppose happened? Rain all night long. Today is grey and dull! Walked up to Museo de la Recoleta e Iglesia, Plaza Pedro Anzures and the Mirador. Had to rush back because I needed a poo (haven't been for a few days).
Bought a bottle of
Singani for tonight. It's a 40%!s(MISSING)pirit made from distilled grape skins.
Saturday 09th August - Monday 11th August Bummed around Sucre. Sorted
The biggest pineapple in the world!
How much fun can you have with a pineapple? out my Dream Team and Premiership Fantasy Footie team. Chatted with a guy from New York who is camping a lot and is self sufficent (more or less). He's been to some pretty remote places! It would have been nice to do that kind of thing, but must be hard work. Plus you have to carry EVERYTHING!
Sunday 10th August Referendum today. All quiet. Just a normal Sunday!
Went out for tea. They didn't have anything that we wanted from the menu. We asked for a bottle of local (cheap) beer from the menu, "Oh, sorry. Despite what the menu says we only serve imported (expensive) beers." What about a bottle of house red then? "Sorry Mr. (rich) Gringo-man, we don't serve cheap stuff, you'll have to have the expensive tackle!" OK. How about the (cheap) pasta? "Oh, we're all out I'm afraid. There's only the lobster available today!" Eventually we walked out! Got "Chicken a-la-carrier-bag" instead.
(To explain - there is a fab place around the corner from the Hostel that sells spit roast chickens. They do roast spuds, rice, pasta, salad and stuff as well. We've been getting it almost every night. They don't do take away
Chicken a la Carrier Bag
Mmmmm. Tasty. And Hygenic! containers though. They just put it in a bag. We don't have cutlery/crockery so we have to eat with our hands direct from the bags - correction - I have just robbed some cutlery so we now spread the bags over our table and eat it in a civilsed manner).
Monday 11th August Bought tickets for La Paz. 80Bs which was 10Bs more than the others. We have been promised an onboard toilet though. Plus, at 12 hours and 4 comfort stops as well, it's definately the best option!
Had an almuerzo (set lunch). It's "Falso Conejo" which means false rabbit. I've read somewhere what this actually is but I can't remember! As we had lunch out, Budget Monster (Aimee) has said it's a sandwich for tea. I was hungry though so had a burger and chips (6Bs) for a starter, and sent out for a pizza later (6Bs)
Tuesday 12th August Up, packed and out by 1200. Hostel only charged us for eight nights (640Bs) instead of ten. Bonus! That's a saving of 160Bs. Had Saice for lunch (a local, spicy meat broth). Not sure what the "meat" was though - again!
Had a coffee to fill
time - actually I had a dried-fruit-tea. It was like muesli with hot water in it.
The bus left on time (1900), but then reality kicked in! The toilet is "Kaput" and therefore locked (Is "Kaput" the same in EVERY language in all the world?). The four comfort stops ended up being one comfort stop, 7 hours into the journey. The boys toilet was simply a row of un-screened urinals bolted to a wall - next to the queue for the ladies loo! Lucky I'm not shy! (if you're reading ladies, remember - it was sub-zero temperatures). Then, to cap it all, I can't sleep! I'm usually the first one to start knocking the zzz's out when I get on a bus!
Wednesday 13th August 0650 and approaching La Paz. The bus windows are steamed up from stale breath and bad ass! The road into La paz runs parallel to a valley which drops away from you. La Paz itself clings to the side of this valley, then up the other side. All this is overlooked by a snow-capped mountain (Mt. Illamani 6402m).
Checked out a couple of hostels near the bus terminal. We're only stopping one night so
Look, No Hands!
Happy Hour in Rurrenabaque somewhere cheap will do. Sadly, our choices seem to be suffering from "Lonely Planet-itis" which means that as soon as they get their names in Lonely Planet they hike their prices tenfold! The first one wanted 72Bs EACH for an eight bed dorm! LAUGH? I thought my pants would never dry!!!! The next wanted 140Bs for a double! We ended up scrapping Lonely Planet and going for the Hostel on the same road as these two (in fact, directly between them). They wanted a more reasonable 45Bs for the two of us! No contest!
Had a look round La Paz. Got hopelessly lost - many times! The streets are narrow and un-signposted! Looked around Black Market (which was crap) and the Witches Market (equally crap) which sold Llama fetuses! Apparently you bury one under your house and recieve good luck! Not sure how to farm Llama fetus! Do you think you have to slaughter the llama to get the fetus out in one piece?
Enquired about the Downhill Bike Ride, "The Worlds Most Dangerous Road." It's 600Bs for a one day trip. That's less than 50 quid so technically not bad. However, when you consider the 3 day salt flat
trip was the same, and we're paying 45Bs for two people in a double room per night - that's a ridiculous price! I want to do it, but not that badly!
Booked tickets for Rurrenabaque tomorrow. It's 60Bs each, 18 hours with eight "pee stops."
Thursday 14th August Went to catch the bus. Hang on a minute! Thats not the bus you showed us on the picture!! That's a bus from the 1920s!! Complained (I'm a true Brit) and got a whole 8Bs off, so now it's only cost us 56Bs each! We have front seats, which are directly above the engine. And I mean directly! There is a hole in the floor which has a rubber mat on top of it. The rubber mat is all that there is between my trainer sole and the engine! Within the first hour the two "assistant driver people" (you have to employ as many people as you can in Bolivia) have poured 14 litres of water into a tank built into the dash to cool the engine down! My trainer sole has started to melt. Ah well, only 17 hours to go! Then, the bus reaches the top of the hill..............and
stops. Is this the first pee stop?
No! Have we broken down?
No! So what is it then?
It's the World's Most Dangerous Road! So that's why the driver and his two "colleagues" have got out of the bus and are praying, sprinkling Holy Water and making "signs of the cross." Oh, theres some Holy Water left. Wonder what that's for? They're getting back in the cab and....they're
drinking it? Is that legal? Then I remembered reading about a bus journey from Coroico to Rurrenebaque, "If the buses have made it down the World's Most Dangerous Road......." and where are we now? Between La Paz and Rurrenebaque - so we must be going via Coroico then? I'd have rung home if I knew - to say goodbye!!!
Turns out it's all a load of hype anyway! It's the World's Most Dangerous Road because it has 100 deaths annually (that's only two buses). It is described as
"narrow, (3.2m wide) with precipitous cliffs of over 600m. It's 64km long and has a vertical drop of 3600m." Mostly it is fine. It should be called Bolivias Most Well Maintained Road! It is wider than a standard 30mph road in the UK (ie
I predict a riot!
Plaza Murillo, La Paz you could easily get three buses side by side down it), it has very smooth tarmac (bear in mind most road in Bolivia are dirt tracks), it has white lines, crash barriers and even - cat's eyes!! I think that must be why there are so many fatalities! People think they can drive faster than 20mph because its so safe looking! Now I'm really glad I didn't waste two weeks worth of accommodation money on cycling down it! In fairness though, the bottom quarter or so is as described. I think Aimee let a little bit of wee slip out at one point!
The remaining 14 hours or so were like driving up/down a dry river bed. Very dusty, very bumpy! I noticed the one driver did the full 18 hours though! (Not sure what the other two were there for!)
Friday 15th August Arrived Rurrenebaque at 0530. Waited half an hour for bags to be unloaded. Found a Hostel. 70Bs for a double with shared bathroom and breakfast.
Checked out Rurre. Put washing in (collect at 7pm) and booked a trip to the Pampas (a 3 day trip in a motorised canoe up the river, piraña fishing, pink
dolphin swimming, sunrises/sunsets, caiman/alligators, anacondas/monkeys etc. etc.) Asked to come back at 7pm to confirm and meet the other people in our group.
1900 went to laundry - closed! Went to tour office - trip cancelled, not enough interest! Why not tell us this at lunchtime and we could have booked with another company that DID have enough interest??? Still, we can collect our laundry in the morning and book a trip for Sunday. But, no! There is a strike on Tuesday so if we go on Sunday, the third day would be Tuesday and so we wouldn't be able to get back. We can go on Monday though if we like? Er, we'll think about it.
Went out for a meal. Had freshly caught Surubi (Catfish)!!
Saturday 16th August Went to see if another company can take us on a Pampas trip tomorrow (Sunday). No problem we're told. "What about Tuesday?" we ask. "Why, what's happening on Tuesday?" asks Mr. Tour Operator! We explain and he pretends he knows nothing about it. "I'll tell you what," he says "Meet me at 1430 and I'll let you know." Laundry still closed, but there is a sign on the door
- in Spanish! We take it to the shop next door to ask if they know what it means. It meant "Go to the shop next door" - so that worked out OK! We had already decided we weren't going to pay for it as it sould have been ready last night, so this made it even better. We didn't have to tell her face to face! We checked the clothes and some of Aimee's had been damaged! No wonder she didn't want to see us! We walked off with the clothes, without paying. The "man of the house" at the shop did a bit of shouting but we weren't playing at that! We just said we'd sort it out with her later. She never came back. We checked more or less hourly for the remainder of the day!
Went back to book the tour at 1430 and guess what! We were right! There
is a strike on Tuesday so we would indeed be stranded!
Decided to cut our losses and head back to La Paz tomorrow. the trips sound worse than we expected anyway. We spoke to a couple of disappointed people that said there was too much relaxing
Cow's Head anyone?
Could this be what we get in our "Anonymous Meat" Soup? time and getting drunk round fires and stuff! They hardly saw any wildlife!
Bought tickets for tomorrow. 60Bs each. Lady at the bus station tried to short change me. Twice! I'm English, love, not stupid!!
Went for a couple of drinks at Happy Hour.
Sunday 17th August Long journey today so went for breakfast. Aimee got a full English . I opted for a full Bolivian! Aimee's was laughable! It cost 20Bs and consisted of coffee and juice, bread and marmalade, one egg and one slice of boiled ham! Mine was half the price (10Bs) and I got salad, rice, "meat" (quite like chicken), peppers and onions fried. It was great! They obviously charge double for the full English just to con the tourists out of money. Bus was due to leave at 1100. Left at 1110 which isn't bad. But then it pulls up, half a block away, and spends the next half hour bundling on "extras" and "cash in hand" people. I'm sure the bus drivers pocket the cash themselves. So, 1145 and we're on our way!
Two punctures, heavy rain, mud-slides and the Worlds Most Dangerous Road, mean that 22 hours later we arrive in La
Isla del Sol
Birthplace of the Sun (Incan Mythology) Paz!
Monday 18th August Saw the remaining sights of La Paz. El Obelisco, The Anonymous War Hero, Parque Raul Salmon de la Barra and the Plaza Murillo which has the Palacio Legalslativo and the Palacio Presidencial.
Tuesday 19th August Travelled to Copacabana. 15Bs each. Not far out of La Paz and we meet Lake Titicaca. We follow the shore for a while before the driver boots us out. Turns out we have to catch a small boat across the water! It's no problem, just that nobody told us anything about it - not even Lonely Planet!! Its very dry grassland and hills with snowy mountains in the distance (and the lake as well obviously). It's very pretty. Arrived in Copacabana and found a Hostel 40Bs for a double with shared facilities. Went to see the Cathedral and the Capilla de Velas (Candle Chapel) - "thousands of candles illuminate an arched sepulchre and wax graffiti cakes the walls."
Went out for tea. Freshly caught, and steamed trucha (trout).
Wednesday 20th August Lake Titicaca: 3820m above sea level. Allegedly the worlds highest navigable lake (though Peru and Chile both claim one of those as well).
It is 230km long
and 97km wide, South Americas biggest lake.
Isla del Sol: the legendary Inca creation site, and birthplace of the Sun in Inca Mythology. The white, bearded god Viracocha and the first Incas, Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Huaca (sister-wife? I thought they only did that in Scotland?) made their mystical appearances.
1030 Caught the ferry to Isla del Sol. Took about 2 hours. Met our guide (who only spoke Spanish) and followed him for about 45 mins to see some of the Inca sites. Not sure what he said though! Something to do with 5000 years ago! We saw various ruins/gateways and a big rock with Viracocha's face in it. There was a stone table that used to be used for sacrifices, but is now used as a souvenir stall! Followd the footpath that runs the full length of Isal del Sol, more or less following the ridgeline (just over 4000m above sea level). The coastal views remind me of Ibiza. Not San Antonio. Proper Ibiza! Dry, rocky, and extremely clear waters. When we gothigher we had lovely views of the lake, Bolivia and Peru. A couple of times along the path some cheeky locals had set up check-points and were charging the tourists to continue through their village. Obviously we were unwilling to pay extra so we just barged past. It saved us around 40Bs by boycotting them! Caught the ferry back at 1600 and managed to catch the sunset from Copacabana harbour.
Thursday 21st August Changed our last bit of English money to Bolivianos (there's no ATM here and we don't want to break into a $100 cheque as we're leaving for Peru soon). 5 quid gave us 55Bs. Not a good rate at all, but necessary! Bus to Puno, Peru cost 25Bs each. No problems with immigration. The bus waits for you to complete formalities etc. Three hours later we arrive in Puno. Found a Hostel for 40 Nuevo Soles (6.90 quid) with private bathroom and breakfast included. There are a lot more street sellers here than Bolivia - shoe shine boys etc. and they are unwilling to take "no" for an answer. You have to be quite rude, which I enjoy! The locals seem to wear very similar clothes to Bolivians (layered skirts, bowler hats, long plaited pig-tails).
Had a meal out, then hit the hay! We've lost another hour. It's now six hours behind the UK.
And thats us! Doing the sights of Puno today then off to Cusco tomorrow.
Hope you're not missing me too much. I'm having loads of fun, despite moans and problems we come across. That's all part of travelling isn't it? I'm eating allsorts of random things I can't spell from street vendors, and seeing much more than is possible to write on the blog!
Hope you are all well. The mobile phones still don't work here, but you can e-mail me on stephen.henaghan@yahoo.co.uk or I'm on facebook.com.
Aimee's completed her blog too (www.mytb.org/amazing-aimee) but for some reason it hasn't been saved! She'll re-wite it and upload it some other time!
Well, speak soon(ish). I look forward to it!
Stephen.
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tommy
non-member comment
How do!
How day do day, would like a personal email sometime! You must have driven the new road on the trip to lake titi cause fro what i can remember it was fucking scary mountain biking down that road. Did you try the bolivian version of a cornish pastie they are great! Would love to have a personal email buddy, I might be able to give u some tips!!!!!!! Glad you having a fucking brill time! SA FUCKING RULES!!!!!!!!!