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BOLIVIA.
July 2006
Drive on the right – not always.
We entered Bolivia from Brazil at a remote eastern border
crossing. We had to go to San Matias, the nearest small
town with muddy streets, to track-down the immigration and customs
offices. We had obtained visas in Cuiabá, Brazil and were stamped
into Bolivia for 30 days.
The signs in Spanish were welcomingly familiar after the
Portuguese of Brazil.
There were tedious regular controls on the main road, where the
vehicle and driver’s details had to be written in a big book.
Although it was obvious that you had come from the previous town
and were going to the next one, they still asked the question.
Instead of being irritated, it amused Jan to say: “from: Tierra
del Fuego; to: Alaska”.
We were in the vast sweltering tropical rainforest of
Bolivia’s upper Amazon Basin. The bumpy gravel and occasional
pot-holed tar road took us past villages with mud houses and
palm-leaved roofs. White humped-back oxen pulled carts with wheels
of solid wood. Snakes were lying in or were slithering across the
road.
The road was heading west towards the capital city, La Paz.
In spite of the Land Rover front vents and our two little fans
going, it was unbearably hot. The low afternoon sun and the clouds
of dust made driving extremely difficult.
When we could find a clearing in the forest, we parked for
the night; under huge trees with a high canopy and hanging woody
vines. Before our sundowners outside were finished, we had to flee
from the mosquitoes. Behind netting, with repellent we felt safer.
But we did not reckon with the vicious tiny biting flies that got
in somehow and bit us polka-bumps; causing itching for weeks
afterwards.
One night we had to drive until dusk to find parking, in front of
an eating place in the middle of nowhere. They had lots of cold
beer and a good plate of food for under $2. By 10 pm, 50 people
had walked or cycled from a-far to watch TV – thanks to the only
satellite dish and generator in the vicinity. Then it was more
hot, bumpy driving.
Near the hot and sticky town of Trinidad we escaped
early afternoon to a fish restaurant on a lake. We were revived by
some frosty liquid refreshment and a dip in the swimming pool.
(Avoiding the turbid lagoon)
Jungle tours are
available in that region. We paid a visit to one of the protected
areas. Reserva de la Biosférica del Beni. The other popular
area for rainforest expeditions is Rurrenabaque. The
rangers admitted that poaching was impossible to control. We were
alarmed also by the slash-and-burn clearing, logging and cattle
ranching which was taking place in that region.
Jesuit mission churches:
It was a surprise
to find the exquisite mission churches, recently restored, in a
number of small towns. They have transformed the nondescript
villages like San Ignacio de Velasco, Concepción and
San Javier. The elaborate stucco and woodcarving was done
by local craftsman. The Jesuit missionaries who arrived in 1587
(and were expelled in 1767) had taught the indigenous people the
skills, of architecture, building, sculpting, painting,
woodcarving and the making and playing of musical instruments; in
exchange for conversion and labour. These buildings are like
shining gems in a dull environment. The whole region has been
declared a world heritage site.
After Trinidad we
had to cross three wide rivers, tributaries of the Amazon, by
primitive ferries. The deep mud ruts from the last rainy season
had become like concrete. The dirt road then became huge holes
covered with talcum-powder-like dust. Leoné had to wear a dust
mask to protect the sinuses. Our speed was an average of 30km/h
for days.
Coca
We noticed that all the road workers had lopsided faces with one
fat cheek. Each one had coca leaves in his cheek. Coca chewing is
an ancient ritual to stave off hunger pains and exhaustion. Coca
growing has been one of the main means of employment. The Bolivian
government is trying to eradicate coca, under pressure from the
US. The demand for cocaine from N America and Europe has not
diminished though. The USA imports coca leaves for medicinal uses.
After the cocaine has been extracted a derivative of what’s left,
goes into Coca Cola…
The Yungas is an
area where coca is cultivated. It consists of steep valleys with
tropical vegetation which lies between rain forest and high
mountains.
The festival of the Yungas was taking place in a riverside
village. There were musicians and people in fancy costumes.
Apparently Bolivian campesinos dance and drink with such complete
abandon because they need to ‘escape’ from their poverty and
living conditions.
World’s Most Dangerous Road.
Now we had to
climb from the Yungas; 4000m up to the altiplano in 150km. We had
entered the first pass when suddenly Dipli came face-to-face with
a bus, driving on the “wrong" side of the road. We realised that
although Bolivia drives on the right, where there are narrow
mountain passes, vehicles drive on the left so that the driver can
see his left wheel – often on the edge of a precipice… What makes
it even more “interesting” is that the command to drive on the
left is only sometimes signposted; so one has to watch the locals
to decide on which side to drive. But then the road is so bad that
everybody drives wherever it is best. Only by waiting until
oncoming traffic swerves, to avoid a head on collision, does a
stranger realise which side of the road he is supposed to drive
on!
We were on a steep uphill with tight hairpin bends and blind
corners punctuated with crosses next to the sheer drops. The track
was sometimes only 3,2 meters wide and often had water falls
cascading down onto the road. There were many trucks and buses in
both directions. Then Dipli was overheating and there seemed to be
nowhere to stop until we found a slightly wider spot. Jan
established that the alternator bracket had broken and that the
fan belt was slipping. By fitting a bolt and tensioning the belt
he could make it last to La Paz, where a permanent weld repair
could be done.
First we had dust and then the mists came down, both reducing
visibility to a few metres. Two large trucks could not get past
one another at a hulking overhang, in spite of a sliver-like
turnout ledge, and this caused a scary congestion with many
vehicles having to reverse to a lay-bye. This road has been called
the “world’s most dangerous road” (wmdr) because an average of 26
vehicles per year disappear over the edge into the great abyss.
Since the road was built in 1935, about 200 people have died every
year. (World Bank survey).
For mountain bikers the spectacular descent is a popular thrill.
Their t-shirts say:
“I survived the death road”. They speed from 4670m at the top of
la Cumbre pass, 64km down to Yolosa at 1200m – only
30 km of it paved. (To date 6 people have died cycling down).
Having reached the Altiplano, we saw herds of Llamas and the more
woolly Alpacas.
Bolivian Indian women wear a dark bowler hat and a shawl over a
wide skirt - carrying a brightly striped bundle on their backs.
They are very photogenic at colourful stalls of food stuffs and
hand woven textiles, and rather incongruous at cell phone and
money exchange booths.
Jan had battled for weeks with the auxiliary batteries not holding
their charge. (That meant: no ice!). First we had to buy 3 new
deep cycle batteries and could then pursue the intriguing markets
and museums of the Bolivian capital.
In La Paz
Leoné dragged Jan to yet another folklore show. The dancers wore
colourful hand woven costumes and sometimes ornate masked
headdresses adorned with plumes. The haunting Andean music was
played on traditional instruments like pan pipes of various sizes.
Travelling with kids.
We had safe
parking at the Hotel Oberland in La Paz. The spacious hot showers,
laundry service, free internet and a resident alpaca were very
much appreciated. In the camper next to us was a French family who
had been on the road for 8 months. They had started driving from
the US to S Am when there second child was 3 months old.
(Grimaldi Lines
has a regular drive-on ship service for motor homes, with cabins
for passengers, from Europe to Buenos Aires).
One travelling
family included daughters of 10, 8 and 6. Both parents spent a
large portion of each day tutoring.
After a week Jan still had not adapted to the altitude. (2000m
higher than Joburg).
From La Paz we drove along the high plato west towards Chile. We
were amazed at the number of Aymará villages at this high
elevation. The “campesinos” possessed a few goats or cameloids and
cultivated potatoes or “quenoa”, a fine tasty grain. We slept at
4127m next to boggy grassland, (“bofedale” in Spanish) where
llamas and alpacas were grazing.. Behind us was a snow-capped
volcano of Sajama National park. Minus 3°C inside Dipli, was our
coldest night.
Usually border posts are such dreary places. However, the one
between Bolivia and Chile was beautifully situated next to a lake
with Chilean flamingos, Andean gulls and giant coots. This was
Lauca National Park where vicuñas are protected (they are the
dainty graceful cinnamon-coloured smaller relatives of the llamas,
alpacas and guanacos).
We were to spend a week in Arica, Chile before heading for Peru.
This journey up to July 2006:
Time on the road (excluding home visits): 3 years, 11 ½ months.
Kilometres driven: 172 000 Countries visited: 71 |
