Bolivia had quickly made an impression on us, and we had a lot to explore in a short space of time. Sucre’s another beautiful, sleepy little colonial town, that comes with the added bonus of a huge number of treks and outdoor adventure activities available. Short on time and with me suffering from a severely dodgy stomach (apparently quite a common problem on arrival in Bolivia) we settled on a one day bike tour into the mountains. It’s a beautiful countryside and after some uphill slog at altitude we had an afternoon of 50km straight down to take it all in. We also stopped at the Cretaceous Park, an outdoor museum set up around the discovery of dinosaur footprints preserved in clay. Something very different and the first time we’ve seen dinosaur tourism of any kind so good to see them thinking outside the box.
But the real show in Bolivia is La Paz, and after the now mandatory overnight bus ride we were pretty excited to arrive. This is the launchpad for the infamous ‘Death Road’, a dirt road winding down a valley that was at one time the world’s deadliest road with 100 people dying on the 50 km stretch every year. Thankfully, it got so bad in 2007, UNESCO gave the government the money to build a new one and now it’s left to downhill mountain bikers to enjoy. And it was one hell of a ride!! We’d heard all about the cliffs, the 400m cliff drops off the side of the road that you don’t come back from, but what we hadn’t heard about was the scenery. As if the adrenaline rush of bombing it down a cliff edged gravel road isn’t enough, if you can find the time to stop and look around,
the valley, laced with huge mountains and forest is well worth the effort. After successfully negotiating most of the road with 20 minutes left I made a conscious decision to gun it to the bottom, blowing 2 tyres and having one massive spill which left some decent grazes and a very painfully ripped up nipple for my effort.
There’s a couple of other things La Paz is famous for, strangely one is the ‘Witches Market’ which despite many reports is exactly like every other market we’ve been to in South America (full of junk Incan trinkets and beautiful coloured textiles). The other is its bar scene. Thankfully we were staying at Wild Rover, one of those hostels with a pub where they walk around on the bar free pouring shots into people’s mouths. A great way to meet some strangers. The party is on there 7 nights a week, until the bar closes and punters kick on to the iconic ‘Route 36’. This is a bar unlike any other, because as well as serving up the standard fare of cocktails and spirits, you can also buy lines of cocaine
right over the bar. The illegal nature of things means it apparently moves location every 3 months. The only way to find it is to jump into a taxi and ask the driver if he knows the place and away you go. On arrival a dodgy looking guy appears from nowhere, knocks on a roller door which then opens, leads you up through a locked cage door and into the bar. All very badass. The place is naturally full of Gringo’s but a very unique experience and a great way to meet travelers from all parts of the world.
After having a big night of catch-ups with our Melbourne friends Grace and Jono, we had to pick up the pieces for our flight to the little town of Rurrenabaque the start of our Amazon/Pampas tour. Arriving in Rurrenabaque was reminiscent of a previous flight into the tiny Tongan island of Va’vau. After a decidedly dodgy landing we caught a bus to the one roomed ‘terminal’ before being hauled into a hot and sweaty bus for the ride into town. We’re fairly experienced at going without the creature comforts by now, but things were about to step up a notch.
The pampas sit in the Amazon basin and after a rickety car ride we caught a motorised canoe, that would be our sightseeing vessel for the following 3 days, to our ‘lodge’ in the jungle. Over the next 3 days we were treated to some wonders of nature from our seats on the boat. Toucan and Paradise birds, turtles and enough monkeys to belt out a terrible 70’s tune. Some animals prefer to come say hello themselves, like the six frogs who stopped into our bedroom, and much more disturbingly the massive crocodile who lived in the water outside our hostel. Plenty
though had to be chased, and we awoke early one morning and set off on an Anaconda snake hunt. My knowledge of Anaconda’s is pretty limited, but a Hollywood film of the same name some years back left me quite nervous about this little mission. Thankfully the 2 metre specimen we found was skinny as a runt and fast asleep. No need for me to scream like a girl on this occasion. Piranha fishing was a bit of a bust, until a Welsh girl, casting the first line of her life pulled one in to save the day.
We struck it lucky with some pink river dolphins, coming across a school who were happy to swim around us for over half an hour. Obviously this meant jumping into the same water we’d seen a crocodile; who was bigger than me, swimming around in not long before. Now we’re in the middle of nowhere, about 4 hours away from what I’m guessing would be the nearest extremely sub par medical facility, a crocodile attack was not at the top of my to do list. But you only come to these places once, so a few of us dived in to
get up close with the dolphins and get the heart pumping at a rate of knots. Again, all’s well that ends well and everyone made it out with all their limbs in tact. A triumph to South American safety standards. The highlight though came on the final day, when cruising in our canoe we watched a beautiful Paradise bird take off from his nest. Moments later cheeky little monkey came scampering down the tree and pinched 4 eggs out of the nest before taking off to feed them to his family!!
Despite returning to Rurrenabaque covered (and I mean covered) in mosquito bites, the Pampas had been unreal, giving us some
first hand displays of nature that are usually reserved for a David Attenborough doco. After a night with Grace, Jono and our new friends David and Yasmin there was just the small matter of a scenic flight back to La Paz, next stop the Salt Flats tour.
Nights Stayed – Sucre 2, La Paz 7, Rurrenabaque 2, Pampas 3
It’ll cost you – The backpackers budget loves Bolivia like a fat kid on a cupcake. Everything’s cheap but there’s plenty of
value. Death Road we paid 460 B ($66 AUD) through Vertigo who had awesome bikes but average staff.
Quote of the week – “If you need to pass someone on your bike shout really loudly ‘passing on your left’. If they don’t move out of your way then just knock them out of the way with your foot” – it’s back to those extensive safety briefings as our tour guide on death road gives out some survival tips
RIP – my beloved Gola sneakers. After
taking me to 3 continents, the top of 3 volcano’s, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer and god knows how many other amazing sights, they couldn’t survive the bike crash on death road. If the good people at sports direct had known how far they’d take me I’m sure they would’ve charged me more than £18. What a buy
What grinds my gears – we’re biking
through some pristine landscape in Southern Bolivia. It’s the rival of anywhere, except as you round each corner there is the stench and sight of dumped rubbish. People just parking up their cars and throwing household and industrial waste off the side of a hill. Pretty sad
Stay at – The Wild Rover in La Paz. Assuming you’re there to party, this is the location
We did our amazon tour – through
Indigeno tours who were excellent