22 Jan Up and out at 8.30am to join a tour of the Pampas, a huge grasslands with swamps and rivers on the edge of the Amazon Basin. We had a 3 hour 4WD drive to our boat. Along the way we stopped at some roadside place where Frog took the opportunity to hold wild snake. Eventually we got to our boat, a basic timber open boat with an outboard engine. We motored another 3 hours through narrow rivers where we saw pink dolphins, turtles and alligators. We pulled up alongside these bushes and a whole load of monkeys jumped on our boat. The driver had a banana and they climbed on top of me and sat on my hat in order to get to it. It was a shock at first but a good laugh once we got used to them.
That afternoon we arrived at our riverside lodgings where our guide coaxed an alligator from the water and gave him some sausage. He was a mean looking lad but did not seem interested in attacking anyone. That night we headed off to a local riverside bar in our boat to watch the sunset and then on a night cruise to see the nocturnal wildlife and listen to the jungle wildlife at night. The driver caught a baby alligator which we all took a look at and Frog took a hold of it. We all had our torches and were told to shine it on the shore. Red eyes at night means alligators...
23 Jan While waiting for breakfast in the dining area ( a netted timber frame) and our Alligator freind wanted his breakfast too. He walked all the way from the water to where we were and stuck his head in the door wondering where his feed was. We got some good photos of him, he is about 18 years old and damaged his tail in a fight. They call him Pedro and out of neccessity has become tame and lives off scraps from the lodging. He moves around freely but is treated with caution.
Later that morning we went trekking through the marshes looking for Annacondas ( a large snake that kills its victims by squeezing them to death) These marshes have a very potent fungus that requires the disposal of your shoes after you walk there. I borrowed a pair of wellies but threw away my socks after. Frog has caught a foot rash though, he kept his socks until he discovered the rash. After an hour walking around with the guides we found one and not too soon. (We were being devoured by mosquitos and flying insects. My back and legs were covered in bites despite having long sleeves and trousers on and repellant. The intense heat and humidity caused so much sweat that it washed away the repellant in no time. I counted over 20 bites below my left knee alone.) The Anaconda was about 6 foot long. We were so uncomfortable though we just took a quick look and a few photos and left, Of course Frog had a photo of it around his neck. 45 mins later we were back at base and after a cold shower, I collapsed with exhaustion into my bed only to wake 2 hours later in a pool of sweat. That afternoon we went looking for pink dolphins again but with limited results. One of the Dutch girls, Maiike, celebrated her birthday with us over a few beers. The mosquitos had given her over 420 bites that day.
24 Jan We were up and out and on the boat at 5.30am to view the sunrise over the Pampas. We motored along for about 10 mins or so and landed at this place not very different from the Anaconda landing. We walked 20 metres saw the sun starting to rise and a shallow mist across the landscape, It was very beautiful and before I could take my camera out we were descended on by a plague of hungry mossies. We ran to the boat with the driver in hot pursuit and off we went back to base for breakfast. We all looked like a hospital of German measels.
The next thing on the aganda was piranha fishing, but I opted out as I was tired of the boat and the hostile natives as did 4 of the others. Frog went but didnt catch anything, the guide did though. While waiting for lunch and not breaking with tradition Frog straddled Pedro the Alligator and did his customary nude shot. Hollers of laughter and disgust from staff and tourists temporarily drowed out the jungle chorus.
After lunch we packed up and shipped off back to Rurrenbaque, half by boat and the other half by 4WD. Our 4WD home was a troop carrier (Seats facing opposite in the back rather than forward) with bench like seats and we had to endure 3 hours of that along seriously bumpy tracks back to Rurrenbaque. We went out for a well earned dinner and a few beers that night only to be told by the waiter that no alcohol could be served as there was a referendum on the following day. Apparently its an offence to sell alcohol the day before in case anyone voted under the influence. He said though it was Ok to serve cocktails, strange world. I left early as I was not feeling too well.
25 Jan Woke up in the wee hours feeling terrible. I was sweating like crazy and went to the bathroom and started puking from both ends. Whilst sitting on the toilet, I fainted and collapsed in a heap on the bathroom floor. I expect I would have been there for a while only for Fiachra shouting wondering if I was Ok. I went to the bathroom a few more times that night and felt a bit better in the morning. I stayed in my room all day and it was sweltering hot. Although the mossies werent as bad as in the Jungle, they still took plenty of bites out of me.
26 Jan Up this morning and had a herbal tea and a banana for breakfast, hopefully a sign of a recovery. We went to the airport for our flight back to La Paz. The plane was a 14 seater banger from the 1970´s, although it couldnt be worse than the bus. When we landed in La Paz, the change of environment was amazing with cool dry air... lovely. Went downtown and had some healthy vegetable soup.... I could feel my strength coming back to me.
27 Jan Booked out tickets out of La Paz to Sorata today, a place we were told was amazing for trekking and mountain biking. After that we went to our favorite cafe ´100% Natural´ and for E1.60 had a huge fruit salad. The thing came in a casserole dish full of fruit, muesli, honey and yogurt. Divine, it was so big that frog had to help me finish it. That evening we joined Ben and Lizzie for a going away celebratory slap up Indian in the ´Star of India´ restaurant.
28 Jan Went to the bus station to get our bus to Sorata. We were supposed to be on the 11am bus but the counter assistant had booked us on the 11am bus yesterday. After a bit of persistence and insistence, we got on the next bus an hour later. We arrived in Sorata (pop. 2000) about 3 hours later, and it seemed like a dump. We walked a mile downhill to our hostel and checked in before returning to the town for a proper look. We wanted to eat but everything was closed, we eventually found a street food stall and I ordered a fried egg and onion sandwich. The lady serving had to lean into the bun and saw it in half. Pure stale. Frog ordered fried onion and fried sliced sausage. There was green mould in the sausage.
Our attention was sidetracked to a mob congregating in the square so we went over to check it out. Two lads were being marched into the square with signs around their neck stating that they were theives. They were marched around the square and whipped on the legs at every corner. There were 5 lynchmen and they all had whips and gave a short speech at each whipping. Eventually they gathered at a spot and one of the daughters of the accused ran from the crowd and started hugging her father, wailing and refusing to let him go. We were taking pictures of all this and were spotted and the crowed turned on us and chased us away. Watching from a distance the boys got flogged until they collapsed in a bloody heap. Ironically it all occured outside a police station with a few of the officers casually looking on. That evening the restaurants were open again and we went back into town for a feed. It was dark and so were the streets. As we walked home we were set upon by about 5 sets of different dogs. We threw stones, kicked and shone our torches in their eyes and manged to get home intact. Some of these dogs owners just stood by and watched them attack us.... inbreds. That night, Id have drank a whiskey if I had a whiskey.
29 Jan Needless to say we got the hell out of Dodge and were happy to leave Bolivia finest behind us. Our 9.30am bus left at 10am once it was full and off we went. About 10 mins out of town we came to a traffic jam, another landslide we thought but the previous nights heavy rain completely washed the road away. An agreement was made between the bus drivers on either side that they would swap passengers. We unloaded our bags and worked our way across the sludge and rock where the road used to be. The landslide was still in action albeit at a much slower place and watched rocks and boulders fall down the mountain side. We were off again and I observed the woman sitting beside us give a plastic bag to her infant child to play with. It was enjoying the crunching noise of it and was putting it in its mouth. What differnt societies we live in.
Arrived in Cobacabana on the shores of the breathtaking lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) and met up again with Ben and Lizzie, we booked our 1 day trip to Isla del Sol. The island is apparently the birthplace of the Incan gods and worth a visit. I began to have a dodgy stomach again this evening. I had more bottom vomit and didnt go out for dinner tonight.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Part 1: La Paz and the mountainous high and lows of Bolivia
16 Jan Up and out at 5.45am this morning to go bike ride the `Worlds most dangerous road´. The road runs downhill 64km from a place called `La Cumbre´ to `Yolasa´ which is about 95km away from La Paz. We descended from a height of 4640m down to 3345m. Our first stage was along tarmac through the thick mountain top fog onto gravel mountain roads as wide as a country lane. The roads edge dropped 1000´s of feet with no protection, as we flew down. We had state of the art mountain bikes with thick tyres and front and rear suspension that just chewed road. It was savage craic. Also known as the `Death road´ there are lots of crosses in memory of people that met their maker along the way. We saw trucks down the sides of mountains and somebody told me they saw a bus too. We blazed through mud, rivers, waterfalls, jumps, gravel bends and avoiding oncoming traffic. It was a pity it had to end and we seriously thought about doing it again.
17 Jan We decided to go to La Paz prison Aka San Pedro Penitentary for the guided tour. The tours are given by the prisioners. Its all unofficial, off the record and E25 bribe must be paid to the guards to get in. Once inside you need to hire a bodyguard as you mingle with the hardcore of Bolivian prisioners. We were shown around different districts (the more you can pay the better the accommodation/district you can live in), the Kitchens, courtyards, gyms, football pitch.... There were shops, restaurants, repair shops and little factories making toy cars, crafts and another making cocaine powder. Its not a conventional prison arrangement, its a town in its self that you live in and make your own way. The guards dont move from the exits. The inmates are allowed their wives and children to come and go freely and some even live there. Our guide was full of shit and a bit of a nutcase but we saw what we wanted to see. Frog did his usual Nude pose in the prison showeroom whilst bending over to pick up a bar of soap. He had the onlooking inmate in stiches laughing, obviously a new one on them. We bought sweets for the children and cigarettes for the inmates beforehand and handed these out to the ones that allowed you to photograph them. They all had their hands out for them as we walked around. The experience was somewhat enjoyable and very fulfilling to see the place in action. We spent 2 hours there and Id hate to be there any longer. As I sat in the Moroccan restaurant that night eating lovely food, I couldnt help thinking about all those young men with lost faces loitering around some of them with 1000 year sentences for drug offences. They will never know a normal life again.
18 Jan Quiet day today. Was raining most of the day and thankfully the hostel had internet and a good collection of DVDs. There was a Mexican night in the hostel and for E3.50 we had a great feed of tacos and salad. Afterwards, there was a quiz, which we came joint first and enjoyed a complimentary jug of beer.
19 Jan Up at 5.30am and were collected for our 3 day boat cruise to Rurrenbaque. We said our goodbyes to Caroline, who is flying to Peru to meet her mother. Our bus journey to the boat took 12 hours and had a few scheduled and unscheduled stops. The rainy season is in full swing in the rainforest areas and we came across 3 landslides, the first of which held us up for over an hour. We watched the rocks falling down and although most were small, they fell at such force that they would kill a person and severly damage a car if a direct hit were made. The other 2 were in the advanced stages of being cleared. At another point the road had been washed away and we were stopped for a while whilst the driver worked out how best to cross. I made a bridge out of a couple of logs and the driver had us all get off the bus and cross ourselves to lighten his load and maximise his chances of getting across. It worked and was great craic to watch. Due to all our delays, we missed out 5.30pm boat down the river to our campsite. We were put up in a (E2 p.n.) rural hotel for the night which was a dump. Liz had a nest of insects in her ceiling, another lad had a leak from his ceiling onto his bed and I discovered creepy crawlies on mine. I lit my mozzie coils and put them under my bed to kill the bugs before heading out for the evening. No sign of the little feckers when I came back.
20 Jan Up and out at 7am and onto our boat. It was a timber vessel about 30ft long, we had no life jackets and the river was running at full throttle with all the rain over the past 24 hours. We bobbed and weaved down the river avoiding swirls, logs and waves. After 1 stop in a tiny village for a toilet stop we got to Puerto Carmen for our overnight stop. This is a remote community of only 13 people and for a few bob, they allow us pitch our tents for the night, cook our food and do a couple of Jungle walks. After lunch we set off on our 3 hour Jungle trek. We saw different types of ants, trees, nests, medicinal and poisonous plants. At the half way point we went Piranha fishing with raw beef baited to our hooks. The guides helpers had to hack a passageway through the jungle with a machete knife to the waterside. With great excitement and anticipation we threw in our hooks, but to no avail. We caught nothing.
The Jungle is a complete bug infested place with all kinds of things landing on you, flying around you and wanting a free meal. Any standing around for a few seconds invites them to dinner and swatting and swishing becomes a full time job. That night we went back into the Jungle on a night walk to see noctural creatures and listen to the Jungle chorus at night. Didnt see much.
21 Jan Headed off downstream again to Mandiki national park. We went on another 3 hour jungle walk where we saw Mackaws (parrott like birds) & wild Turkeys, We also saw a few interesting plants and trees. After that we headed to Rurrenbaque, a nice small town where we checked into a nice hotel (E5pn) and had a good meal in a local restaurant.
17 Jan We decided to go to La Paz prison Aka San Pedro Penitentary for the guided tour. The tours are given by the prisioners. Its all unofficial, off the record and E25 bribe must be paid to the guards to get in. Once inside you need to hire a bodyguard as you mingle with the hardcore of Bolivian prisioners. We were shown around different districts (the more you can pay the better the accommodation/district you can live in), the Kitchens, courtyards, gyms, football pitch.... There were shops, restaurants, repair shops and little factories making toy cars, crafts and another making cocaine powder. Its not a conventional prison arrangement, its a town in its self that you live in and make your own way. The guards dont move from the exits. The inmates are allowed their wives and children to come and go freely and some even live there. Our guide was full of shit and a bit of a nutcase but we saw what we wanted to see. Frog did his usual Nude pose in the prison showeroom whilst bending over to pick up a bar of soap. He had the onlooking inmate in stiches laughing, obviously a new one on them. We bought sweets for the children and cigarettes for the inmates beforehand and handed these out to the ones that allowed you to photograph them. They all had their hands out for them as we walked around. The experience was somewhat enjoyable and very fulfilling to see the place in action. We spent 2 hours there and Id hate to be there any longer. As I sat in the Moroccan restaurant that night eating lovely food, I couldnt help thinking about all those young men with lost faces loitering around some of them with 1000 year sentences for drug offences. They will never know a normal life again.
18 Jan Quiet day today. Was raining most of the day and thankfully the hostel had internet and a good collection of DVDs. There was a Mexican night in the hostel and for E3.50 we had a great feed of tacos and salad. Afterwards, there was a quiz, which we came joint first and enjoyed a complimentary jug of beer.
19 Jan Up at 5.30am and were collected for our 3 day boat cruise to Rurrenbaque. We said our goodbyes to Caroline, who is flying to Peru to meet her mother. Our bus journey to the boat took 12 hours and had a few scheduled and unscheduled stops. The rainy season is in full swing in the rainforest areas and we came across 3 landslides, the first of which held us up for over an hour. We watched the rocks falling down and although most were small, they fell at such force that they would kill a person and severly damage a car if a direct hit were made. The other 2 were in the advanced stages of being cleared. At another point the road had been washed away and we were stopped for a while whilst the driver worked out how best to cross. I made a bridge out of a couple of logs and the driver had us all get off the bus and cross ourselves to lighten his load and maximise his chances of getting across. It worked and was great craic to watch. Due to all our delays, we missed out 5.30pm boat down the river to our campsite. We were put up in a (E2 p.n.) rural hotel for the night which was a dump. Liz had a nest of insects in her ceiling, another lad had a leak from his ceiling onto his bed and I discovered creepy crawlies on mine. I lit my mozzie coils and put them under my bed to kill the bugs before heading out for the evening. No sign of the little feckers when I came back.
20 Jan Up and out at 7am and onto our boat. It was a timber vessel about 30ft long, we had no life jackets and the river was running at full throttle with all the rain over the past 24 hours. We bobbed and weaved down the river avoiding swirls, logs and waves. After 1 stop in a tiny village for a toilet stop we got to Puerto Carmen for our overnight stop. This is a remote community of only 13 people and for a few bob, they allow us pitch our tents for the night, cook our food and do a couple of Jungle walks. After lunch we set off on our 3 hour Jungle trek. We saw different types of ants, trees, nests, medicinal and poisonous plants. At the half way point we went Piranha fishing with raw beef baited to our hooks. The guides helpers had to hack a passageway through the jungle with a machete knife to the waterside. With great excitement and anticipation we threw in our hooks, but to no avail. We caught nothing.
The Jungle is a complete bug infested place with all kinds of things landing on you, flying around you and wanting a free meal. Any standing around for a few seconds invites them to dinner and swatting and swishing becomes a full time job. That night we went back into the Jungle on a night walk to see noctural creatures and listen to the Jungle chorus at night. Didnt see much.
21 Jan Headed off downstream again to Mandiki national park. We went on another 3 hour jungle walk where we saw Mackaws (parrott like birds) & wild Turkeys, We also saw a few interesting plants and trees. After that we headed to Rurrenbaque, a nice small town where we checked into a nice hotel (E5pn) and had a good meal in a local restaurant.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ballheaded through Bolivia
09 Jan Left Topiza today by bus and drove along some more horrible roads. We came across a huge landslide and waited for over 30 mins as an earth mover made a channel through. Bolivain roads have to be amongst the worst in the world due to their terrible condition, tiny width, blind corners and the sheer unguarded drops down the side of mountains. We got to Potosi (the highest city in the world at 4060m above sea level) 7 hours later. We wrote down the address of the hostel (Hostel Koala) on a piece of paper and gave it to the taxi driver and asked him if he knew where it was, he said yes and we agreed the price and off we went. He hadnt a clue, asking loads of people along the way where the street was. I showed him the map of the town and where the hostel was but he still couldnt work it out. He kept driving around asking us if this was the street, and at that stage I reckoned he couldnt read. At one point in his frustration he stopped and said `here we are`. I said where? He pointed at a building and said `thats the hostel`. Well aware of their scams I told the others to stay put and I asked the driver to get out and show me, he refused. I then said `Hola amigo, No Koala....No dinero. Vamos!´ and off we went again. I pulled out the guidebook map again, found out where we were and directed him to the hostel. He wanted then to be paid for the extra time and mileage we caused him. I gave him an extra Boliviano (10c) and told him to go buy a map.
10 Jan We went on a tour to the local mines today. We were kitted out with overalls, boots, headlamp and helmet. We heard that in its 500 years of existence over 1 million people have died there mainly due to respiratory diseases. I had heard this sometime back in Chile and had marched the group into a pharmacy there to get surgical masks. Glad we did, all the others were dead jealous as the team from MASH paraded around with their brand new pale blue surgical wear. We were driven around to these shops to buy presents for the miners (Preferable to money) where we bought Coca leaves, Coca cola and best of all dynamite! Dead legal here and sold complete with fuses and Ammonium nitrate to make it more explosive. We then went to see the factory that processes the mined material and it was a noisy, smelly death trap. There were machines that went up and down, ones that went in and out, over and around and all the time hoping to catch an unsuspecting limb for dinner. Finally we got to go into the mines and walked down these tiny tunnels eventually crawling along in and out of different chambers. It was fascinating and horrifying to think that people had to work down here. There were kids as young as 8 years of age down there earning E2.50 per day. The average life span for a miner is just 45 years whilst wearing a breathing apparatus is considered weak and unmanly. The miners ignorance is so tragic especially as their young fathers are coughing to death and bed ridden at home in the 40´s and 50´s.
After the mine we were given a dynamite exhibition and were handed a stick of dynamite in a bag with the Ammonium nitrate wrapped around it topped off with a lighting fuse. 7 of us had 1 minute to take a photo each. It was like a game of pass the parcel and were done in jig time. When we were done we passed it to the guides assistant and he ran over to a hillside, threw it as far as he could and it blew up about 20 seconds later. Enough time for us to get our cameras out. Bizarre and hugely exciting stuff.
11 Jan Left Potosi today in the afternoon bound for a town called Sucre. Its the former capital of Bolivia so has some beautiful buildings and parks. We got a taxi there for E4 each and it was over 100 miles away. The taxi driver was a nutcase, so will probably go by bus in the future. Checked into our hostel and 8 of us went out to dinner. After that and a drink or two we decided it`d be a good laugh to got to the local Karaoke bar. After a bit of searching, located it, and went down the stairs and into the bar. It stank of vomit and was really wierd with people dancing to the karaoke music and nobody singing. We left and some wierdo started followng us so we went home.
12 Jan Up early this morning to go to this massage place. We were told it was only E2.50 per hour for this great massage but when 4 of us turned up, they could only take one at a time and was a physio clinic. It also turned out to be E12.50 per hour. Abandoning that plan, we went to this dinosaur place that had real dinosaur footprints etc. After that we went to see the `Quantum of Solice´ the new james Bond movie in the town centre. It was an ancient place with 1950`s cinema chairs. It was a good laugh as the cinematographer had to stop the movie to change the reel. The admission was 50cent each, I spent twice that on goodies.
13 Jan Booked our onward coach this morning to Cochacama for later on this evening. We booked `Full cama` ie a reclining chair/bed, but not all Bolivian buses are like the ones we were used to in Argentina. We boarded a banger. It had a bit of extra legroom and seat reclined way back. It was smelly and had no a/c. The lad in front of me put his chair so far back it looked like his head was lying on my lap. At 7pm, the driver turned out the lights and without reading lamps left us in the pitch dark. Lucky, I had my head torch. An hour later we joined a huge tail back on this mountain road. There had been a landslide and the road was blocked. Men with shovels cleared a track and after waiting 3 hours we made a difficult crossing through the debris, was well interesting too. As there is 5 in our group, someone has to sit on their own or beside a stranger. This time Frog got sitting beside this old woman dressed in typical Bolivian dress with a bowler hat, she smelled a bit and that night put on her big wooly hat before going to sleep on frogs shoulder. The wool was in his nose and irritated him all night. We were in convulsions of laughter.
14 Jan Still on the bus, we stopped in the middle of the night at this village for a toilet stop, but there were no toilets. Depending on gender and requirement everyone was standing or squatting pissing and shitting everywhere. After performing the former myself i watched a river of urine flowing down the hill toward the bus. The stench was awful and Im sure the villagers were none too impressed later that morning. At the bus, I observed the driver pissing on the front wheel and due to the heat of the wheels, plumes of pissy steam were rising above him. Classy.
We arrived in Cochacamba at 7am and hoped to do a tour of the local Toro Toro National Park, after consulting with an agency that did the tours we decided not to do it as the stuff on the tour was very similar to what we`ve done before. A group decision was made and we decided to get a bus out of there and onto the capital, La Paz later that morning. 7 hours later we arived into the outskirts, and introduced ourselves to the congested, horn honking, low rise city that appeared dirty and unkept. Hi ace vans, trucks and buses whizzed about. We saw an artic truck with an animal trailer in tow full of people and the sign on the side read `Max 400 personas`. I saw an old lady (easily 80) climbing down the side of a truck. I thought as we passed by in our new Mercedes bus, how lucky we are.
15 Jan had a good luck around the centre of La Paz today. Its a hussle and bussle place but with good energy. We booked our mountain Bike trip down the `Worlds most dangerous road` a 64km down hill bike ride on notorius Bolivian mountain roads. Its not however as dangerous as it used to be as the road has now been bypassed and is free of any heavy traffic. Tomorrow will tell the tale. We had a look around the markets and ate some great food.
10 Jan We went on a tour to the local mines today. We were kitted out with overalls, boots, headlamp and helmet. We heard that in its 500 years of existence over 1 million people have died there mainly due to respiratory diseases. I had heard this sometime back in Chile and had marched the group into a pharmacy there to get surgical masks. Glad we did, all the others were dead jealous as the team from MASH paraded around with their brand new pale blue surgical wear. We were driven around to these shops to buy presents for the miners (Preferable to money) where we bought Coca leaves, Coca cola and best of all dynamite! Dead legal here and sold complete with fuses and Ammonium nitrate to make it more explosive. We then went to see the factory that processes the mined material and it was a noisy, smelly death trap. There were machines that went up and down, ones that went in and out, over and around and all the time hoping to catch an unsuspecting limb for dinner. Finally we got to go into the mines and walked down these tiny tunnels eventually crawling along in and out of different chambers. It was fascinating and horrifying to think that people had to work down here. There were kids as young as 8 years of age down there earning E2.50 per day. The average life span for a miner is just 45 years whilst wearing a breathing apparatus is considered weak and unmanly. The miners ignorance is so tragic especially as their young fathers are coughing to death and bed ridden at home in the 40´s and 50´s.
After the mine we were given a dynamite exhibition and were handed a stick of dynamite in a bag with the Ammonium nitrate wrapped around it topped off with a lighting fuse. 7 of us had 1 minute to take a photo each. It was like a game of pass the parcel and were done in jig time. When we were done we passed it to the guides assistant and he ran over to a hillside, threw it as far as he could and it blew up about 20 seconds later. Enough time for us to get our cameras out. Bizarre and hugely exciting stuff.
11 Jan Left Potosi today in the afternoon bound for a town called Sucre. Its the former capital of Bolivia so has some beautiful buildings and parks. We got a taxi there for E4 each and it was over 100 miles away. The taxi driver was a nutcase, so will probably go by bus in the future. Checked into our hostel and 8 of us went out to dinner. After that and a drink or two we decided it`d be a good laugh to got to the local Karaoke bar. After a bit of searching, located it, and went down the stairs and into the bar. It stank of vomit and was really wierd with people dancing to the karaoke music and nobody singing. We left and some wierdo started followng us so we went home.
12 Jan Up early this morning to go to this massage place. We were told it was only E2.50 per hour for this great massage but when 4 of us turned up, they could only take one at a time and was a physio clinic. It also turned out to be E12.50 per hour. Abandoning that plan, we went to this dinosaur place that had real dinosaur footprints etc. After that we went to see the `Quantum of Solice´ the new james Bond movie in the town centre. It was an ancient place with 1950`s cinema chairs. It was a good laugh as the cinematographer had to stop the movie to change the reel. The admission was 50cent each, I spent twice that on goodies.
13 Jan Booked our onward coach this morning to Cochacama for later on this evening. We booked `Full cama` ie a reclining chair/bed, but not all Bolivian buses are like the ones we were used to in Argentina. We boarded a banger. It had a bit of extra legroom and seat reclined way back. It was smelly and had no a/c. The lad in front of me put his chair so far back it looked like his head was lying on my lap. At 7pm, the driver turned out the lights and without reading lamps left us in the pitch dark. Lucky, I had my head torch. An hour later we joined a huge tail back on this mountain road. There had been a landslide and the road was blocked. Men with shovels cleared a track and after waiting 3 hours we made a difficult crossing through the debris, was well interesting too. As there is 5 in our group, someone has to sit on their own or beside a stranger. This time Frog got sitting beside this old woman dressed in typical Bolivian dress with a bowler hat, she smelled a bit and that night put on her big wooly hat before going to sleep on frogs shoulder. The wool was in his nose and irritated him all night. We were in convulsions of laughter.
14 Jan Still on the bus, we stopped in the middle of the night at this village for a toilet stop, but there were no toilets. Depending on gender and requirement everyone was standing or squatting pissing and shitting everywhere. After performing the former myself i watched a river of urine flowing down the hill toward the bus. The stench was awful and Im sure the villagers were none too impressed later that morning. At the bus, I observed the driver pissing on the front wheel and due to the heat of the wheels, plumes of pissy steam were rising above him. Classy.
We arrived in Cochacamba at 7am and hoped to do a tour of the local Toro Toro National Park, after consulting with an agency that did the tours we decided not to do it as the stuff on the tour was very similar to what we`ve done before. A group decision was made and we decided to get a bus out of there and onto the capital, La Paz later that morning. 7 hours later we arived into the outskirts, and introduced ourselves to the congested, horn honking, low rise city that appeared dirty and unkept. Hi ace vans, trucks and buses whizzed about. We saw an artic truck with an animal trailer in tow full of people and the sign on the side read `Max 400 personas`. I saw an old lady (easily 80) climbing down the side of a truck. I thought as we passed by in our new Mercedes bus, how lucky we are.
15 Jan had a good luck around the centre of La Paz today. Its a hussle and bussle place but with good energy. We booked our mountain Bike trip down the `Worlds most dangerous road` a 64km down hill bike ride on notorius Bolivian mountain roads. Its not however as dangerous as it used to be as the road has now been bypassed and is free of any heavy traffic. Tomorrow will tell the tale. We had a look around the markets and ate some great food.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Chile to Bolivia through the saline Abyss
03 Jan Up at 7am to catch our 3 day 4WD tour across the Bolivian desert and through the Salt flats to Uyuni in Bolivia. On our way out of Chile we needed to pass through customs but Fiachra lost his entry documentation he recieved when he entered Chile a couple of weeks ago. He got a new form and filled it in with customs officials signatures and all (copied from mine) He argued that they forgot to stamp it and with a bit of babble between our driver and officials he was allowed through. The poor lad following after him had a bend in his passport and was refused entry. The journey was across the most hostile of deserts and over rocks of all sizes. En route we reached 5000m above sea level, visited hot springs, Turquoise lakes & bubbling mud. We are a group of 5 (Me, Frog, Caroline, Ben & Liz) and in a jeep with Bolivian driver all to ourselves for E65 each including meals and accommodation. Was good value, but it all comes at a price as our first nights accommodation was discusting. My pink faded, threadbare Bart Simpson bedsheets didnt look like they were washed in weeks, my pillow was about as comfortable and as heavy as a bag of onions. There were no showers, sinks were blocked and the toilets smelled of piss and shite. It gets worse. The beds sagged so much, Ben put his mattress on the floor and in doing so moved my shoes. That night I woke to go to the toilet and couldnt find them in the dark so went to the bathroom (Electricity is turned off at night) with only my socks on. Some lad previous couldnt find the toilet in the dark and settled for the bathroom floor. I walked in, looking for the urinal and stood in his piss. As I had to go anyway, I remained in that spot for a minute or two longer. So, Pissy feet here had then had the task of walking back to the room with no option of cleaning them in the blocked sinks and get back into bed with the smell of another lads piss on my feet.
04 Jan Had breakfast at 7am consisting of herbal tea and ice cold bread. We were told off bysome auld Bolivian cow for taking coffee from another groups table, as i heaped the coffee in my mug I explained, in lenghty detail, to her that I i didnt understand her and hadnt a word of Spanish. Later that morning we stopped at this rock known as `Tree rock´. It is a famous rock as it was painted by a well known artist, Salvador Dali. Frog did his customary nude pose at great haste due to an arriving 4WD laden with snap happy tourists. We stopped at other sights including rock formations like the `Bungle Bungles´ in Western Australia, laked with Flamingoes, an active volcano with smoke billowing out of it and crossed a mini Salt flat. We arrived that afternoon into a small dusty town called `San Juan´. Our accommodation there was a dump too but not as bad as the previous night. Our trip stated we would be staying at the Salt Hotel, A hotel make from Salt. We were informed that it was rainy season and it was flooded so this alternative accommodation ws provided. It turned out to be bullshit and was a convienient way for the company to make extra money by giving us cheaper accommodation. Theiving gypsies.
Later that day we checked out the town and went to the cemetery to see the open dome tombs. The tombs had skeletons in them on full display with clothes on, and with pots around them. Although we had no explanation as to the background of the place, the bodies seemed to be in a huddled position indicating that they were buried alive. On our way out of the place a woman was waiting for us. She wanted the 50 cent payment each for our visit which was Ok as there was a sign on our way in with the price but nobody collecting. We didnt have any small money and she had no change, we then had to parade all around town with this woman trying to get scare change from the shops.
05 Jan Up and out at 6am with the usual slice of bread and a cup of tea for breakfast whilst smelling the aroma of fried bacon destined for our drivers belly. We kindly helped the driver pack his roofrack with lots of lifting etc. only to experience the height of ignorance from him. He was getting frustrated with having to depart later than he intended and started to reverse the jeep while I was getting in and frog was standing on the back wheel tie-ing down his roofrack! What a prick. The fat c**t did his own packing after that. We drove to the Salt flats (12,500 sqkm) the largest in the world, it ws rainy season and a lot of it was under water. The jeep followed the submerged road and as we were driving along it felt like we were in a boat. The first day of the trip I asked the driver if I could drive the jeep and he gabbled some reply. I didnt pursue the issue but he then today he offered me the opportunity to drive on the flats. I didnt kow if he was being nice or didnt like driving on the flats but I jumped at the chance. The driving was really wierd. The flats were a brilliant white and the sky was pure blue and that was all I could see. The jeep (a petrol 4 litre Toyota landcruiser) was 28 years old, the driver reckoned it had over 1.5 million kms up on it, and nothing worked (including the brakes) so I couldnt even guess how fast or slow I was going. I started feeling hypnotised and blinded by the glare even though I had my sunglasses on, hat on and was squinting my eyes. An hour later we spotted a elevated spot which was above water and we stopped there for some photos. Later we stopped at the Salt hotel, that wasnt flooded, for a look and then on to a Salt factory to see how the stuff was made. On then to another (less exciting) train cemetery and then on to Uyuni to end our trip. Uyuni was a crappy town so we hopped on a bus south to Tupiza. The roads were incredibly bad with no Tarmac, no safety barriers stopping out of control vechicles careering over the edge and down the mountain side. Its a wild place and feels like a scene from the wild west. In fact the movie and the real life characters from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid were played out in this area.
6 Jan Was a quiet day today, did internet stuff, Frog had his hair cut a little shorter by Caroline and we booked our 2 day horse trek.
7 Jan Frog and Liz caught a 24 hr bug and could not make the horse riding. Ben decided to opt out too and stay withLiz so it was just me and Caroline. Although conscious of my allergy to animal hair, I mounted my nag, aka Geronimo, and headed off into the desert. We saw stunning rock formations, rode along quiet tracks, through fast flowing rivers up to our knees, plodded through mud and galloped aswell. i felt like I was a cowboy with my cowboy hat and leather leg protectors. We got to our hostel that evening and joined a few other similar groups. After a walk around town, some local kids were playing soccer. The gringoes vs the locals game progessed quickly and we had a blast, the kids were great but were no match for our foul play and dirty tricks.
8 Jan Didnt sleep at all well last night due to swarms of flies, unventilated room (with 8 of us in it), a sleep talker and a snorer. The bed was shite too, and noise continued outside for all hours. Up then at 7.30am for a breakfast of crackers and jam before mounting up on our horses again. My arse bones, tail bone and my knees were killing me. we went a bit slower today which was a welcome relief. During lunch on the way back we met Frog, Ben and Liz on their way as part of their one day trek. Saw a few interesting things on the way back including gorges, canyons and a waterfall, but to be quiet honest I was in too much pain to care.
04 Jan Had breakfast at 7am consisting of herbal tea and ice cold bread. We were told off bysome auld Bolivian cow for taking coffee from another groups table, as i heaped the coffee in my mug I explained, in lenghty detail, to her that I i didnt understand her and hadnt a word of Spanish. Later that morning we stopped at this rock known as `Tree rock´. It is a famous rock as it was painted by a well known artist, Salvador Dali. Frog did his customary nude pose at great haste due to an arriving 4WD laden with snap happy tourists. We stopped at other sights including rock formations like the `Bungle Bungles´ in Western Australia, laked with Flamingoes, an active volcano with smoke billowing out of it and crossed a mini Salt flat. We arrived that afternoon into a small dusty town called `San Juan´. Our accommodation there was a dump too but not as bad as the previous night. Our trip stated we would be staying at the Salt Hotel, A hotel make from Salt. We were informed that it was rainy season and it was flooded so this alternative accommodation ws provided. It turned out to be bullshit and was a convienient way for the company to make extra money by giving us cheaper accommodation. Theiving gypsies.
Later that day we checked out the town and went to the cemetery to see the open dome tombs. The tombs had skeletons in them on full display with clothes on, and with pots around them. Although we had no explanation as to the background of the place, the bodies seemed to be in a huddled position indicating that they were buried alive. On our way out of the place a woman was waiting for us. She wanted the 50 cent payment each for our visit which was Ok as there was a sign on our way in with the price but nobody collecting. We didnt have any small money and she had no change, we then had to parade all around town with this woman trying to get scare change from the shops.
05 Jan Up and out at 6am with the usual slice of bread and a cup of tea for breakfast whilst smelling the aroma of fried bacon destined for our drivers belly. We kindly helped the driver pack his roofrack with lots of lifting etc. only to experience the height of ignorance from him. He was getting frustrated with having to depart later than he intended and started to reverse the jeep while I was getting in and frog was standing on the back wheel tie-ing down his roofrack! What a prick. The fat c**t did his own packing after that. We drove to the Salt flats (12,500 sqkm) the largest in the world, it ws rainy season and a lot of it was under water. The jeep followed the submerged road and as we were driving along it felt like we were in a boat. The first day of the trip I asked the driver if I could drive the jeep and he gabbled some reply. I didnt pursue the issue but he then today he offered me the opportunity to drive on the flats. I didnt kow if he was being nice or didnt like driving on the flats but I jumped at the chance. The driving was really wierd. The flats were a brilliant white and the sky was pure blue and that was all I could see. The jeep (a petrol 4 litre Toyota landcruiser) was 28 years old, the driver reckoned it had over 1.5 million kms up on it, and nothing worked (including the brakes) so I couldnt even guess how fast or slow I was going. I started feeling hypnotised and blinded by the glare even though I had my sunglasses on, hat on and was squinting my eyes. An hour later we spotted a elevated spot which was above water and we stopped there for some photos. Later we stopped at the Salt hotel, that wasnt flooded, for a look and then on to a Salt factory to see how the stuff was made. On then to another (less exciting) train cemetery and then on to Uyuni to end our trip. Uyuni was a crappy town so we hopped on a bus south to Tupiza. The roads were incredibly bad with no Tarmac, no safety barriers stopping out of control vechicles careering over the edge and down the mountain side. Its a wild place and feels like a scene from the wild west. In fact the movie and the real life characters from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid were played out in this area.
6 Jan Was a quiet day today, did internet stuff, Frog had his hair cut a little shorter by Caroline and we booked our 2 day horse trek.
7 Jan Frog and Liz caught a 24 hr bug and could not make the horse riding. Ben decided to opt out too and stay withLiz so it was just me and Caroline. Although conscious of my allergy to animal hair, I mounted my nag, aka Geronimo, and headed off into the desert. We saw stunning rock formations, rode along quiet tracks, through fast flowing rivers up to our knees, plodded through mud and galloped aswell. i felt like I was a cowboy with my cowboy hat and leather leg protectors. We got to our hostel that evening and joined a few other similar groups. After a walk around town, some local kids were playing soccer. The gringoes vs the locals game progessed quickly and we had a blast, the kids were great but were no match for our foul play and dirty tricks.
8 Jan Didnt sleep at all well last night due to swarms of flies, unventilated room (with 8 of us in it), a sleep talker and a snorer. The bed was shite too, and noise continued outside for all hours. Up then at 7.30am for a breakfast of crackers and jam before mounting up on our horses again. My arse bones, tail bone and my knees were killing me. we went a bit slower today which was a welcome relief. During lunch on the way back we met Frog, Ben and Liz on their way as part of their one day trek. Saw a few interesting things on the way back including gorges, canyons and a waterfall, but to be quiet honest I was in too much pain to care.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Santiago and the North
27 Dec Up early this morning as we were being collected at 9am to go on our tour of North Chile. We had laundry left with reception and were due to get it back by 8am. When asked for it at 8, they said they had forgotten to do it but would be ready by 9am, it wasnt. Put into plastic bags soaking wet we got on our tour bus. Frog got out his washing line and we set up a big drying operation around the bus much to the entertainment of the other passengers at the sight of Jocks and knickers blowing around in the wind.
We stopped for lunch at a small seaside town called ´Pichidangui´, the driver had organised a restaurant for us which was overpriced and had a crap menu. Me, Frog and Caroline decided not to eat and look elsewhere, followed by everyone else. The look on the driver and Guides face was priceless. I guess they didnt get their free dinners. We arrived in ´La Serena´ later that day for our first overnight stop.
28 Dec Stopped off at a place called ´Punta de Choros´ where we went for a boat ride around these islands where we saw dolphins, sea otters and lions and a few other species of birds. To be quite honest I was bored as we had seen it all before and got my knees sunburnt for good measure. Later in the day we went to ´Bahia Inglesa´ , a beach resort where our accommodation was an ´A´ frame bungalow, shared between 5 of us.
29 Dec Today was a free day to relax on the beach. In the afternoon we were brought into town for a couple of hours, and when asked what there was to do, the guide said ´Nothing´. Hmmm. That night the whole group had a BBQ and Fiachra did his trademark nude shot in the drivers seat of the bus much to the delight of the group.
30 Dec Had a long day in the bus today, we stopped for a few photos along the way including the ´Hand in the sand´ a huge sand 10 metre hand carved out of rock. This sculpture was commissioned to signify a greeting and a farewell to all crossers of the Atacama dessert. Futher along we stopped at a cemetry for workers that died in the local nickel mines. It is no longer in use but the shallow graves and the dessert wind often uncover the bodies below. There was this one body that was partially decomposed and still had its ear. We had to peer in though the makeshift coffin to see it but Frog decided to lift the lid off it to get a proper look and propped it open with a big stick. He´s going straight to hell but we got a few good photos. Another stop had this armchair in the middle of the dessert which is popular for funny dessert shots (lacking in any culture or history methinks) but enjoyed it nonetheless. Frog did his usual nude and enjoyed the notoriety and paparazzi that went with it. ´We stopped at ´Angofasta´ that night.
31 Dec Today we went to a train cemetry in a place called ´Baquedano´. The old steam trains there were used to transport the minerals from the mines over 50 years ago and are still in the same condition due to the very low humidity in the dessert. We had a good laugh climbing all over them incl getting into the boiler at the front. Fiachra did a nudie aswell hiding his locomotive and carraiges behind the train chimney. We were travelling along the tropic of Capricorn and was very hot and dry (c.35C). We visited salt flats and went to an oasis village (never been to an Oasis before) where there were very welcome natural pools that we swam in. The day was a bit overshadowed by the fact that one of the lads on our group had his camera stolen by local kids. The guy was very upset as he had months of memories on his memory card. We went to see flamingoes feeding nearby and when we arrived there were 6 military personnel there and 2 army vehicles. Unusual we thought, but afterwards we were told that we had been mingling with a scarfed Princess Caroline of Monaco.
We got to our nightly stop at San Pedro De Atacama and had to cook as all restaurants were full for New Years eve. We headed out on the town and the place was alive with people, music and these stuffed human like figures (effidgies) sitting on chairs. We didnt know what they were but they were all doused in petrol and lit at midnight. Everyone cheered, was interesting but wondered were they always effidgies when that custom started. We ended up at a house party in a house rented by 3 Cork Girls.
01 Jan Got home at 3am but some of the others didnt get back until 8am. Later in the day we had a look around town before heading off on short trip to ´Moon Valley´ to explore some salt Caves and look at the amazing mountians and valleys consisting entirely of salt. Then we climbed up this big sand dune and watched the first sunset of 2009.
That evening we went out for dinner and I asked the waitress for ´el tabla para tres por favor´ she burst out laughing and showed us to our table. I later found out that rather than asking for a table for three please, I had asked for a surfboard for 3. It got a great laugh.
02 Jan Booked our 3 day tour from San pedro to Bolivia across the Bolivian salt flats. Hung around on the internet, did laundry and ate.
We stopped for lunch at a small seaside town called ´Pichidangui´, the driver had organised a restaurant for us which was overpriced and had a crap menu. Me, Frog and Caroline decided not to eat and look elsewhere, followed by everyone else. The look on the driver and Guides face was priceless. I guess they didnt get their free dinners. We arrived in ´La Serena´ later that day for our first overnight stop.
28 Dec Stopped off at a place called ´Punta de Choros´ where we went for a boat ride around these islands where we saw dolphins, sea otters and lions and a few other species of birds. To be quite honest I was bored as we had seen it all before and got my knees sunburnt for good measure. Later in the day we went to ´Bahia Inglesa´ , a beach resort where our accommodation was an ´A´ frame bungalow, shared between 5 of us.
29 Dec Today was a free day to relax on the beach. In the afternoon we were brought into town for a couple of hours, and when asked what there was to do, the guide said ´Nothing´. Hmmm. That night the whole group had a BBQ and Fiachra did his trademark nude shot in the drivers seat of the bus much to the delight of the group.
30 Dec Had a long day in the bus today, we stopped for a few photos along the way including the ´Hand in the sand´ a huge sand 10 metre hand carved out of rock. This sculpture was commissioned to signify a greeting and a farewell to all crossers of the Atacama dessert. Futher along we stopped at a cemetry for workers that died in the local nickel mines. It is no longer in use but the shallow graves and the dessert wind often uncover the bodies below. There was this one body that was partially decomposed and still had its ear. We had to peer in though the makeshift coffin to see it but Frog decided to lift the lid off it to get a proper look and propped it open with a big stick. He´s going straight to hell but we got a few good photos. Another stop had this armchair in the middle of the dessert which is popular for funny dessert shots (lacking in any culture or history methinks) but enjoyed it nonetheless. Frog did his usual nude and enjoyed the notoriety and paparazzi that went with it. ´We stopped at ´Angofasta´ that night.
31 Dec Today we went to a train cemetry in a place called ´Baquedano´. The old steam trains there were used to transport the minerals from the mines over 50 years ago and are still in the same condition due to the very low humidity in the dessert. We had a good laugh climbing all over them incl getting into the boiler at the front. Fiachra did a nudie aswell hiding his locomotive and carraiges behind the train chimney. We were travelling along the tropic of Capricorn and was very hot and dry (c.35C). We visited salt flats and went to an oasis village (never been to an Oasis before) where there were very welcome natural pools that we swam in. The day was a bit overshadowed by the fact that one of the lads on our group had his camera stolen by local kids. The guy was very upset as he had months of memories on his memory card. We went to see flamingoes feeding nearby and when we arrived there were 6 military personnel there and 2 army vehicles. Unusual we thought, but afterwards we were told that we had been mingling with a scarfed Princess Caroline of Monaco.
We got to our nightly stop at San Pedro De Atacama and had to cook as all restaurants were full for New Years eve. We headed out on the town and the place was alive with people, music and these stuffed human like figures (effidgies) sitting on chairs. We didnt know what they were but they were all doused in petrol and lit at midnight. Everyone cheered, was interesting but wondered were they always effidgies when that custom started. We ended up at a house party in a house rented by 3 Cork Girls.
01 Jan Got home at 3am but some of the others didnt get back until 8am. Later in the day we had a look around town before heading off on short trip to ´Moon Valley´ to explore some salt Caves and look at the amazing mountians and valleys consisting entirely of salt. Then we climbed up this big sand dune and watched the first sunset of 2009.
That evening we went out for dinner and I asked the waitress for ´el tabla para tres por favor´ she burst out laughing and showed us to our table. I later found out that rather than asking for a table for three please, I had asked for a surfboard for 3. It got a great laugh.
02 Jan Booked our 3 day tour from San pedro to Bolivia across the Bolivian salt flats. Hung around on the internet, did laundry and ate.
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