In Santa Cruz we extended our stay in Bolivia as we only got issued 30 days on our entry stamp. We had to barge our way through in front of the immigration office with guarded police officers and hundreds of Bolivians and we finally pushed ourselves through the entrance gate.
We also got our lesson on the Bolivian queueing system. When a mid aged woman stepped in front of us in a pharmacy, we made it very clear we weren't to happy about it. We were then kindly reminded by a German teacher that 60's and over don't need to queue. How embarrassing!
Sunday 25 February 2007
Friday 23 February 2007
VILLA TUNARI (BOLIVIA)
Major parts of Bolivia were flooded and we decided to do something different. We were planing to volunteer in an animal refugee for 2 weeks hoping the roads will be accessible again after that.
First of all there was no public transport available from Cochabamba to the East. Thinking it had something to do with the floods we hired a taxi for the 3 hours journey and the driver reassured us it would be no problem to get to Villa Tunari. Driving over fields avoiding police check points he still was convinced the problem was near Santa Cruz. We came to an end after 2,5 hours, a landslide and the whole road was gone for about 50m. Determent to get to the village we followed the locals climbing over trees and walking trough mud and electricity was catching on fire just a few meters above us. After 30 minutes we reached the other side, pleased to see a bus waiting already.
Villa Tunari is an experience for itself. If it wouldn't have been for the lovely cappuccino monkeys we worked with we would have quit after a few days. It is an awfully organised organisation and I hope we will only remember the funny episodes in our future.
Phil witnessed a monkey blow job on his first day with kisses blown at him. Petra's monkey feed her a corn which he just picked out of a pile of monkey poo. Talking about shit, Phil's jungle dump got eaten by a turtle and we all made sure not to get to close to them anymore.
There are many more stories but this isn't the space for essays. All in all we met some cool people and some wicket animals too.
First of all there was no public transport available from Cochabamba to the East. Thinking it had something to do with the floods we hired a taxi for the 3 hours journey and the driver reassured us it would be no problem to get to Villa Tunari. Driving over fields avoiding police check points he still was convinced the problem was near Santa Cruz. We came to an end after 2,5 hours, a landslide and the whole road was gone for about 50m. Determent to get to the village we followed the locals climbing over trees and walking trough mud and electricity was catching on fire just a few meters above us. After 30 minutes we reached the other side, pleased to see a bus waiting already.
Villa Tunari is an experience for itself. If it wouldn't have been for the lovely cappuccino monkeys we worked with we would have quit after a few days. It is an awfully organised organisation and I hope we will only remember the funny episodes in our future.
Phil witnessed a monkey blow job on his first day with kisses blown at him. Petra's monkey feed her a corn which he just picked out of a pile of monkey poo. Talking about shit, Phil's jungle dump got eaten by a turtle and we all made sure not to get to close to them anymore.
There are many more stories but this isn't the space for essays. All in all we met some cool people and some wicket animals too.
Thursday 8 February 2007
POTOSI (BOLIVIA)
Toilet paper in loos and hot showers are rare in Bolivia. Checking in a proper Hotel 3am we expected those luxuries are included. In the morning Petra made the bitter experience of a freezing cold shower at 4070m altitude (maybe 3m more, we were in the 1st floor). Well she should have looked at the shower head first, a button attached to it to switch from cold to hot.
In Potosi we visited the mines in Cerro Rico. We met miners from the age of 12 working under medieval conditions. We were crawling on all 4, being exposed to asbestos and various other toxins and were offered to drink 90% alcohol. The highlight for Phil was buying dynamite on the market before the tour and detonating it outside the mines which caused a colossal explosion. Where else would you experience all that if not in Bolivia.
In Potosi we visited the mines in Cerro Rico. We met miners from the age of 12 working under medieval conditions. We were crawling on all 4, being exposed to asbestos and various other toxins and were offered to drink 90% alcohol. The highlight for Phil was buying dynamite on the market before the tour and detonating it outside the mines which caused a colossal explosion. Where else would you experience all that if not in Bolivia.
Wednesday 7 February 2007
SALAR DE UYUNI (BOLIVIA)
The only way to visit the salt dessert is on a tour unless you are the proud owner of a car and a GPS ( compasses go crazy due to the magnetic field). 4 days in an altitude between 4000 and 5000m made us all struggle from restless sleep, headaches and even sickness. Good we had coca leafs with us. apparently the solution to everything.
We had two punctures in a day, well interesting seeing someone changing an inner tube of a 4x4 wheel within 20 min. We were mostly shocked by visiting a Pre-Inca cemetery (1250) with open tombs and mummified people. The place was not guarded nor fenced off and it isn't surprising that there have been grave robberies in the past.
We were looking forward to our last day to experiment with photographic illusion on the salt plans. To our disappointment, Petra's memory card got corrupted (1000 pics from the last months) and Phil's battery run out after a few shots. A sad day with a few tears.
We had two punctures in a day, well interesting seeing someone changing an inner tube of a 4x4 wheel within 20 min. We were mostly shocked by visiting a Pre-Inca cemetery (1250) with open tombs and mummified people. The place was not guarded nor fenced off and it isn't surprising that there have been grave robberies in the past.
We were looking forward to our last day to experiment with photographic illusion on the salt plans. To our disappointment, Petra's memory card got corrupted (1000 pics from the last months) and Phil's battery run out after a few shots. A sad day with a few tears.
Friday 2 February 2007
QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUACA (ARGENTINA)
Driving through the Quebrada de Humahuaca is beautiful but it was also 3 days of hop on, hop off buses. The Villages of Tilcara, Humahuaca and Iruya are small, relaxed and one day is plenty of time to explore the surroundings. We were on our first broken bus, an oil leak at 4000m altitude. It can´t have been the first time because the bus driver fixed it fairly quickly.
Our last day we spend waiting at the boarder crossing in La Quiaca. 2,5 hours to get an exit stamp, filling in forms, photocopies to get entry stamps...what a nightmare and welcome to Bolivia.
Our last day we spend waiting at the boarder crossing in La Quiaca. 2,5 hours to get an exit stamp, filling in forms, photocopies to get entry stamps...what a nightmare and welcome to Bolivia.
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