Bolivia....Reflections

Vanessa the sexy Cowgirl

We don’t do horses but in Tupiza, after ordering two 12 inchers topped with pepperoni and onions, the thing to do is swing your leg over a horse and ride off into the sunset.

Tupiza is the Wild West of Bolivia and reputedly its where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their demise. The small town is surrounded by brillantly coloured rock formations so we decided to take a three hour horse trek through a canyon along a dry river bed. Luckily our horses were ‘automatic’ even though Vanessa’s ‘grey’ had a couple of frisky moments. It was another fantastic experience in stunning scenery and again we were fortunate to have lovely warm sunshine. It was the perfect finale to our time in Bolivia.

After a slow, cold and difficult start to our month here, we’ve had an incredible finish, particularly with Vanessa’s mum and Gary joining us for the jaw dropping three day tour of Uyuni’s salt lake and surrounding deserts.

We won’t miss the cold, the altitude, the tepid food or some of the incredibly bad service particularly by the women who’s looks could kill if you dare walk inside their shop or restaurant  to give them any business, but the last week will definitely be a highlight of our whole nine month trip.

 

DAYS SPENT:  30

TRANSPORT:  6 buses, 3 boats, 8 taxis, 2 planes, 1 4WD, 1 horse

NUMBER OF PLACES WE STAYED:  13 (5 hotels, 5 hostels, 1 homestay, 1 backpackers, 1 dormitory)

ITEMS LOST/BROKEN:  none

FAVOURITE EATERY:  Juliano’s in Rurrenabaque

WILDLIFE SPOTTED: llamas, alpacas, vicunas, toucan, sloth, caiman, pink river dolphins, eagles, turtles, storks, howler monkeys, one rare red howler monkey who fell out the tree as soon as he saw us, squirrell monkeys, capaccino monkeys, parrakeets, macaws, flamingos

TOURS TAKEN: 3 Day Pampas Tour  of the Amazon Basin in Rurrenabaque, 3 day tour of Uyuni Salt Lake and Deserts, Horse Trekking in Tupiza

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY:  £9 for a three hour horse trek through a stunning canyon in Tupiza

Uyuni Images

Vanessa and her mum on the salt flats

Striking cactus over the desert plain

Flamingos feeding on Red Lake

Stopping for more photos of the stunning scenery

The brilliantly coloured snow capped mountains

Vanessa at Lake Verde

Stone Tree in the desert

Gary and Paul at the train cemetary

Reflections on the salt lake

Valley of the Rocks

Vanessa and her mum

Paul at Lake Verde

Uyuni in Jeopardy

The excitement continued to build as did the stress levels as we eagerly awaited the arrival of Vanessa's mum and Gary in Bolivia. Our carefully planned three day tour of the Uyuni salt flats was beginning to look in jeopardy as the heavy rain continued, threatening their flight  and preventing even the 4WD's venturing out, plus the National Park was closed due to a strike over the amount of money going to the indigenous people.

Driving across the amazing salt lake

We arrived first in Uyuni after a hellish four hour bus trip on which I managed to accidently kick a baby in the head that had bizarrely been allowed to crawl around the disgusting floor. The bus dropped us in what looked like a flooded war zone and things deteriorated further when we realised our hotel was up Avenida Arce and Vanessa came down with another dose of the screaming unmentionables.

Leaving Vanessa close to the toilet,  I ventured out in the hope of finding some positive news. The first tour agency confirmed that the National Park was indeed closed, cutting out a large area but the tours were leaving on schedule as the weather was due to improve and they were correct. Vanessa's mum and Gary's flight arrived next day in beautiful sunshine and we were immediately treated to a luxury hotel for a couple of nights as well as receiving essential gifts and Marmite from home.

We successfully managed to book a private tour for the four of us, the sun shone, Vanessa felt better and slowly we were beginning to think that luck was on our side. We packed ourselves into the 4WD with our driver/guide/cook Augustin from Quechua Connections, and drove off into the unknown.

Gary putting his foot down

The rain had completely disappeared and the sun shone for the majority of the three days as the most jaw dropping scenery unfolded in front of us. All of our camera batteries were running out as we crossed the world's largest salt flats with its incredible reflections, surreal treeless landscapes, aquamarine lakes, red lakes with thousands of flamingos, dramatic volcanoes, colourful snow capped mountains, thermal pools and all under impossibly blue skies. It was endless. Even the National Park opened so we were able to witness every incredible sight.

It was a shock on the first night when I was asked to drive us all down to watch the sunset over the salt flats whilst Augustin cooked our dinner. There was a huge sigh of relief when we returned safely after negotiating a few feet of water. The accommodation was basic with no heating or showers and toilet facilities that were best avoided. Hilariously we shared a dormitory on the second night which was met with fits of childish giggling, copious amounts of expelled gas and some top rate snoring which was not the best preparation for our 4am start to see the smoking geysers at sunrise at a freezing altitude of more than 5000 metres.

We returned to Uyuni exhausted but we realised just how lucky we'd been, and to experience it together was truly memorable. Fantastic company, a great laugh and surely one of the world's greatest trips. Our final day together was spent sat in the continuing warm sunshine, drinking beer and reflecting on what we'd seen.

Understandably there were tears at the airport as we hugged eachother and said our sad goodbyes. Even Vanessa and her mum couldn't contain themselves at the sight of us two blubbering idiots. As they flew back to La Paz and checked into their lovely hotel, life for us returned to normal as we boarded a Bolivian night bus which no human being should have to endure. Eight hours of unpaved road later we arrived in the small southern town of Tupiza at 4am with our bones still shaking, but safe.

 

 

 

As Sweet As Sucre

The city of Sucre, Bolivia

The taste of mosquitos was replaced with the taste of relief as we boarded our Amaszonas flight from Rurrenabaque to the sweet sounding city of Sucre, south of La Paz in Bolivia. Its our base for four days and a comfortable place to stroll around with its whitewashed colonial buildings, colourful squares, numerous cafes and most importantly a launderette after our sweaty Amazonian experience.

A three hour bus ride west from Sucre took us to our next destination, Potosi, the highest city in the world at 4070m. Its also famous for its massive silver mine which incredibly is the size of New York. So rich was Potosi that it was the wealthiest city in South America and underpinned the Spanish economy for more than 200 years.

Street vendor in Sucre

The mine is now depleted of silver but thousands of miners continue to work there in horrific conditions and for very little pay.  For some bizarre reason, the chance of a four hour tour into the mine has become a bit of a tourist 'must do' but we just don't understand it. Temperatures undergound range from below freezing to 45C and there's a high risk of explosions, but undeterred, many tourists literally sign there lives away for a chance to see the conditions that these men work in. No thanks.

Potosi is just a stopping off point for us on the way to Uyuni with its spectacular scenery, but most importantly its where we meet Vanessa's mum and Gary who've made an incredibly long and difficult journey to come out and see us. Its perfect as its exactly half way through our trip and its a chance to do a three day/two night tour together in what should be an incredible but very cold place.  Vanessa can hardly contain her excitement, mainly because there's a big jar of Marmite heading her way.

 

Rurrenabaque and Back

Before we left La Paz we had just enough time to go to the Witches Market as we were running a bit low on llama fetuses, and also to visit the Coca Museum to discover everything you could possibly want to know about cocaine if you didn't already know, like us.

We've been at altitude now for three weeks and luckily haven't suffered any sickness but the lungs seem to take forever to acclimatise. This was never more evident than last night when we were climbing one of the city's very steep streets and the local lady in front, who was pushing a fully laden wheelbarrow, started to get away from us.

Spot the toucan

It was time get back to sea level and find some warmer temperatures so we booked a 55 minute flight to Rurrenabaque, a small town towards the north of Bolivia, and in so doing, saved ourselves a torturous 16-30 hour bus journey, depending on the number of landslides.

After the cold nights of the last few weeks it was a very welcome hot and humid 32C so we made the most of it by spending the day at a hotel pool, only to be disturbed by a toucan who took route under our sunbed all day and continued to occasionally peck at our feet which was a little disconcerting as that beak could have had a foot off.

Squirrell monkey and baby

Rurrenabaque is the gateway to the Amazon Basin and we’d booked a 3 day/2 night stay at a homestay on one of the Amazon’s many tributaries. The accommodation, homecooked food, location and guide were all excellent. He took us out on the boat each day to spot river dolphins, caimans, monkeys, turtles, a sloth and loads of birds. After spotting the caimans and trying a spot of piranha fishing, it was time for a swim!!! Yes, allegedly where the dolphins congregate its safe to swim as they eat piranha so in I jumped, albeit a little nervously, to swim with the dolphins in the hope that they were hungry.

The trip was faultless and we even managed to beat the rain but unfortunately we were beaten by the mosquitoes. In reality it was horrible experience. We were both covered in hundreds of bites and no amount of insect repellent or clothing could prevent them. It’s a myth about covering up as they’ll find a way through. I counted twenty bites on one knee which was covered. There was one final five hour boat trip on the last day and I’d had enough but Vanessa was a lot braver than me as she donned her three layers including winter jacket in the 30 degree heat, and ventured off down the river. I felt so sorry for her when she told me that the boat had broken down for an hour and when the boat’s not moving, the mosquitoes attack.

It was a such a relief to be back in Rurrenabaque and we were actually looking forward to returning to the altitude and cold nights…….but mosquito free.

 

Best Wishes from the Cat

Mothers meeting in La Paz

Another spectacular bus journey around Lake Titicaca as we left Copacabana for La Paz, Bolivia's capital city and the highest in the world at 3660m. After travelling for several hours across the altiplano (high plateau) we began to wonder where the city actually was. How could we not see a sprawling city with a population of 1.5 million people? Suddenly we were at the edge of a massive canyon, and in it sits La Paz, with its buildings literally climbing on top of eachother in what looks like an attempt to escape.

Some impressive sights so far but Bolivia is an illusion as nothing is quite what it seems. It’s been a challenge, or to put it another way, like walking through mud. The transport has been excellent albeit organised chaos but the cold has been difficult for us and its not even the coldest season here. We realise its cold at home but you can get warm in a centrally heated house, cafe, restaurant, shop, or have a hot bath or shower. In Bolivia, none of the above apply so when you get cold you stay cold. Nowhere is heated and hot showers have about a one in four strike rate. Everyday we look forward to our hot evening meal and everyday we sit in a freezing restaurant for about an hour and out comes the hot meal which in Bolivia works on a sliding scale between cold and slightly less cold. The best was a lasagna which had one piece of uncooked pasta floating on an undescribable liquid. We weren’t too sure what we were supposed to do with the knife and fork. So much so that after a week we succumbed to a pricey traditional English dish, a good old Jalfrezi which wasn't the best curry in the world but under the circumstances, it probably was. We ignored the fact that the naan bread smelled and tasted like the cat had left its best wishes on it.

In addition, getting cash out of an ATM is a bit like a treasure hunt and internet connection is completely random and unreliable. Cafes that advertise free Wifi just switch it off if there aren't enough customers and some of the small hotels switch it off if their kids want to play a computer game.

All we look for in any cheap accommodation is somewhere clean, secure and our only luxury, a private bathroom. Its not until you actually use the bathroom do you realise that there is either no hot water, no toilet seat, no handle on the door so when you first close it there is no way of getting out apart from yelling, and the best one is the towel rail fitted so high that I can’t even reach it and I’m a good six inches taller than the average Bolivian.  Our accommodation usually includes free tea and coffee all day which we've yet to see a drop and the inclusive American breakfasts consist of a stale roll with jam and some cold scrambled egg. Not quite the breakfasts we remember in America.

As we lay huddled together to keep warm beneath some very questionable blankets which I’m sure have one or two stories to tell of their own, we reflect and laugh at each days' events and wonder what the next one holds in store. Its certainly an adventure and quite an experience and more than likely Bolivia will end up being one of our top destinations.

 

A Night of Firsts

Lake Titicaca from Copacabana

You couldn't wish for a more idyllic sounding place to be be for New Year than Copacabana on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

We left Peru early on New Year's Eve and just three hours later, following a very hassle free border crossing we were in Bolivia. Copacabana is only about eight miles from the border and isn't the most picturesque town in the world but its location is, situated on the southern point of Lake Titicaca. Its an easy and safe place to stroll around with numerous cafes and bars all selling fresh trout from the lake cooked however you want which is wonderful and at just £2 for a meal, it tastes even better.

With the high altitiude the air is very thin which makes the views across the lake appear endless with the bluest of skies and sparkling sapphire water. With the sun shining, its very hot and a wonderful place to sit in a deckchair at one of the beachfront restaurants and just admire the view. The downside is as soon as the sun disappears it gets really cold and unless you pay 5 star prices, there's no heating to be had and the hot showers can be a little on the sporadic side but we’ve been lucky so far.

Vanessa not feeling well

New Year’s Eve was a night of ‘firsts’. It was our first night in Bolivia and it marked the completion of the first four months of our trip so we were looking forward to the evening’s celebrations. We hadn’t bargained on the other couple of ‘firsts’ though, Vanessa suffering from the first case of the screaming unmentionables so the evening was cut just a little short without a beer passing our lips. Another first!

Fortunately it was a pretty quick recovery so Vanessa felt brave enough to risk an hour and a half boat ride  to Isla del Sol, a little haven of an island in Lake Titicaca and perfect for an overnight stay, where there are no roads, just donkeys navigating the steep paths. You can treck for miles in the lung bursting altitude or sit for hours in the sunshine at one of the hillside restaurants just admiring the view across the lake with the snow capped Andes in the background. We chose the latter.