Jungle frontier town on my own...

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  Puerto Villaroel, Bolivia
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

After a 7 hour bus journey (this is now nothing - 7 hours is like travelling from Garsington to Oxford) and at 2am, i was ready to get off the bus - whose capacity had shrunk from 46 to only 4 passengers over the course of the night.

The lonely Planet book had no entry for this small town, but i was hoping to jump off the bus and roll seemlessly into a nice comfty bed opposite the dusty-road bus stop.

The town was deserted, the bus drivers had no idea where a hotel was, and i was getting shredded by mosquitos. I headed for what loked like a hotel, but was barked at by a dog, and it was obvious there had been no life in the hotel since c.1976. I wondered back to the bus, tired and slightly concerned that my judegements on which town to travel to next where somewhat misguided. I found the bus driver and conductor setting up their beds in the luggage compartment of the bus, and when they saw me return, they said i could sleep there if i wanted.

I had nowhere else to go, so ended up streching a few items of clothing along the corregated metal floor of the luggage hold, and bed down for the night. It wasnīt long before the snoring started...and the sound of mosquitos...the Cockerals and stray dogs. I was convinced i wouldnīt sleep a wink in this metal coffin i had wondered into.

No sooner had i thought this, but i was woken up by the sound of the compartment doors being opened. The daylight blinded me, and i was greeted by the sight of a pack of stray dogs walking by the bus. These were followed by a lone dog, and after this, a pair of dogs nonciantly(sp) strolled by, staring-in inquisitively. Eventually a gaggle of old ladies wondered by and poked their heads in and immediately tried to sell me some peanuts. I declined, but was pleased to see human life, as i was starting to wonder whether i had actually stumbled upon the fabaled Doggy-Land (Jody).

I checked into 1 of the only 2 hotel-esk sites in town, and slept until 5pm. There was clearly going to be little to do here, and i could not even embark on the river trip i wanted to do, as boats were taking anything from 1 week to 4 weeks to make the trip (which i wanted to do in 4-6 days). I would stay for 2 days and relax though.

I soon found out i was the only tourist in town, and was quite a spectacle. I was ushered into the local school at lunch break to play football, and when trying to relax to do a spot of fishing on the river, at one point i had a crowd of at least 20 watching and, probably, critisizing every move i made.

The fishing was the one thing of note i did. Buying fresh meat from the market, and a line from a shop, i set off in the direction of the river, asking locals for a good spot. "the whole river is good". I found a perfect spot complete with tree trunk as a seat and settled down in the sun. I managed to catch a few, but as soon a i let one of the local kids take over, he immediately caught loads, and was well pleased with his catch. He gave me some oranges as a thankyou for letting him use my line.

Eventually i started using a peice of wood as a makeshift rod, and started to catch more, until I realised it was dark, and i was on my own, on a deserted riverbank in the Amazon somewhere, so i headed back.

My surregate mother in Town (AKA the next-door restaurant-owner) seemed pleased with the fish i gave her, although curiously, i never saw fish being offered on the menu. I suspect the catch was given to the cats, or just thrown in the bin...

I left the next day, having to take 4 taxis to various other towns and villages, before reaching my next destination, Santa Cruz. At one point (because all the taxis take as many people as possible), there were 13 people in an estate care - no joke - including luggage. 3 in the front, 5 adults and 3 kids in the back, and a couple of kids sqeezed around the luggage in the boot. The driver even tried to fit another old lady in, but was told by the passengers that there wasnīt a chance.

Iīve made it to Santa Cruz now, and itīs nice to be back in contact (there was no internet in Puerto), and being able to eat (roughly) what i like again.

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