Expect the Unexpected in Bolivia
Trip Start
Unknown
1
14
Trip End
Ongoing
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Thursday, July 30, 2009
After my Machu Picchu trek, I decided to hit the bus down to Puno, the base of Lake Titicaca. From what i have been told lake Titicaca is absolutely marvelous.....unless you reside in Alaska. The Puno side of Titicaca has a unique feature probably no where else in the world. Floating islands, believe it or not. Near the coast i take a boat to a town called....(i dont remember) but the town floats. A good few thousand people live there on reefs they have been linking together for the last few hundred years. Very pretty and touristy. The boat only takes you to a few places where they try to sell you all of their useless crafts and over priced fish. I decide not to spend the night and catch the next morning bus into Bolivia.
The bus ride from cusco to puno i came across a sight that almost brought tears to my eyes. A mid aged lady gets on board from a small town with a giant blanket full of something. Inside lies a toasted baby lamb. For a little over a dollar she whips out her knife and starts hacking this lamb to pieces in the middle of the bus. This sight was so beautiful it would have turned any vegetarian into a meat loving monster. She hands me a rib with a few potatoes, it was amazing. This is why i love taking the local buses.
I wake early in the morning and like usual take the inexpensive bus into la paz. The unique part was having to step off the bus and take a boat to the other side of lake Titicaca while watching our bus slowly reach the other side in a flat liner. The boarder of Bolivia was a little hectic, since everything that could go wrong did. I did not have my Peruvian ticket which added a good extra 30 minutes of running around. And in Bolivia, well... it just took me a good hour of running in circles gathering stamps. I teased the boarder guards when paying my $135 American visa fee that it was very expensive. He looks up and says "un dollar = siete bolivianos" he has got a point. Finally after i received my stamps and said adios they all looked at me and wished me luck. Now my rant.
So far everything in America is better. America is the greatest country on this planet. My nationalism has tripled since this trip and i highly support the war in (who ever we are bombing at the moment) and I have only been able to find one decent thing about these other countries, and that is their officers. Why is it that every American official, either it be a police officer, BOARDER patrol or anyone with a badge has the largest stick shoved up there ass on that side of the hemisphere. These guards down here are in danger, in poverty, but are still very helpful and generous to most everybody. I have yet to be searched nor my backpack. But soon as i reach America ill be stripped searched, colon searched and my backpack torn to pieces with the all inclusive attitudes to coincide. Something i have yet to understand, maybe Philip Zimbardo will have the answer soon, or did he already solve the mystery...
Finally reaching La Paz, i decided to stay at the all famous Loki hostel. I hear its a massive gringo party and decide to check out all the hype. Well... its all of what i heard. The great thing was finally taking a nice hot pressured shower, its been ten days since my last shower so i was very excited. Great things about the Loki hostel is it was very comfortable. A little overpriced, but $7 a night isn't anything to complain about. Check this out... For the first time on my trip I saw free toilet paper. The bathroom actually had a toilet seat embedded into the toilet. And did i mention they have hot pressured showers, i was in heaven for the first time in my trip. There were about 180 gringos from all around the world. A bar and restaurant, including on service laundry. A pool table, but don't even get me started on that. All packed inside this giant beautifully decorated mansion. You really never had to leave, and some didn't. The next day was a fiesta and the main street was crowded with all of la paz watching this giant parade. The thousands of dancers were dressed in vibrant colors and performed the usually creepy dances. It went on for about 12 hours. I think it was a celebration for beer because the only thing they seemed to sell was beer, and everyone from their mother to grandmother was drunk that night.
The next night i booked a biking trip down the most dangerous road in the world. Well it was the most dangerous road in the world until a few years ago when they built a new overpass. Now its the most incredible biking road in the world. In the last couple of months there has been... i think 3 biking deaths... yes its that great of a road. There are two types of companies, the two American companies which are twice the price as the Bolivian companies, who well are Bolivian. From what i have learned throughout my trip is to never go with the overpriced American companies. Why would i want to spend twice as much for awesome protection on the worlds most dangerous road. They suit you up in so much padding, you don't have nearly as much control. And when there are 2000 ft cliffs surrounding you, I'm pretty sure you will turn into powder either way. I came to south America to get away from north America, why......would i go with American companies. Ok, back to the exciting parts. It was 30 miles down hill...seriously. From around 18000ft to 4000ft, it is sure to be an exciting adventure. The first 10 miles were paved and the rest on the death road. There were 12 people in our group with a guide in front and back along with a camera man taking pictures of the entire trip ( a free cd was included). I rode alongside a dutch man who enjoyed trying to break the world record of skidding near cliffs. I my self loved to bunny hop off every jump i could, and ride the concrete walling near the edges. The entire way our guide who spoke some English kept repeating "please be careful, please please be careful." He wasn't excited on how much we enjoyed tempting death. Finally after 4 hours we reached coroica or (something along that name) and enjoyed a nice buffet dinner at the hostel. Arriving at around 3 in the afternoon, it was probably the greatest experience of my life. Absolutely the greatest bike ride of my life, and for only 35 dollars it was pleasing to my wallet.
Even more....the bus ride up.
Thankfully we did not take the bus back up the death road, but problems still lie ahead. After a few hours in the bus, nearing la paz high in the mountains we meet up with snow. Excited to finally see snow for the first time in my trip... it becomes hectic. Gaining altitude the snow thickens, and thickens, along with slush it starts to create one slippery slope. Starting to spin-out up the mountain along with many other vehicles we end up getting stuck. Not alone, with around 3 thousands vehicles stuck along the mountain side. A giant bus at the top unable to move. I am excited and jump out of the vehicle and show everyone the Alaskan way. Its warm for me hovering right around freezing but others don't seem to be as excited. With plenty of energy i run around showing everyone that if they use there car matt as tire grip it works out great. Explaining i am from Alaska they eagerly test my theory and find it a success. After realizing no one will be moving in the next 10 hours I decide to reach la paz by my self. Not wanting to sleep in the bus I walk along asking people if they are willing to join me on a crazy adventure through the pass. Not many want to, but a group of cyclist are eager to get to la paz that night. The 5 of us walk into the bleak of darkness, in a snow storm, through clouds, at 19000ft above sea level. It was great!
Except for the girl next to me puking every 10 minutes. After only about an hour, almost to the tip of the pass a car driven by Bolivians picks us up. We all squeeze ourselves into the backseat in the most uncomfortable hour car ride of my life. Finally reaching la paz 10 at night with a dead leg in a thunder storm i make it back to the Loki hostel. Taking a nice hot shower I pass out for the next 12 hours. One of the greatest days of my life.
The next day I meet up with Darius, a friend i met in cusco. I walk to his hostel which is next to mine and almost identical in statue. There i also meet 2 friends from my pisco volunteering. I told them before i left pisco that i will meet with them again in Bolivia, And sure enough i run into them in la paz. Darius and i decide to check out the witches Mercado. I don't understand how dead llama fetuses bring you good luck, but according to Bolivians it does. So i buy 4 just in case the other three fetuses were broken. just kidding. After the first 3 creepy stores that were selling plenty of hallucinogens and dead fetuses the rest turned into clothing markets. I ended up buying a thick coat for thirteen dollars and am satisfied with my bargaining. Darius and I run into this man who has been traveling for 3 years and has about 3 more to go. He holds the record for the longest travel in my book. The next day i take a 17 hour bus ride to Santa Cruz, east of Bolivia. I do not know why, but i just wanted to enter into sub jungle terrain and warm up for a few days. The city is the economic capital of Bolivia, I'm not the biggest fan.
Today i walked to the university of Bolivia. I met a student on the bus who goes to school here. I try to call him up, but we never seem to meet. I walk around the university for a few hours and become annoyed of all the attention i receive. I was probably the first gringo to step foot on that campus. Believe it or not i become tired of all the girls starring at me, and all the people running towards the windows trying to get a peak at a gringo, I head back to my hostel. And now i am here in Santa Cruz finishing this blog, hopefully heading out tomorrow to....i have yet to decide.
I wish i could go into more detail or even write 1/4 of my life down here but i have no time or patience. I have plenty of extra stories to tell when i arrive back in Alaska... don't worry
-dave
