From here to there

Well, Liz and I seem to be on a whirl wind tour of southern Bolivia. As we were planning to get to Buenos Aires by November first, we have been rushing down there. Our first stop after La Paz was Cochabamba, only a 8 hour overnight bus ride. We relished in the hot hot heat and crazy humidity. We went shopping straight away to buy more tank tops! We also saw a couple of the can't miss sights like an old mansion built by a rich miner (at one point he was one of the 10th richest in the world). The house, and especially the gardens were beautiful. We also hired a cab to take us up to the high hill to see a big Jesus. Liz and I took pictures under the big Jesus, holding our arms out singing, "She's got the whole world in her hands!"
We are going to hell for sure. We really took it easy in Cochabamba and had a nice time. We boared another bus to take us to Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz is another world compared to what we had been seeing in Bolivia. It's rich, it's white, and it's clean. No stray dogs running wild, no beggars (ok, less beggars), and amazing international cuisine. Again, it was so hot here as we had been spending most time in the altiplano of Bolivia (around 4,000 meters) and now we were at a nice 400m. The sun baked us, but we were loving it. Our first night there we ran into our old friend, Ruairi, whom we met climbing Machu Picchu. He and a friend were bellied up at (you guessed it) and Irish pub. We left with them to head to the hot spot of San Miguel. This area is lined with bars and clubs. All the young people are on the streets drinking outside their cars blaring music louder than the clubs. Just like home (well, almost). We had some beers and chatted. The next night we went out again and partying with rugby teams that were in for a championship. Needless to say, we were out quite late. Our days were spent just relaxing and enjoying the heat. Our last night we stayed in at our hostal and hung out with other travelers recouping from the weekend.


On the bus again to Sucre. We arrived after a short 14 hour bus ride. We arrived in Sucre at about 7 am. We got breakfast and immediately went back to bed. Seems we didn't get much sleep on the bus. But we did manage to get some colds. We found people to be very rude and unpleasant in Sucre. We only stayed two days and made our way to Potosí.

In Potosí we did the obligatory miner's tour. It is tour that takes you underground to the silver mines of Potosí. Unfortunately for us it was the Halloween, Day of the Dead, and All Saints Day holidays which meant everything in Sucre and Potosí were closed. But for the tour it was a good thing as the miners were taking the day off because it meant much less dust in the air.
It is already hard to breathe as Potosí is the highest city in Bolivia, but being underground with all the miners dust in the air made it really hard to breathe. We wore bandannas over our mouth and nose, but they did little good. We climbed (hand and knees at some points) through this Bolivian mine and have never felt more uncomfortable. After descending to the third level we heard a lone clank clank clank.
There was a miner. One sole miner still working even though it was a holiday. Turns out he was working by hand in the dark. His head lamp had burned out. So we sat there and gave him light, water, and some Bolivianos (money). He was so happy and grateful. We were hoping he would take a break and go spend time with his family,but he wanted a few more hours of work. It was amazing. Remind me to never complain about a job again! Liz (the crazy girl) even held live dynamite after we left the mine and blew shit up!


We spent just one more day in
Potosí and caught a 14 hour bus to Villazon. We arrived in Villazon at 5 am with no sleep as it had been the bumpiest, worst ride yet. Poor Liz's seat didn't even recline at all. We bought a ticket to head 24 hours to Buenos Aires. We waited until 10 am and boarded that bus. The bus drove us about 5 blocks to the boarder of Argentina. We all got out of the bus and waited at the boarder. Still not sure what we were waiting for. We did not board the bus until 2 pm. We were not the most pleasant people at this point. I tried to stay at a distance from everybody as I was sure I would snap any moment.
But once finally able to board it was a nice bus and we had the whole bottom level to ourselves. They served good food and played decent movies. We were able to sleep, thank god. We finally arrived in the mother land at 4 pm the next day.

Liz and I are so excited to have gotten to Buenos Aires. It is a beautiful big city and we love it. On the bus ride we made friends with a Canadian Chad. We found a hostal and decided we had to go out and celebrate our new found city! We had great steak dinners at a nice restaurant that played Tango music! A great start. We went out from there, met more travelers and stayed out until 5 am on our first night.




The next day Lizzie and I were on a mission to find an apartment to rent. Mission accomplished! We found a great two bedroom apartment in a great neighborhood, in between Recoleta and Palermo. We even have a pull out couch for visitors! So, no excuses... we will be here for one whole month. You are all invited!

Madidi National Park

Liz and I arrived back in Rurrenabaque and were asked if we could wait a day to start our jungle tour as the planes weren't coming in and they were waiting on some people. Sure, no problem. We just hung around the lazy town of Rurrenabaque eating and drinking these amazing chocolate banana peanut butter shakes at Piraña, a local hang out.
The next day we left for the Madidi office. Only one other tourist had made it, but we loaded up the boat and headed out on a 3 hour boat ride. This boat, luckily, had cushions and a roof to keep the blazing Amazonian Basin sun off our skin. Taking anti malaria pills makes me extra sensitive. The ride was beautiful, we stopped for a lunch half way there and got to see how the indigenous people live.
We arrived at Madidi and we're introduced to our guide, Ramel.

After dropping off our bags and meeting our roommate Peter and the huge tarantula he found in the bathroom(!) we headed off us on a sunset boat ride on Lago San Fernando. The boat was one half of a tree that had been hollowed out by hand, it was so neat. We saw lots of birds, loads of fish jumping, and we're basically eaten alive by killer flies. We stayed out on the lake until the sun was gone and found the first stars.

We went back to the main cabin for a delicious dinner and then we went out for a night walk through the rain forest. Ramel and Liz had flashlights (I lost mine). But it turned out best when we turned off the lights and just stood still listening. Then Ramel would quickly turn on his light and point out what he found. Usually a small mouse or bird. We, unfortunately, never found the allusive Puma nor anything else too exciting. We did find enormous bugs, though.
The next day we were scheduled to take a walk through the rain forest to Lago Gringo. About every 10-15 feet Ramel would stop and point out something. Bugs, spiders, which animals were making the noises we could hear. He knew so much about all the plants. Which helped with stomach problems. Which could cure the sting of a huge ant. Which plants to stay away from because they had jumping ants that sting like crazy. He told us of the trees that could make you blind if you touched the sap. He showed us where the termites lived.

(They taste like mint!) We had been walking about 4 hours when we notice we are not quite on a path anymore. Yup, Ramel had gotten us lost. We didn't say anything and just continued to follow him blindly deeper into the vegetation. I actually liked it, I felt like an explorer. But we could have used machetes! After about a half hour of this I asked him if we were lost. He assured us that even though we lost the path, he still knew the way. We did eventually find the path again. Only to begin to feel the rain drops. The thick canopy above kept us dry for some time, but then it started to down pour. We hid under a palm tree. That did little good. We waited for about 40 minutes getting soaked and decided to make a run for it to the cabina waiting for us at Lago Gringo. We made it there, soaked and starved. Ramel had our lunch in his bag so we set us camp, ate a great lunch then rested on the hammocks in the cabina. We waited for a couple of hours, but with the rain showing no sign of stopping we decided to head back. Luckily there was another route that only took about 30 minutes to reach our main cabina.


After getting dry and having a nap we went back to the main cabina for dinner. They pointed out the enormous cayman that was floating by on the lake. During dinner Rosa Maria stopped by to see how we were enjoying our meal. Rosa Maria is the founder of this ecolodge. And she is one incredible woman. She was born in the jungle to a Belgium mother. She has lived her whole life in the jungle. She and her mother have fought against dictator regimes, and other corrupt political leaders year after year to save rain forest. She has had everything she owned burned to the ground because they didn't like what she was doing. She also had to flee Bolivia and was exiled in the USA for some time. She is highly educated and has worked with groups like Stings to help save the planet. Aside from all of this she is incredible because she survived a viscous cayman attack.
She used to swim every morning in the lake very early. About 2 years ago on her swim she saw a cayman heading right for her. The trick to avoid a cayman is to swim under it and come up on the other side, as they have a hard time turning around very fast. Unfortunately she didn't swim far enough and basically came up for air right under his nose. He bit her and dragged her under water. They struggled and she fought hard. For some unknown reason he did let her go. She swam to the surface and called for help. He basically ate off her quadriceps muscle and all the tendons. She endured 16 surgeries of re grafting muscle and tissue from other parts of her body. She is lucky to be alive - and walking! We enjoyed talking with her and learned so much. We stayed around for a few hours drinking chelas (beers) and talking with the rest of the staff.
That night laying in bed I heard the craziest sound. It sounded like a deep roar and I was convinced the Puma was just outside our cabina. The next morning I asked Rosa Maria what it might have been. She asked me to make the sound I heard, I tried but felt like an idiot. Rosa Maria then introduced me to Chaco Mano, he too, grew up in the jungle and knows every thing about it. His special talent is to imitate nearly every animal sound. She asked him to do the Puma, monkeys, howler monkeys, cayman, and so on. I was so impressed. It was the coolest thing ever. Most likely what I had heard had been a large male cayman.
After breakfast we set out to do some piraña fishing, but Liz and I were mainly just feeding them as we caught none. We had lunch then caught the boat back to Rurre.

We came walking up the street to find Maria (from our Pampas trip) waiting for us. She was headed to dinner with two English girls she had met in the jungle. So the five of us met at Moskkito, the gringo bar, for happy hour. Turns out in the jungle every thing is fresh squeezed juice. A Greyhound is vodka with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Amazing and dangerous. We had a couple of cocktails then went to a lovely dinner at La Perla. We all ordered the house specialty which is Surubi fish in a mustard garlic sauce... again, amazing! It was so fun to sit around the table with a bunch of girls and have a girl talk session! It's usually mixed company, so it was quite refreshing. After dinner it was back to Moskkito for more cocktails and eventually dancing.
We had a blast our last night in Rurrenabaque. The next morning we met for breakfast and lazed around the local pool for hours. It was just what we needed as a break from the incredible heat. We boarded the plane in early evening and were back safe and sound in La Paz.
Now, Liz and I hadn't really yet taken advantage of the La Paz night life and we were determined to do so. We have been sad missing all the football games at home, but we found something that felt quite similar. We went to Oliver's Travels, an English pub in the center of the city. There we watched the Rugby World Cup Final between England and South Africa. The bar was divided with travellers from both countries. Liz and I claimed to be "Swiss" in that we were neutral. We were really rooting for England, but it became quite clear that was a losing battle.
After the game ended we went to dinner. We had a Coca mojito! That was wild. We met up with friends at the Loki Hostal for a TOGA party. We were basically the only ones with out togas, but it didn't matter much. Then it was out to one of La Paz's hippest (and most crowded) dance clubs, Orange. We danced all night long and loved it.
We are now headed to Cochabamba.

Pampas Baby!

Rurrenabaque (Rurre) is a small town on the edge of the jungle. If you are interested in going there from La Paz there are a few ways to get there. A)By plane. A good option, pretty cheap and is quick 45mins or so. Downside is that the flights are not reliable as there is just a grass landing strip in Rurre and if it rains, no planes. B)Bus. Buses in Bolivia are not the nicest. Not much leg room, no bathrooms on board and is usually packed to the gills with locals. Also the trip is about 18 hours on a good day with much of the way on the worlds most dangerous road. The country has recently built a new road for part of the way, but for the remaining part, its a narrow 1.5 lane dirt road along the side of mountains. C)Jeep. Almost as expensive as the plane but is 12hrs. The upside is that the trip is 5-8 people and you can make as many stops as you like. For our trip Erin and I chose to fly. It was a no brainer and we were so excited to leave La Paz the 5a wake up call did not even phase us.

We arrived at the airport and waited for a bit, it slowly got busier with other travellers. We checked our luggage and crossed our fingers. No flights had been taking off in the previous few days due to smoke in the Rurre area from forest fires. We hoped it was a good day for us. And it started off great. We lined up to board and ended up chatting with Alex and Patrick a German-American couple from San Francisco and a girl named Maria from NY. We exchanged info on our upcoming jungle treks, discussed our overall travel plans and just were really excited to meet fellow Americans travelling. (We´re quite uncommon). The next thing we knew the plane was delayed for an hour due to smoke. We ate breakfast at the cafe, and waited some more. We were just about to teach them our favorite Carioca card game when we were allowed to board! This was it! Or was it? We probably jinxed ourselves when we started snapping pics on the plane because we were then told it would be another 20 minutes. The next thing we knew the flight was cancelled all together. Our options were now taking the next plane (scheduled to take off at 430p the next afternoon but no guarantees), or we could take a bus that left at 11a that morning. The 5 of us realized that we could split a jeep and get there that night in time to do our scheduled trips the next day. After a few calls we found a driver and got excited about leaving (again). The driver picked us up at the airport and after a trip back into La Paz to get more money, we were off!

Most of the 12 hour ride was uneventful. The ride was pretty bumpy, roads curvy but there were great views of the country. We had a bit of a problem just after it got dark when we got a flat. Patrick helped our driver change the tire and we were back on the road in no time. (Thankfully Patrick neglected to tell us that the spare was as bald as could be...) Just after midnight we pulled into Rurre, happy to have made it that day just a few hours behind our original schedule. Our hostel had a bar next door and we decided that we needed 1 quick beer before heading off to bed. The next morning Erin and I met up with our friends again before we headed off on our own. That was when we decided that we liked their company so much we would postpone our jungle trek in order to take a pampas trek with them. (the pampas is more of a grassy version of the jungle. similar animals and insects with fewer trees). After letting our tour company know we would be back a few days later to go, we signed up with the new company and were once again ready for our next adventure.

We loaded our stuff into the jeep and got psyched up for a 3 hr jeep trip followed by a 3 hr canoe ride. The 5 of us were under the impression that it would just be us on the trip but we made a stop on our way out of town and picked up 2 French guys Pierre and Charles. As they walked up we all really hoped they would be fun and add to the dynamic of the group. Our fears grew when we talked a bit to them and realized they had opted for the bus ride the day before and it took them 21 hours! They had just gotten to Rurre about an hour before we picked them up and hardly talked the entire way to the Pampas. We were way off though, it was the bus ride that made them tired. Without them our trip would have never been as fun. They were great!

The jeep drive was long, hot and bumpy. And we got another flat about halfway through the trip. (Patrick by this time is really good at helping change flats). We arrived at the head of the river and moved all our belongings to a canoe, lathered on sunscreen (no sun cover overhead) and started our trip. Along with the 7 of us came Sabino our guide and Freddy our cook. This was where the fun started. We were barely on the canoe for more than 10 minutes when around one bend was an alligator, within just a few feet of us! (the river was about 20 feet across and pretty shallow)Then another! Then really exotic birds. Then capibara (cousins of rats, and are the largest rodent in the world, which us girls nicknamed ROUSes, Rodents of Unusual Size, Princess Bride anyone?). It seemed like every corner had another surprise for us. Beautiful cranes, storks, turtles and monkeys! About halfway through the ride Sabino let 2 canoes pass us before he pulls the canoe over to the bank. We were all kind of wondering what he was doing when he pointed up to some trees and there were a bunch of little monkeys looking down at us! Sabino started calling to them and they came down and seemed just as curious about us as we were about them. We were so close to them, it was amazing.


We made it to our cabin in enough time to unload our things and head over to a nearby bar. We had a beer, watched the sunset and relished the idea that we were finally there. The previous 2 days had taken a lot out of us. After dinner Sabino took us on a night canoe ride. Armed with bug spray and flashlights we headed out on the river. Sabino taught us to shine our lights on the river bank and look out for glowing eyes. There were so many. Big alligators, small baby alligators all looking right back at us. After seeing them in the daytime it was really cool to see them glow at night. When we returned to camp Sabino informed us that we were going to get up early and watch the sunrise, see the animals and listen to the birds in the early morning. We dutifully agreed and went to bed, all 7 of us in one dorm room. The beds were basic and uncomfortable. And it was sticky hot. We did get mosquito nets, a blanket and a small pillow but everyone was so tired nothing mattered. After getting used to the jungle noises, we all went right to sleep.

We awoke at 5am to howler monkeys. They are larger monkeys and make the craziest noise. I think its similar to the noise your stomach makes when you are very hungry but MUCH louder and nonstop. We were curious as to whether they do this every morning (love nature wake up calls!) or if they had another reason to do it. We soon learned that they like to howl when it is going to rain. We climbed into the canoe and started off in search of the sunrise when we realized that it was cloudy and beginning to rain. No sunrise for us. Sabino turned us around and headed back to camp.

After breakfast Sabino told us to put on rain gear, grab the rubber boots that were stacked up nearby, we were going searching for Anacondas! After a short boat ride we pulled up to the bank and got out. And started walking. In the rain. At first it was kind of fun. The grass was just above the knee and we trudged though on the prowl. After cutting across a huge swampy field we came up to a small pond. Sabino motioned for us to stand on the edge as he slowly zig-zagged through the pond. Anacondas like to stay at the bottom of the water and usually lie straight as a stick. If he felt one with his boots, he would pick it up and show us. We searched in different puddles like this for about 3 hours. And if I was not there to live through it I would never think that the jungle gets cold. But it does. It got a bit windier, half of us had holes in our rubber boots and there were no Anacondas. We all decided that we were ready to be done. Unfortunately Sabino takes his job very seriously and continued to search. Our new French friends start singing to us as entertainment and at one point when Sabino wanders off, Pierre teaches us Ticky-Tocky. He used to teach it to kids at a summer camp but his Rugby team adopted it as their favorite post match, drinking dance. You can only imagine what we looked like, in the middle of the jungle, drenched and cold doing a crazy French song and dance. It was great, at least it helped us warm up. Sabino soon abandoned the search and we headed back to camp. We got warm dry clothes on, had lunch and took a long nap.


That afternoon Sabino took us out fishing for Pirañas. And to spice things up it was going to be a contest. Bolivia vs. Germany vs. France vs. USA. We made him promise however that if it started raining again (it had stopped when we were eating lunch) he would take us back to camp. We fished for about 30 minutes (France up by 2 or 3)when it started raining again. True to his word we started up the motor and headed... in the wrong direction to our camp. We soon pulled up to a farm along the river. He pointed to a building and we all went in happy to get out of the rain. We walked in and realized that it wasn´t a shelter just in case it rained, it was actually someones house! 2 bedrooms, an open area with a few hammocks and kids everywhere. Two families was eating lunch when we came in. It was a bit awkward but clearly we weren´t the first or last tourists to use their house to get out of the rain. The family had snacks and drinks for sale... definitely a way to subsidize their income. The Bolivia vs. Uruguay football game was on the radio and we listened in along with a few more locals that had come to party as well. After 30 minutes or so a few of the men went outside. We were a bit curious and watched them go outside. That is when I looked out the front door and lying on a board next to a tree was a pig. A recently killed pig. It actually was still squirming a bit. I told the others and we all looked on in shock. Sure I eat meat but don´t usually see the process. As interesting as it was, it was kind of gross. Really gross when the dog came over and licked the blood on the ground. At this point the rain had slowed and we headed back to the canoe. We all walked pass the pig and made comments. And the men working on the pig laughed! I´m sure they thought we were the crazy ones! Then Alex shouts to watch out and on the ground in front of us are hooves. Unfortunately the hooves were not currently attached to an animal. And nearby in a tree we see the head of a lamb, wedged between 2 branches. The lamb was the owner of the hooves. YUCK. It was like we were in some kind of scary movie!

Back in the canoe the Frenchies (they liked being called that) and Sabino smoked us in the fishing contest. I believe they had 15 to our 6... not sure how many Sabino had but I´m sure it was a lot... It started raining again and by this time we really were done. We headed back to the cabin and changed into dry clothes and had some tea to warm up. For entertainment Pierre and Charles taught us the Wolf game. Its a strategy game where 2 people out of the group are wolves. The rest are villagers, some with powers, some not. The point of the game is to kill the wolves before they kill the villagers. After a few minutes of explanation we start to play and are quickly addicted. Even after spending only a day (or 2) with the people in the group everyone can kind of read each other. But then it gets tricky... are they lying? How well can I read them? How well can I read Erin? How can I convince them that I am actually a villager when the want me gone? It was great fun and even when we were served dinner we continued to play. It was only when Sabino came in and started telling us stories about being a guide when we stopped.

Sabinos stories were incredible. He had been a guide for about 13 years and before that he had lived with an indigenous tribe for a year studying natural medicines. He had even learned their language and taught us a few words. He told us of a time he was searching for Anacondas and found a huge one, or rather it found him. The snake was huge and it bit his hand and then coiled around his neck rather quickly. Luckily there was another group and guide with him because it took all those extra people to get him untangled. Another story was the time he was bit by a tarantula. The poisonous kind. He had learned from his time in the jungle to use iguana skin to get rid of the venom and to basically save himself. Truly amazing. The most scary story he told us was of the Cannibals that lived in the Madidi National Park. Madidi is one of the largest national parks in Bolivia. But when we heard that there were Cannibals in the area we freaked. It isn´t something Lonely Planet ever mentioned when it talks of what can be seen in the jungle. He said that we were safe and if we were ever trekking through Madidi our guides would know where not to go. But he did say if they found us, we would not survive. Thanks for the info Sabino.

By then we were pretty tired and ready for bed. Unfortunately Erin any my beds somehow became covered in Bat Guano. Great. Rather than switching the sheets we opted for a new room. We said goodnight and once again after getting used to the jungle noises were fast asleep.

We awoke to rain. Again! We were supposed to take a morning canoe ride and but we all vetoed that idea, Sabino included. Rather, we slept in, had a nice breakfast and played Wolf. Then Sabino surprised us with a marvelous gift! He had found an alligator skull the day before and was telling us that he uses the teeth to make necklaces. We all figured he would make them for himself or sell them. We were all completely taken aback when he pulls out 7 necklaces!! He had stayed up late the night before making them and gave them to us! It was so unexpected and so special, truly a great gift.

We continued playing Wolf when we looked outside the cabin and saw monkeys! All these monkeys were walking along the boardwalk that connected our cabin with a nearby bar. The monkeys were going on the other side of the cabin to eat the organic garbage left nearby. We all ran out and were watching them when Sabino asked if we wanted to feed them bananas. Who wouldn´t? At first I was scared, I thought they had claws and when they grabbed the banana they also grabbed your hand. But the monkeys had fingers! Little baby fingers! They were so cute! We watched for a bit more and took turns feeding them when it started raining again. Back to playing Wolf!

After lunch we packed our things and headed out. The plan was to make our way back to get picked up by the jeep with the possibility of swimming with the pink river dolphins. We were all pumped but Erin was the most excited. We saw people swimming with them on our canoe trip in and we wanted to do it, except for the idea of getting nibbled by pirañas. It would be worth it right? When we arrived to the area they usually hung out in, Sabino pulled us up to the bank and got out. Nearby was an alligator and he marched right over and touched it! We were all tempted but I don´t think anyone got as close. Except for Erin, but that was against her will s Sabino picked her up into the air and carried her over to the alligator - she screamed the whole way (but I think she liked it)! That´s when we noticed the dolphins! 6 of them swimming around and playing. They do not have as large of a dorsal fin as bottle nose dolphins so they are not as easy to spot in the water, but every so often they´d come up to the surface. Beautiful pink river dolphins. We were all talking about going in to swim when Sabino told us we couldn´t. There was a cayman nearby and it was too dangerous. (They are related to alligators but are larger and more aggressive. Alligators wouldn´t go after us but caymans would). Normally the dolphins protect from the cayman but Sabino explained there were not enough, there needed to be 10-15 dolphins. Dissappointed we watched a bit more and then continued on our way.

We arrived back at the pick up area and decided after 3 days in the pampas we ought to do a show for the people who were just getting there. Ticky-Tocky anyone? We loaded into the jeep and headed off. Slowly. All that rain made the dusty dirt road mud. We were even warned not to open the back vent windows because if we tipped they would break. Tipped? Yes, it actually came pretty close. Too close for comfort but our driver got us out of the huge tracks we were in with only a scare. The other thing that kept us busy was watching for two toed sloths. Sabino pointed out the trees they lived in and we looked and looked. Patrick was the first to see one!(and the most excited, he and Alex had been looking for them the entire trip). We all got out and took pictures and watched him make his way SLOWLY down the tree. Poor guy was soaked (like the rest of us) but was really cute and remarkable to watch.

We made it back in the early evening and decided to meet out for drinks and dinner to end our trip on a great note. Our trek into the pampas was crazy, rainy and incredbly fun. We never stopped laughing. We laughed so hard we cried and our stomachs hurt. Who would have thought that a 3 day rainy trek into the papmas would be such a good time? Many thanks to Sabino, Maria, Pierre, Charles, Alex and Patrick for such a memorable trip. Hope to see you all again soon!

La Paz, Bolivia

We have taken a few days here in La Paz to regroup and relax. Poor Liz caught yet another stomach bug, so we have been waiting that out before leaving for an extended adventure. We have been enjoying our days here though. This is the most crazy congested city we've been to yet, but we like it. There are people lining every street selling everything from underwear to batteries to makeup. It's strange, I haven't figured out if there are any real stores yet, or if everything is just on the street. The weirdest thing being sold are these packets you can buy that consist of herbs, flowers, tokens, little figurenes, and yup you guessed it... dried Llama fetuses! It's some sort of a witchery/good luck thing. But it smells wierd and I don't feel the need to buy one.
We have been doing a lot of shopping here as it is the cheapest country we've been in yet. We had developed a saying "I'll buy it in Bolivia". And now we are putting our money where our mouth is. Also, eating has been a pleasure as it is ridiculously cheap! We eat like Kings for about 2 bucks. I love it.

We did just get back from our trip to Copacabana on Lago Titikaka. It was absolutely beautiful. We spent the night out on Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). Unfortunely, due to some forest fires up north there were loads of cloads in the sky preventing us from seeing what was sure to be an impressive sunset. There is a lot of legend associated with Isla del Sol and it is a very important part of the Inka history. The Inka believed that the very first Inka were born of the Isla del Sol. The island is were the Inka Kings came to rest and relax. And just across the water is Isla de la Luna (Island of the Moon) that housed all of the most beautiful virgins in the Inka time.
I was amazed to be there, as I remember learning about Lake Titicaca as a kid and thinking that it was the most hilarious name for a lake ever. Never knew one day I'd be floating along enormous lake. I had to keep reminding myself I was on Lake Titikaka! Wow!

We had a great guide, Wilmer, that even played the traditional flute while we were in the old resting place of the Inka King that is over 500 years old.
We are back in La Paz, for a day or two, and tomorrow we will be making our way up to Rurrenabaque.

our Bolivian misadventure

Liz-
Erin and I are were so excited to start our Bolivian adventure we thought nothing would get in our way. Little did we know...

We booked our trip into Bolivia via the Salar de Uyuni which consisted of a 3 day Jeep trip through the Bolivian countryside. Starting in San Pedro, Chile and ending in Uyuni, Bolivia. Since we were already in Chile we figured this was the easiest way to begin the next leg of our trip. Our guide book warned us about the tour itself and of the tour companies and that the quality varies not only from agency to agency but from guide to guide. We figured that we had the patience to deal with anything and we were ready to go.

We met up with the other 3 couples going on our trip outside the agency at 8am on Friday. Erin and I were both a bit tired from partying a bit the last few nights. (We made a few friends the last time we were in town and ended up going out with them again...) Our van drove about 30 minutes until we got to the Bolivian border where we went through customs, ate a quick breakfast and then met up with our guides. Our group of 8 was split in half, 4 to a Jeep. Erin and I ended up with a couple from Sweden Per and Elin. In the other Jeep was a couple from Italy and a couple from France. We had no idea how this decision would affect our trip.

The first day of our trip was kind of a blur. Erin suffers from major motion sickness and took a Dramamine. I wasn´t feeling terribly well and thought the drive might make me sick so I took a Dramamine too. For anyone that doesn´t know, these babies put you to sleep! We visited Laguna Verde, which is a beautiful green lake, due to arsenic and other minerals. On windy days you can see the color, on calm days the lake makes a mirror image of the mountain it sits in front of. We all got out for a few photos and then jumped back in the Jeep. At 4300m it was cold! The next stop was Laguna Polques, which was hot springs we had the option of taking a dip in. Since it was cold we opted not to. We did get out and walk around, take some pics then were ready to get going... Emilio our guide did end up going in so we waited (and napped) and then took off. Next stop was the Sol de Mañana geyser. At this point we were at an altitude of 5000m. We walked around and were struck with the sweet sweet smell of sulfur (as Erin called it Bog of Eternal Stench). All around us were boiling pools of mud. After a bit more of a drive we pulled up to a group of buildings. Emilio told us that this was our hostel for the night, while we unpacked he would get lunch. (This was the most he talked to us all day. He gave us a bit of info on the places we stopped at, but not much more than the name, altitude and what we looked at.)


After lunch we relaxed for a bit and then Emilio took us to Laguna Colorada. It is a beautiful blood red lake that we could see from our hostel, all 4 of us were up for it. He dropped us off and said he´d meet us about 200yds away. We took pictures, admired the Flamingos (who would have thought Bolivia would have Flamingos?!) and started walking back to the Jeep. When we climbed in, he asked (as beautifully translated by Erin) ¨You´re done?¨ We nodded and then went back to the hostel.


Erin -
The second day was much like the first. Lagoons, flamingos,yadda yadda. That night we stayed at a refugio and the room we ate in was made of salt. Salt walls, salt seats, salt tables. Very interesting. At dinner that second night our guide told us we had two options. Either get up at 4 30 am to be on the Salar by 5 am to watch the sunrise, or leave at 8 am for just the regular tour. We opted for the 5 am sunrise watching. So, we headed to bed early and set our alarms. The bells went off and we were up. We brought our bags to the door to be loaded in the jeep. But the jeep was no where to be found. And neither was Emilio. The woman who ran the place explained that sometimes Emilio would sleep at home at night. Apparently he is from a small village near by. Not to worry, he should be there any minute now. So we waited. And waited. Liz read a book, I took a nap. We played cards with the Swedes (who, by the way, have no card playing skills what so ever).

Around noon a man came to tell us that there was a party in the small town last night. I guess there was a soccer championship or something. Our jeep was spotted buried in the sand and Emilio was still no where to be found. He offered a solution. There was a radio in the next town over that got turned on at 2 pm. We could use that to call the tour agency in Uyuni. So, we went with him because he was driving there, even though it was only 1230. We went. We sat. We waited.

I was pissed at this point, but tried to keep a positive attitude. Sure we were stranded in the middle of no where, but we really had no where else to be! At about ten til 2 the townsman who was in charge of the radio let us into this little hut. He turned on the CB radio and started in with his yelling, "Americamericamerica" or "Globo uyuni globo uyuni globo uyuni". After about 15 minutes of this someone answered. I tried not to laugh as this man explain our situation over the radio. It sounded quite dire, "Tourists are stranded, guide is missing, please send help!" The agency agreed to pay for this tiny towns only taxi (beat up station wagon from the early 80´s) to take us across the salar. Ok, we´ll do it.
Upon returning to our refugio we spot the jeep. Emilio had returned at nearly 3 in the afternoon. At this point I was spitting fire and it was aimed right for Emilio´s head. "How could you do this? Did you have fun last night getting drunk? We are mad. We are angry. We are furious. Let´s pack up the car and go." I was saying all of this to him as he lay on a mattress on the kitchen floor. I should have realized there was more trouble ahead.


We all loaded in the jeep and set out across the beautiful Uyuni Salar. 12,500 square kilometers of nothing but salt and sky. About 30 minutes into the drive I notice we are swerving randomly. Granted, there is no road, so you could drive where ever you want, but it seemed weird. I look over at Emilio and he is sleeping! Yup, that´s right eyes closed mouth open asleep. And for some reason I didn't totally panic. Instead I turn around to Liz and whisper, "he´s asleep". Liz, with a look of sheer terror pops him on the back and I yell "wake up". He comes to and now I am freaking furious! I start yelling at him to let me drive! "Stop the car and I´ll drive," I said. But he mumbled something and just kept going. The car starts sort of sputtering and acting weird. I ask what in the world is going on and he calmly tells me we are running out of gas. Oh great! We are in the middle of NO WHERE with no one in sight and are now out of gas. So, the car stops and all we can do is wait. Liz and I take this opportunity to take some pictures. Eventually a few jeeps show up and share some gas. Then another jeep shows up. It´s Javier, our savior! He was sent from the agency to pick us up. We didn´t hesitate and loaded our stuff into his jeep to continue our journey. He was a much better guide. He explained stuff about the salar and played good music. We were so happy to be rescued.


Javier took us to an island in the middle of the salar that had cactus and a few animals. We then made our way to Uyuni. He brought us right to the agency where they were very apologetic. After a little discussion they agreed to give us back a portion of the money we spent on the trip. I was shocked, but I don´t think they wanted any bad press. Word of mouth is crucial to these tour operators.
So, with that behind us, Liz and I grabbed a pizza and boared an 8 o´clock bus for Oruro, Bolivia.
This was not such a comfortable ride. The man behind me kept digging his knees into my chair back and the guy in front of Liz kept trying to recline onto her lap. We slept some, thanks to the wonders of Dramamine and Benedryl. We arrived very early in the morning. Before the sunrise. We waited for light and made our way to our hotel.
We spent just one night in Oruro as there is not much to do. But we did enjoy every meal, but not as much as the people seemed to enjoy having us! They were always so grateful. In one place they made us take pictures with the baby there! It was weird, but nice. We felt like celebrities!
We are now happy and safe in La Paz! We took a four hour bus ride here. We were amazed to see the lights over the city as we pulled in around 7. The city is huge and is constantly bustling with people, cars, and noise. We've enjoyed eating great meals for about 2 bucks a pop! Shopping, shopping, and more shopping! And planning our next adventures!!!