Blogs from Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 8

We did indeed survive the death train, a 19hr journey from the border to Santa Cruz. Its not actually dangerous... Named because it is so deathly boring! An adventure all the same... at every stop women and little children get onto the train and sell their wares, as well as full meals in plastic trays. The train has to stop quite often and hoot its horn because animals wonder onto the track! overall, its pretty damn uncomfortable. we decided that a journey on the death train is like riding a horse on a boat! not only are you bouncing about but you're swaying all over the place. Oh yes, and top speed is about 30mph! So anyway, we are now staying in a really great hostel called Jodanga. it has a pool and a really nice ... read more

Russ and I took a 16 hours bus ride from Sucre east to Santa Cruz, the largest city in Bolivia. I eat a nasty soup before getting on the bus that had a chiken foot in it, not a nice meaty leg or anything, but a straight up foot with like the taloons and everything. This combined with an incredibly bumby, stuffy smelly buss ride made me feel really sick and I puked twice durring the ride, and I was kinda sick for the next couple days, but all good now. Santa Cruz is super hot casue it is smack in the middle of jungle and this city definetly has a lot of money like Sucre and I see the same political signs calling for succesion. We found an amazing hostal here in the city by ... read more

Today at 4pm I am boarding on a bus to the Brazilian border and I feel a mixture of excitement and fear. It's the same feeling I had when I left Argentina for Bolivia. You travel in a country for a while, get to know it and to feel reasonably safe in it and you leave it for the unknown. And in this case there is the additional worry of not speaking the language. Still I am very happy to leave. My time in Bolivia has been at times wonderful and at times hard but I never got to love this country the way I loved Argentina. I never experienced the same happiness, the same peace, the same optimism. I don't know what Brazil has in store for me but it's time to find out.... read more

Dag 140. Etter frokost sjekket vi ut, og gikk alle sammen til bussterminalen for aa kjope bussbilletter til Sucre. Det var ingen av selskapene som hadde ledige billetter, saa vi provde aa kjope billetter til imorgen. Det viste seg aa ikke vaere mulig - i Santa Cruz (muligens i hele Bolivia..?) kan man kun kjope billetter for gjeldende dag. Vi fikk beskjed om aa komme tilbake imorgen tidlig kl. 07, for da aapnet de salgskontorene. Vi gikk tilbake til hostellet, sjekket inn igjen - og tok et deilig bad i bassenget. Flyet til Nicky og Guy var blitt kansellert, saa de kom ogsaa tilbake til hostellet. Vi ble full i flir, og sang Eagles' sang, Hotell California:”..you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...” Vi to gikk for aa spise lunsj ... read more

Dag 138. Lene har bursdag i dag - gratulerer med dagen! Kl. 9.30 ankom vi togstasjonen i Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz er Bolivias storste by, med nesten 1,5 mill innbyggere. Vi hadde ingen ide om hvor vi skulle gaa for aa faa utlevert baggasjen vaar, saa vi fulgte strommen av de andre togpassasjerene. Den siste vognen var fullastet med baggasje, og alt ble “kastet” ut paa perrongen. Jane tok med seg baggasjelappene, og trengte seg fram mot en av de som utleverte baggasjen. Hun pekte paa sekkene vaare, og fikk rask respons. Paa togstasjonen i Quijarro var det en kar som ga oss en “flyer” paa et hostell i Santa Crus. Jane hadde tidligere sett seg ut dette hostellet, saa valget ble enkelt. Vi tok drosje til Jodanga - The Backpackers Hostel (12 bolivianos - b.s), ... read more