Last days in Bolivia and crossing the border from Bolivia to Argentina (Tupiza to Salta)

Bicycle shop in Tupiza

After finishing the tour to Salar de Uyuni and around, I spent one night in Uyuni before catching an early morning bus to Tupiza. It was a typical Bolivian mid-distance bus, lacking all the mod cons and full of a whole variety of people. I finally saw someone carrying an animal on a bus (everyone tells you when you go backpacking in South America or Asia that you’re going to be taking buses full of people with animals but I’ve generally not found that the case, so far). There was a traditionally dressed lady carrying a little baby lamb in her arms – so cute!

 

 

Atocha

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of gringos there was me, a Swiss girl, a couple of German guys and a couple of American missionaries in their typical black suits, white shirts, red ties, and name badge. For some reason I had a seat closer to the front of the bus and the rest of the gringos were sat together at the back.

 

Wall mural in Atocha

The bus stopped unexpectedly in Atocha for a few hours, so I got off the bus with all the Bolivians, leaving the rest of the gringos in their seats looking out of the window. Atocha was a bit grim but it had a little bustling market and after crossing over the rail tracks I eventually found a toilet with the typical bucket of water flushing system. When I got back to the bus some girls had set up a stall next to the bus selling banana shakes, so I had one of those, which immediately prompted a response from one of the American missionaries who said I was mad to eat or drink anything from the street! He was too scared to do so and had gotten sick from eating in restaurants (so maybe god wasn’t watching over him after all…). A few hours later, and some traditional Bolivian folk music to listen to on the bus, we arrived in Tupiza.

Some good advice... finish with the alcohol before the alcohol finishes with you...

Tupiza is a good place for horse riding but not much else. As I don’t like horse riding, my reason for stopping off was to do some last life admin stuff (washing, getting dollars, downloading photos etc) before crossing the border to Argentina. I managed to buy some amazingly cheesy Xmas cards with llamas and panpipes on them (which I posted from Argentina and never arrived) and some amazing bootleg mix CDs, each with about 150 songs on them.

Api and pasteles - my last Bolivian breakfast

 

 

 

 

I also enjoyed my last visit to a Bolivian comedor (dining hall) by having a nice typical breakfast of hot api with pasteles de queso (a hot drink made from white and purple corn and cheese empanadas). Then it dawned on my I was leaving Bolivia, my favourite country so far in South America, and I felt a little sad. I didn’t have time to dwell though as I had to plan my border crossing to Argentina.

There were various blockades and transport strikes happening around Uyuni and Tupiza so the bus station was closed. Although the buses were still leaving from outside the bus station I ended up getting a shared taxi to Villazon (the last town before crossing to La Quiaca in Argentina) which turned out to be quicker, more comfortable, only a fraction more expensive and with amazing scenery all the way. The taxi driver was super nice and instead of dropping me off in the square in Villazon, he drove me right down to the border crossing, for which I was very grateful.

Then I saw a massive queue snaking back from the immigration office all the way up the street! I’d advised to go straight to the office rather than joining the queue, which is for large groups (of Bolivians) travelling on buses. After a bit of faffing around, asking various border guards and people in different queues, I joined the short queue in front of the office and was quickly joined by three other women travellers from Australia, Greece, and Germany.  One of the border guards took an interest and asked us where we were all from.  Of course Australia prompted the usual response of kanguros (kangaroos) and Greece and England were not of much interest but we got a nazi salute in response to Germany!  We were all SO shocked and explained to the guard (in Spanish) was this wasn’t at all funny and hoped that he wouldn’t do it again. We eventually got our exit stamps without incident, walked across the bridge (the border) and joined the queue for Argentinian immigration.  We all got 90 days without any questions and then joined another queue for customs inspection of our bags.  The first person through had her passport checked and bag searched, second person had her passport checked and bag squeezed from the outside, and the last two of us were just waved through.  We obviously looked like sensible middle aged women because the young Italian hippy couple in front of us had to empty their rucksacks for a full inspection!

First thing I was when I crossed the border from Bolivia to Argentina

The first thing I saw when we crossed the border was a large sign saying Las Malvinas son Argentinas (the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina).  I was also glad that I’d changed all my Bolivianos into Pesos on the Bolivian side (or so I thought – I later found 500 at the bottom of my rucksack at Xmas – doh!!) because  there didn’t seem to be any cash machines between the border and La Quiaca on the Argentinian side

The taxi queue was too long so we walked into town and stopped to check out some concert in the square along the way.  After some music I left the rest of the women at the square and headed off to find the bus station as I still had more than a 7 hour bus journey to go and it was already past lunch time.  The bus station was less crazy than the ones in Bolivia and Peru – why wasn’t everyone shouting out the destinations so I knew who to buy a ticket from?!  Eventually someone spotted me and sold me a (slightly overpriced) ticket to Salta, which at least was leaving in 10 minutes.

After all the stories I’d heard about the amazing buses in Argentina, I was a bit disappointed to get on an old looking bus that stopped all the time to pick up people from the side of the road with loads of luggage.

A few hours in we stopped at a military check point and all had to get off with all of our luggage for inspection.  As the only gringo the guard asked to see my passport and then waved me through.  Only afterwards did I realise he probably did this because I had nothing of interest or worth for him.  Everyone else was carrying tons of goods (for Xmas and their businesses) and the guards went through each bag taking what they wanted whilst being really rude and disrespectful to everyone, especially the women.  For example, the guards would pull out three pairs of trainers (not expensive branded ones or anything) and throw two into ‘their’ pile and give one pair back. It broke my heart to see people treated this way and I found it hard to watch everyone on the bus be treated this way, yet what could I do?  When I later told this story to an Argentinian, they told me that I should write a letter to the Interior Security Minister to express my outrage.

I found this on the wall in Salta... I sleep a little, I dream a lot... (or I sleep very little sleep?)

12 hours after leaving Tupiza, Bolivia (and a ton of amazing scenery along the way) I arrived in Salta, Argentina.  Much to my delight there was an empanada place across the road from the hostel so half a dozen cheese empanadas later (and with a full belly) I gratefully went to sleep.

Salar de Uyuni (the Bolivian Salt Flats)

I was so sad to leave Mashaquipe and Madidi National Park but I did meet a lovely British couple called Elly and Luke on my last day who were on the same flight as me down to Uyuni, so we decided to travel together.

Train graveyard

Railroad to Chile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t think of a bigger contrast in landscapes between Madidi National Park and Salar de Uyuni – from lush green rainforest to barren, rocky landscapes and salt lakes.  Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometres and sits 3,656 metres above sea level in the south-west of Bolivia.  You can read more about Salar de Uyuni here.

Manjar (dulce de leche) also known as crack for tourists

We managed to book ourselves on a tour (3 days, 2 nights) that left the same morning we arrived and stocked up on some snacks in Uyuni before we left.  I found manjar (dulce de leche) in bag of little individual servings (this stuff is like crack for tourists, it’s so addictive!) and we also bought some strange stripey crisps (that looked like Frazzles but tasted of nothing) and some champagne biscuits (that also tasted of nothing and crumbled as we bumped along in the jeep).

We set off in a group of two jeeps with Oscar (our guide) travelling in the front jeep.  First stop was the train cemetery, just outside of Uyuni.  The rail lines were built by British engineers and the trains mainly used by mining companies in the 19th century before being abandoned in the 1940s when the mining industry collapsed.

No hay nada!

After climbing on the trains and taking photos we drove to the actual salt flats.  Neither my words nor pictures can properly describe this super flat, super bright white landscape.  I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world.

Bag of Uyuni salt

The jeep and piles of salt in the draining pools

Salty snowman at the fancy snow hotel (that we didn't stay at)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited a salt factory, which was very depressing but gave a good sense of how bleak life can be in this part of Bolivia.  We saw a young boy bagging up salt and sealing the plastic bags closed with an open flame.  We were told that he was working all day because it was the school holidays but I wasn’t entirely convinced.  We also saw how the salt is shovelled (by hand) into small pyramids so that the water can drain away before it’s collected and visited a plush salt hotel.

Me eating Elaine

Then it was time to take the typical silly photos on the salt flats, taking full advantage of the weird perspective.  We all had a lot of fun but it’s harder than you think to make these pictures!

Next stop was Incahuasi, the main island on the salt flats that is full of giant cactus, some about 900 years old!  When you looked out from the island, all you could see is the salt lake.  Such a beautiful but surreal landscape.  Little did I know that the landscapes would get even more surreal and impressive as we continued our tour.

900 year old cactus

 

 

 

We saw the sun set over the salt flats, with no-one else in sight.  It was magical and I felt like I was in another world.  We then headed off to our salt hotel for the night, which was warmer than expected as everyone tells you that it is super cold on the salt flats, especially at night, and the tour company had given us super warm sleeping bags to use.

Me and Elaine on the bottle...

The next day we were up early to see volcanoes (some of the more distant ones were actually in Chile and Argentina) and climb around some crazy rock formations and visit the famous tree rock.

It was also the day to see coloured lakes and flamingoes – lots of them!  Their pink colouring was such a perfect contrast against the coloured lakes that I couldn’t help but take a ton of photos.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many flamingoes, and so close up, in my whole life.  The lakes and surrounding landscapes were absolutely stunning.  After so much time in the lush, green jungle, I think I still couldn’t fully take in the landscapes around Uyuni.

Pink flamingoes on the coloured lake

We spent the night at a basic lodge, and we definitely needed those super warm sleeping bags.  The cold was also kept at bay by the amount of red wine we drank whilst Martin taught us a drinking game.  Martin (from Berlin) is probably ones of the funniest people ever, and he kept all of us entertained for days with his sarcastic jokes, witty observations, joie de vivre, and dramatic exclamations in english.

Sunrise at the volcano

After about 4 hours sleep we got up before dawn to drive to the top of a volcano  (Sol de Manana, 5,000 metres above sea level) to see the sun rise.  This being Bolivia (the land of non existent health and safety laws) we were allowed to be in the geysers and freely walk around the sulphur pools and ponds of boiling mud.  I felt like I was on mars or somewhere.

Our morning shower stop (and the only chance to wash on the whole tour) was at a natural spring with a million other tour groups.  Lucky for us we passed by the same spot later in the afternoon when no-one was around and had the whole pool, and amazing landscape, to ourselves.  This is also where I managed to burn my legs and knees in the sun (whilst wearing a wooly hat because it was cold) – ouch!

We also saw where some car rally takes place (and where the James Bond film Quantum of Solace was filmed) which Oscar explained to us is also a major drug running route.  He explained that you often see tyre tracks running all over the place because (crazy) people drive through here in the middle of the night, without lights, in stolen cars to transport drugs from Bolivia to Chile.  As there is no road or means of navigating, even during day light hours, you would have to be mad (or desperate) to drive through here in the middle of the night.

The only wash of the whole trip in the hot springs

Getting my knees and legs sunburnt with an amazing view

We did a LOT of driving over the three days (though the amazing scenery made up for it) and although our driver was brilliant we did get stuck in the sand just once.  It was a team effort to get us back on the road (well, there wasn’t a road at all, just sand, rock or salt).  Our driver hardly spoke a word to us, despite my efforts to speak to him in Spanish, but he did let us plug in Luke’s iPod, which had the best music selection ever.  Don’t think our driver agreed though and every now and again he would put the Bolivian folk music back on (at which point Martin would plug in his earphones to listen to German pop.  I was the only one that didn’t mind the folk music).  One of the funniest moments was when the driver put his music on and played a spanish cover version of The Power of Love (or some other similar ballad) and we sang over the top in english – sorry!

Not much mention of food here because it wasn’t really a highlight.  I did discover my favourite chocolate bar in Bolivia though – Cofler Block.  When I got to Argentina I saw that it was everywhere because it’s from Argentina not Bolivia (and also why I could only find it in southern Bolivia).

Our tour group

Team effort to get back on the road

Beautiful coloured lake

Tree rock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mashaquipe (Madidi National Park) – Part 3 (last part)

Ok, so it was nearly a month of my life but I promise this is the last post about my time volunteering at Mashaquipe!

Seeing as a large part of my time was spent in the kitchen, food was an important part of my daily life and I loved learning about all the local foods and how to cook local dishes.  I even enjoyed setting the table and doing hours of washing up every day!  I think this time in the jungle made me realise that food is an important part of my travels, that I like cooking  and it’s something I really enjoy learning about.

Some of the dishes and drinks I learnt to cook are:

– Maharito de charque, a traditional rice dish made with some vegetables and dried meat.

Gina, Mari and Rufina eating Beni cake (not breakfast cake) to celebrate Beni day (the anniversary of the founding of the Bolivian Department called Beni)

– Bolivian breakfast cake, a sponge cake (sometimes coffee flavoured) that has to be cooked slowly in the oven.

– Payacitos, fried dough balls that sometimes have cheese in the middle, which we had for breakfast.

– Zonzos, patties made from mashed yuca with cheese in the middle, then fried.

– Pineapple tea/soft drink, made from boiled up pineapple skins (so as not to waste any part of the pineapple).

Elly mashing up the plantain and charque in the tacu with the maniha

Process of making acai berry juice

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– Masacu, fried yellow plantain mashed up with cheese or charque (dried meat). Traditionally this is mashed up in a tacu with a maniha, which is like a giant wooden mortar and pestle.

– Galinaso, a warm dish of rice, milk, grated pure cacao and cinnamon.  The same dish without the chocolate is arroz con leche (rice pudding) with grated cinnamon on top.

– Leche de maho (morada o blanca, purple or white) depending on which variety of the fruit is used.

– Acai berry juice, a purple drink made from the fruits of the palm tree.

– Cheese empanadas, including how to fold the pastry edges in a pretty way.

– Different varieties of soup, including yuca soup and plantain soup.

Plantains outside the kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Plantain chips (they call them tostones in Venezuela but I can’t remember the Bolivian name, maybe chipilo de plantano?).

I’ve tried to include links to recipes where possible.

I also tried an amazing array of exotic fruits, vegetables and seeds (more often than not straight from the tree or plant) including:

chocolate/cacao seeds and beans (criollo and normal); lemons; limes; limon sidra (native type of lemon); naranja sidra (native type of orange); tutuma (didn’t eat this but you can make bowls from the shell); camaruru; copuazu; avocados; pineapples; papayas; ualusa; pomelo/toronha (grapefruit); plantains; bananas; berenhena; sugar cane;

I couldn't bring myself to eat grubs, raw or cooked, even if they taste like cacao!

Hammock time (again)

Piranha for dinner

As well as cooking, I learnt so many other things (thanks to everyone being so generous with their time, knowledge and patience) such as how to properly hand wash clothes (in a bucket or river); how to play chess; how to play a dice game similar to Yahtzee; the names and sounds of so many beautiful birds and animals; Bolivian slang; how to catch, gut and cook fish; how to mix work and pleasure; to have a more relaxed attitude to life; how to clean wooden cabins and toilets with basic equipment and products; how to rake leaves; how to make rings and necklaces from natural seeds; how to hang up a hammock with the proper knots so it doesn’t fall down as soon as anyone sits on it; how to peel and cut fruit and vegetables without a peeleror chopping board; how to peel tons of garlic bulbs quickly and easily; how to make conversations with new people from different countries every day; to have a better understanding of different ways of life; how to be more patient; how to teach english (a little bit); how to sweep and maintain dirt floors; and a million other things that I will only

The Administration building and washing lines

My bed in the Administration building (packing up, hence the mess)

The laundry room where I learnt to hand wash

realise over time.

Staying with the Zurita family (Mashaquipe)

Alba and Toni

As part of my volunteering at Mashaquipe, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to stay with a local family.  Even luckier for me, Nicolas (from Mashaquipe) organised for me to stay with the family who produced the sugar cane juice and who I had already visited a few times.  The Zurita family (Zurita is their surname) are Nicolas and Vilma and their two children Alba (5 years old) and Jose Antonio (Toni, 10 years old).  They have three more grown up children who live in Rurre and La Paz and who are studying and working.

Toni opening a coconut, picked fresh from the tree, for me to drink

My bedroom

So after packing my mosquito net, camping map and a bag of food, I joined one of the groups going back to Rurre in the boat so they could drop me off on the way to spend four days with the Zurita family.  I hadn’t realised that I was the first tourist to stay with the Zuritas so it’s not surprising that Nicolas and Vilma were initially concerned about my stay and what to do with me for four days.  Nicolas from Mashaquipe explained that they didn’t need to do anything special, that I spoke good Spanish (sort of true by this stage) and that I was there to help them with their work and to learn more about how life is for families living in this part of Bolivia.  Of course, the small daily fee I was paying to volunteer would also go straight to the Zuritas and I was glad that I could pay this money to them directly myself and to know that it might help them a little bit with their living expenses or school fees.

Running through fields and trying to avoid the cows

I’d brought along a couple of packets of coloured pencils and a blank drawing book, which were good icebreakers with Alba and Toni.  It was the school holidays so I was lucky to get to spend time with Toni and Alba.  The whole family was so lovely and made me feel very welcome in their home.  As I didn’t have a tent Nicolas helped me set up the mosquito net under their sugar cane cooking shelter, they even found me a bigger plastic ground sheet.  When we saw a viper eating a mouse less than two metres from where I would be sleeping, Nicolas quickly killed it with his machete and reminded me to carefully check the sleeping and shower areas before hand.  Alba and Toni joined me each afternoon for a siesta on the plastic sheet, one day even helping me by pulling out my grey hairs (thanks Toni) and trying to get some kind of tick out from under my eye (thanks Alba but not a job I would recommend for a five-year old).

Toni picking fruit from the tree for us to eat (photo by Alba)

Over the four days the Zuritas were so generous in sharing their home, work and life with me, and it was a real privilege to help with their work and learn so much from them.  Toni taught me how to play chess (and he even let me almost win a few times!) and he showed me his school books so I could learn the names of the local cultures and languages, and also learn a few words of Tacana (don’t think I’ll be fluent any time soon!).  Vilma let me help with picking lemons from the trees with a special wooden stick that she had designed, and help (all afternoon and into the night assisted by torches) with shelling a mound of roasted criollo chocolate beans from which she made her famous pure chocolate paste to sell in the market.

Shelling criollo chocolate beans by hand, one by one

I helped Nicolas and Toni (and the horse) press the sugar cane to make sugar cane juice, which could then be boiled to make sugar cane honey (syrup) or boiled even more to make sweet fudge/toffee blocks.  Alba taught be how to play tula tula, which is essentially a game of tag, and she had me running around for hours (which made Nicolas and Vilma laugh).  Alba was also a bit of a hot-shot with my digital camera, even though she had never used one before.

Shelling criollo chocolate beans (photo by Alba)

Vilma also let me sit with her (and ask a million questions) while she prepared and cooked meals, so I learnt a lot about cooking.  I found I had a lot in common with the Zuritas when it came to our opinions about food, despite me being vegetarian and them being (more or less) subsistence farmers.  We all agreed that it was better to produce and consume better quality produce in small amounts rather than use mass farming methods to grow lesser quality varieties, that it was better to eat organic food where possible, and they recommended I eat fish three times a week if possible.  I learnt that criollo varieties of fruit and veg are better than regular because they are native and have better nutrients and better flavour.  This is certainly true of the cucumbers, oranges, lemons, chocolate beans and eggs that I tried.  The yolk in the egg was almost orange (rather than pale yellow) and with so much flavour.  The same with cucumber, which are greener inside and with an amazing flavour (I’m not normally a big fan of cucumber).

Shelling criollo chcolate beans by torch light (photo by Alba)

Their kitchen was basic (outside, on a wooden fire, no electricity so no fridge) but that didn’t stop Vilma making delicious meals three times a day.  Because I was staying (and had brought some fresh fruit and vegetables with me) we had salad with most meals, which they wouldn’t usually have quite so often.  Imagine my surprise when Alba started drawing pictures of carrots because they are her favourite food – how many five-year olds do you know who say that?!  Charque (dried meat) is the main source of protein (it’s made without preservatives but still keeps well without a fridge) accompanied by a few vegetables and other local staples such as rice, plantain and yuca.  I had amazing soup (in Bolivia lunch isn’t lunch without soup) and one of my favourite main meals (not a pudding) was rice cooked with water, milk powder (there’s no fresh milk in the jungle) and some of the chocolate paste I made with Vilma.  It was so delicious because the chocolate was such good quality.  We also had delicious drinks made from different fruits and also hot chocolate made from the famous chocolate paste.  Despite the food being simple, the fresh ingredients made everything taste delicious!

Drying the chocolate paste on banana leaves

250g chocolate paste blocks ready to sell at the market

After four amazing days I didn’t want to leave!  I was very sad to go and it was especially hard to say goodbye to Alba and Toni.  The day after I left there was a massive storm and some trees fell on power cables in Rurre causing power cuts.  Fortunately, the Zurita family’s house was ok.  I had been concerned after they described to me how much damage was caused to their house and in other communities when there had been so much rain and flooding earlier in the year in February.  Some families had still not moved back to their properties and aid that had been promised by the local government had never arrived.

Heating the sugar cane juice (photo by Alba)

Stirring the thick, hot syrup to make fudge/toffee (this was harder than it looks because there was a sepcific technique to get the right consistency)

Making the fudge/toffee blocks (we weren't allowed to lick the bowl but we did get to try a little bit fresh from the pot)

Up early to press sugar cane

The kitchen (photo by Alba)

Outside the house

Hanging out in the dining room/kitchen

Nicolas (photo by Alba)

My drawing of Madidi National Park (photo by Toni)

Last photo of Toni and Alba before my battery died

Volunteering at Mashaquipe (Madidi National Park) – Part 2

Kantuta flower (national flower of Bolivia)

I was lucky enough to get out on a few treks during my stay at the Mashaquipe Lodge, generally when there were small groups of one or two people.  So when Darwin (one of the guides) was heading out on an overnight trek with a Belgian guy called Ralf, I got to go with them.  Our walk started off with us finding a kantuta flower (the national flower of Bolivia) and pretending to be toucans, and then 5 minutes later Darwin spotted a tick on Ralf’s neck from about 2 metres away.  Ralf wasn’t convinced at first because the tick was around some other small moles on his neck.  I had a look and couldn’t tell the difference so when Ralf eventually let Darwin remove the tick he showed it to us and we couldn’t believe our eyes (but Ralf was obviously grateful).

Darwin the toucan

During the walk deeper into the forest Darwin explained how many of the plants and trees could be used as medicines.  We tried the root of a plant that was a natural anaesthetic and made my mouth and tongue go tingly then numb but I declined to eat minty termites from a tree.  We also saw a large group of chanchos (wild pigs) that were so close that we had to be ready to climb up onto a large fallen tree trunk if they got too close.  As they raced past us, destroying everything in their path, you could see the hair on their backs all spiked up.  The reason we were also to view them so closely is because Darwin could literally smell the chanchos as we got nearer to them, so we could walk quietly and keep ourselves hidden.  Growing up and working in the forest must give you an acute sense of sight and smell because it never ceased to amaze me how the Mashaquipe guides could spot even the tiniest insects and animals from a great distance.

Macaws at the macaw look out

After stopping for lunch and a quick siesta in a hammock at one of the forest shelters, we went up to the macaw look out (and saw Capuchin monkeys on the way) before eventually reached our camp for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darwin cooking dinner

 

 

 

Darwin knocked out a delicious dinner and the three of us dined by candle light, with my job being to translate Darwin’s crazy stories and jokes for Ralf and to translate Ralf’s stories for Darwin.  When it was finally time to sleep, I drifted off to the sounds of the forest (unlike last time when everyone was snoring).

Candle lit dinner for three in the forest

 

 

The next morning we were up early to build a raft to float back to camp on.  Unlike last time when the boat came to take our bags back, this time Darwin built a raft to accommodate us and our rucksacks.  To me this was luxury rafting as Darwin steered us all the way back and even build a little platform for me to sit on.

Darwin finishing off the luxury raft

I joked with Reynaldo when we got back that Darwin’s raft was more luxury that the one he had built on my last rafting trip and him and Elly joked that Darwin’s mum practically gave birth to him on a raft, so this was his area of expertise!

 

 

 

Floating back to the lodge on the raft

Floating back on the raft in the early hours of the morning was completely serene and beautiful, with the sun coming up and the birds and insects creating a blissful soundtrack.  There is something special about Madidi National Park because every time I returned from walking in the forest I was full of energy and inspiration!

Me, Lauren and Norm also got to go on a night walk with Darwin and Ralf to look for jaguars.  Of course, we didn’t see any but we did see (and hear) plenty of frogs, toads and night birds, and Darwin did a great job of building up the suspense with his jaguar stories (he’s been lucky enough to see them on three occasions).  We saw a little shelter where a French woman spent almost every night for a month waiting to spot jaguars (though I still don’t know if she was successful).  Given that we were only there for a couple of hours, it’s not surprising we didn’t see anything.  That said, we got to cross the river at night and enjoy the beautiful clear and starry sky from the boat and it felt like a real privilege to sit in the dark in the middle of the forest, listening to the sounds and looking at the stars.  Amazing!

 

Walking on the beach

 

 

 

My other excursion (which turned into a bit of an adventure) was with Reynaldo and Austrian guy called Mattias.  They were going on an overnight trip to stay with a local family for the night so I got to join them as I was keen to visit a local family during my stay.  Don Alejandro took us down the river by boat to start our trek.  He kindly offered to piggyback us from the boat to shore (Bolivians are such gentlemen sometimes) but I was keen to get my feet into the river.  Our trek took us over the beach and across another stream.  As always, when there is walking and water involved, I managed to step in the wrong place and get my feet wet.  This time I got distracted for a second by the amazing scenery and didn’t follow exactly in Reynaldo’s footsteps and ended up stepping in some sinking mud, almost losing one of my shoes.  Imagine the shame at my uselessness when Reynaldo tried to help me clean up my muddy shoes in the river.

We crossed the pebbly river in our bare feet – me and Mattius stumbling across on our delicate European feet, while Reynaldo quickly crossed the river and kindly came back to take our rucksacks for us (probably because he knew there was a great chance, of me at least, falling over in the rover with my rucksack on).

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the family’s home (and our camping spot for the night) it was obvious that no-one was around.  Then we remembered it was Sunday, which meant everyone was at the market in Rurre to sell their produce and buy supplies.  So after eating some wild bananas and sugar cane, and having a bit of a rest, we decided to head back to the Mashaquipe lodge for the night.

Waiting on the beach

 

 

 

As the walking route back to the lodge was too dangerous for me and Mattius to attempt so Reynaldo gave us strict instructions to remain on the beach while he headed off to get the boat.  In true Bolivian style we had no idea how long we might have to wait for the boat but we had no concerns at all.

View from the beach as the sun went down

Turns out we had to wait quite some time but once again I had the privilege to enjoy one of the most scenic and magical places on earth as the sun went down.  The sky and light were beautiful as the sun went down, and once dark, we were treated to an amazing clear sky that was full of stars.  As when I was in the Australian outback, it made me want to learn more about the night sky and the stars so I knew what I was looking at.

Beautiful night sky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before I had to make a toilet stop on the beach, Reynaldo turned up with the boat.  Turns out the route back to the lodge was as bad as Reynaldo had told us because it took him hours and he lost his machete on the way (which I felt really bad about because each guide has their own machete and it’s vital to their job).  To top it all off, he then had to piggy back us into the boat (with our rucksacks strapped to our backs) through thigh high mud and steer us back to the lodge in the pitch black dark.  Of course, for me and Mattius it was an amazing ride down the river at night under an amazing starry sky but it must have been a nightmare for Reynaldo to navigate.  When we got back to the lodge everyone in the kitchen looked at us with horror and asked what had happened, as they were all worried about us and thought something terrible had happened and that we’d had to be rescued!  I didn’t realise this at first and casually told them that the family wasn’t there so we had to come back.  Despite the drama it was a great adventure!

One of the boats carrying the balsa trunks for raft building

As I stayed for almost a month, I got to experience the forest in various weather.  Another time I got to go to the macaw look out with a Belgian couple and a french lady during stormy weather.  As we went up the river by boat you could see the rain and fork lightning, and as we walked through the forest you could feel the power of the rain and weather.  We also had one day where it rained and rained all day, which strangely enough came after a ritual/party to ask Pachamama for more rain on behalf of the local farmers.  After some time, and after continually asking how people could tell what the weather was going to be like, I could start to read the signs for rain or when it was going to be very hot.  I loved the feeling of being this close to nature and starting to understand the patterns of the forest, even if only a little bit.

Volunteering at Mashaquipe (Madidi National Park) – Part 1

So once I realised I wouldn´t be leaving South America until the end of January 2012 I decided to spend an extra month in Bolivia and contacted Mashaquipe to see if I could go back there as a volunteer for a month.  I knew I didn´t want to work with animals (there are several animal sanctuaries in Bolivia where you can work with pumas and other animals) nor did I think I was up to working with orphans or street children (there are also many opportunities to do this in Bolivia).  I couldn´t imagine a place more different from my life in London and I also wanted to better understand the Bolivian culture in this part of the country after spending most of my time in the Andes regions of Peru and Bolivia.  Fortunately they said yes so I decided to take the bus back to La Paz and then a flight to Rurre (I still didn´t fancy the long and dangerous bus ride…).

A street in Rurrenabaque

I had a couple of days in Rurre to organise things and this turned out to be a great couple of days.  When I arrived in Rurre Los Tucanes said they didn´t have any rooms available (they always seemed to say this to solo travellers arriving before the last plane) but that there was a girl who wanted to share a room, which was even better (cheaper and some company).  Theres from Switzerland (doing her masters geography thesis in a village called Palmar) couldn´t have been a better room-mate!  I had a fun couple of days and nights hanging out with her and three volunteers from Madidi Travel (another jungle tour agency in Rurre) – eating good food, going to the outdoor cinema (to watch a terrible film) and drinking cocktails and playing table football in Moskkito Bar.  As they were soon to be leaving Madidi Travel they tried to talk me into volunteering there but I was more keen to spend time volunteering in the jungle itself rather than in Rurre.

I also fitted in getting my washing done (as I would be hand washing my clothes for the next month), sending last emails and Facebook updates as I would not have email or phone access, and buying bug spray and batteries.

I also got my hair cut.  I`d joked with my hairdresser in London before I left that I wanted it cut short so that I wouldn`t need to go to the hairdressers in Bolivia.  Well at least it was an interesting experience that didn`t cost me a lot of money.  For 1.50 pounds I had my hair cut with what I can only describe as the type of scissors they give to kids in school for cutting paper.  Big blunt chops of hair were removed and at least only where I`d asked her to cut it.  To be fair, she cut exactly what I asked and even trimmed up my hairline with a razor for me.  There was no wash or blow dry to go with the cut.  It looked ok and at least it would stay short enough for the next month not to annoy me in the heat.

So the day I was supposed to go to the Mashaquipe lodge the boat went in the morning rather than in the afternoon, so I tried again the next day and had more luck.  I took the boat up the river with some fun and enthusiastic Canadian guys and their guide, Nicolas.

Gina and Elly with some of their amazing food!

On arrival it wasn´t entirely clear what my tasks or schedule would be during my stay but I was quickly pointed in the direction of Maribel (Mari) who was in charge of cleaning, making beds and general administration of the lodge, and she introduced me to the two cooks, Elly and Gina.  As I am terrible with names I had to write down everyone´s names as I met them, otherwise I would forget!

Over the next few days I started to get into the rhythm of the lodge and get to know the people working there.  Going to bed early (about 9.30pm) and getting up early (about 6am) seemed to be the pattern and afternoon siestas were encouraged when it wasn´t so busy.  In fact, I was so not used to the slower pace that they had to tell me to go and relax.  Seems my London work ethic was still with me after all.  I had to explain that I wasn´t used to taking rests during the day and that in the UK, in offices at least, people tend to work long days and even take lunch at their desks.  This was met with a certain amount of disbelief and on a few occasions Elly would tell this to other people as they joked about me working too hard!

 

 

My effort at setting the table for breakfast

My main tasks consisted of washing up after breakfast, lunch and dinner, helping clean the cabins and toilets, making beds, raking leaves, helping wash the sheets, cleaning the dining room and setting the table, making juice and refrescos (soft drinks, like squash), teaching English to anyone that was vaguely interested, and resting in hammocks.  Given how much I enjoy my job at the V&A (and how unique it is) I´d often wondered what it might be like to do a more ‘regular’ job.  I´m sure the relaxed jungle setting with no stress and lovely people helped but it did make me realise that I could do all sorts of different work if I put my mind to it.

My washing up station (and English lesson board)

Norm, me, Lauren

Unfortunately, I started the day after a French girl left as a volunteer but was soon joined by a lovely Canadian couple called Norm and Lauren.  I think Norm might have been one of only a few male volunteers they´ve had at Mashaquipe.  This also highlighted the more traditional roles that are kept in Bolivian (and more generally, South American) society.  I was allocated to help in the kitchen (I`d obviously dazzled them with my washing up skills) and Lauren was allocated to help Mari with making beds, cleaning and raking.  Meanwhile Norm was allocated to help John with boat stuff and Inato with cutting stuff with machetes (mainly tidying the grounds or clearing new areas for future construction).

 

The boys (Reynaldo, Norm, John)

Night of the Museums in Sucre

I was lucky enough to be in Sucre on the Night of the Museums.  This seemed to follow the format of the Nuit Blanche in Paris, Lange Naacht der Museen in Berlin or Museums at Night in the UK where basically museums in a particular city (or country) are open all night with many special events for visitors.  You can find out more about the history of the Long Night of Museums here.

So the museums in Sucre were supposed to be free and open from 6pm until 1am or 6am with various special events.  This being South America, the opening times and event times were a bit haphazard but a group of us from the hostel went to a few places anyway, and enjoyed a break from the crowds (and built up our queuing strength) by going to eat pizza half way through.

Sucre has some great museums and I´d already visited most of the ones I wanted to visit so the Night of the Museums was a chance to visit some of the ones I might not have visited seeing as they were all free for the night.

We´d obviously underestimated how popular the Night of the Museums would be!  Being a museum nerd, I always assume that most people are not interested in visiting museums but I guess the lure of free entry is a big incentive.  All of the museums had massive queues outside to get in and the plaza was full of people milling about.  There was a great atmosphere in town.

Mini Eiffel Tower in Sucre

First stop was the Casa de la Libertad where the declaration of independence of Bolivia was signed on 6th August 1825.  The queue was too big though so we decided to come back later and headed for the park with its famous mini Eiffel Tower.  There was supposed to be a light and music show but I guess we were too early.  It´s amazing to realise that someone in Sucre commissioned this mini Eiffel Tower in 1906 from Gustaf Eiffel himself.  Even the materials were sent from Europe.  I guess there was money because at that time Potosi (near to Sucre) was bigger and richer than Paris thanks to the amount of silver being mined from the Cerro Rico (the rich hill). 

Interior of the Palace of Justice (probably the fanciest building I visited in Bolivia)

 The tower is kind of cute, and you can climb up it, so we gave it a quick glance before heading through the park to the Palace of Supreme Justice.  I got the impression that this place might not usually be open to the public as we had to go through a metal detector and join a guided tour.  In each room a local history student (or two) told us about the room and let us ask questions.  They gave us so much info I forgot most of it (despite translating for the non-spanish speakers).  We saw the room where the supreme court meets, the actual court room, another room for social events (called the room of mirrors because it was covered with mirrors and decorated in an 18th century french style) and the national judicial library.  It was all quite grand and impressive.

We saw there was still a long queue for the Casa de la Libertad so headed over to the military museum.  This was packed with people moving round in a conveyor belt style pas the exhibits (a form of crowd control imposed in all of the museums this night) we filed disinterestedly past various guns, military equipment and uniforms, 3D map models and model ships (yes, Bolivia still has a navy even though it doesn´t have any sea of its own, no thanks to Chile).  We stopped to read some news articles about Che Guevara that were sort of falling off the wall (display standards weren´t very high here) before heading off to get some pizza.

The big wooden Simon Bolivar head at Casa de la Libertad

Finally we joined the queue for Cas de la Libertad.  We wanted to stop and read the short texts about the displays as this is one of the most important museums in Sucre.  Unfortunately, the security staff (actual police or military guard) had obviously been briefed to keep everyone moving in a line past the exhibits and we were told to get a move on several times.  Highlight was the large carved head of Simon Bolivar that everyone stopped to get their photo taken with.

People filing past Simon Bolivar´s head

Local Kjarkas band

In the courtyard of the Casa de la Libertad was a dancing display and live music.  We managed to catch a young group of kids playing tradition Bolivian music.  I thought this type of music was called Kjarkas but it seems that this is the name of the most famous traditional band in Bolivia rather than the type of music.  The kids played great and their lead guitarist and singer was a real showman, and only 10 years old!  We stayed for their whole set and afterwards asked if they had a CD for sale.  Unfortunately, they were due to record their first (live) CD in two weeks, after we had all left Sucre.  I managed to film one of their songs though, which is a nice memory.

 

As our final stop we felt obliged to visit the cathedral, even though it had the longest queue all night.  We queued up and eventually got entry to the museum of the cathedral attached to the cathedral.  I´d already decided that I´d had my fill of religious art so walked round quite quickly, only stopping to admire some fine silverwork and gems of some of the chalices on display.

The other museums I can recommend in Sucre are:

– MUSEF (Ethnographic Museum).  I also went to this museum in La Paz, where they also had the (same) impressive display of festival and ritual masks from all over Bolivia.

– ASUR (Textile Museum, though it´s now actually only a shop selling very high quality textiles on a fair trade basis).

Candelaria and Tarabuco

Candelaria and Tarabuco are small towns famous for producing the best quality woven textiles in Bolivia (and the Andes region in general) and I´d already seen amazing examples from this region in the museums I´d visited in Copacabana and La Paz.  Going to Tarabuco is easy because there is a famous (and touristy) Sunday market so there are plenty of tourist and local buses to take you there.  Getting to Candelaria is another kettle of fish.  The good old LP advised that there were very infrequent buses at not very useful times and not every day of the week (confirmed by a few local enquiries) so I asked around a few tour companies if they did combined trips to Candelaria and Tarabuco.  Most told me no or it would cost a few hundred dollars (???!!!).  In the end I found Candelaria Tours and I was lucky enough that two french couples had already signed up for the weekend tour to Candelaria and Tarabuco so I could join their tour.  My French is rubbish but luckily we all got by with a mixture of Spanish and English.

The first day was the drive to Candelaria in the 4×4 jeep.  The road wasn´t too bad but it was unpaved as we reached Candelaria.  The view through the landscape was amazing but I think I was a bit over taking pictures of amazing landscapes by this time because I don´t have any pictures for some reason?

The hacienda in Candelaria

We spent the night at an old hacienda which had been beautifully preserved but not renovated.  The history of the hacienda goes back to the 17th century and it felt like we were in the setting for an Isabel Allende book.  You can read the history of the hacienda here.  Our rooms were decorated with textiles from the region and we were invited to help prepare lunch in the traditional kitchen (i.e. the food was cooked on a traditional Andean wood fire stove).  As with all good Bolivian food, it was cooked from scratch and full of organic vegetables (vegetables in Bolivia are generally organic by default).

Making dinner at the hacienda

As well as our guide from Candelaria Tours we were accompanied by Dona Eli who has been instrumental in developing sustainable tourism in Candelaria and was previously the director of the (currently closed) textiles museum in Sucre.  She was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic as she introduced us to the weavers in their homes and explained the different techniques for the different types of textiles.

We visited several homes in the small town of Candelaria (about 200 inhabitants) to learn more about local life and to see the weavers at work.  It was amazing to have the opportunity to see first hand how the textiles are made and how much work and time goes into producing them.  We learnt how to identify high quality weavings from less quality ones and also learnt that the designs are produced from the weavers imagination – they don´t work from any patterns or planned designs.  The designs typically include scenes from every day life (making bread) or from special ceremonies and occasions (making chicha, the fermented corn drink).

Weaver at work in Candelaria

As a great admirer of Andean textiles I could go on and on here but I know that not everyone is as interested in textiles as I am.  If you want more info, let me know and I can send you some links.

Corinne getting a traditional bolivian hairstyle at Tarabuco market

The next day we went to the market in Tarabuco.  This market is famous in the region and local people and tourists travel there each Sunday to buy and sell goods.  I was very disappointed with the quality of woven textiles on sale (the ones on sale in Sucre and at the weavers houses in Candelaria were much better quality and not really more expensive) but that didn´t stop me doing a bit of shopping.  I picked up a traditional woven blanket, a modern day blanket that Bolivian women use to carry all they stuff in tied to their backs, and some Alto-Plano Cholita-style sandals made of recycled tyres (a bit heavy but should last a life time).  The market had a great atmosphere despite being a little bit touristy and was full of local people in traditionally dressed clothes going about their market day business.

After the market we had a delicious traditional lunch before heading back to Sucre.

Thank you to Bertrand and Corinne for letting me use some of their photos for this post!

And here are some textiles photos….

Traditionally dressed women at the market in Tarabuco (I have the sandals, bag and blanket but didn't think the hat was really my style...)

Typical Jalq'a textile made by Marui Romelo from the Potolo community

Detail of a woven textile piece made in Tarabuco.

Dia de los todos santos (all saints day) 2 November 2011

Typical black and purple decorations and the typical bread with faces.

By luck I managed to find myself in a decent place (Sucre) on a holiday day (Dia de los Todos Santos).  I`d been told by various people that everything would be closed from the afternoon the day before and that it probably wasn´t a good day to catch a bus the night before, the actual day or the morning after, just in case the bus driver was still hung over (or still drinking, in some cases…).  I`d also been told that you could go knocking on doors with small black flags outside to get invited in for free food and drinks.

A type of alter for Dia de los Todos Santos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lovely family at Hostel Wasi Masi invited us to join their celebrations as their house is in the same place as the hostel.  I wondered what they`d been doing in the empty room/small hall off the courtyard the previous day or two and it turned out they had been building an altar for All Saints Day.  As we`d been invited by the family to join them, it didn`t really seem appropriate to take photos so the ones here are courtesy of Google Images.  The altar was made of a long table decorated in purple and black and covered with the dead people`s favourite food and drink, along with some other food typical for this holiday (i.e. the bread with faces).  We stood along each side of the altar while the grandma of the family asked someone(presumably a plain clothes priest or something) to say prayers for each of the dead family members (3 in total).  They then gave us a plate of food to eat and a small cup of chicha to drink.  We couldn`t drink the chicha without first spilling a drop on the floor for Pachamama and the dead family members.  I felt very grateful that the grandmother had invited us, a bunch of strangers, to join them for this ceremony.

Sucre cemetery

In the afternoon I headed up to the famous cemetery with some girls from the hostel.  My Spanish teacher had told be to be careful and not to take anything even vaguely valuable with me.  I don´t think I`ve been to a South American cemetery before but this one was massive!  It reminded me a bit of the ones I`d been to in Spain.  The place was packed with people but it didn`t feel dangerous nor sombre.  It was actually quite clam and peaceful apart from some blind people singing (not sure what that was about).  It was nice to walk around and see all the different architecture of the tombs.  Some were massive ones build by companies for their employees and in contrast there was another area full of small wooden crosses and a few small wooden tombs.

Sucre

The white city of Sucre

I was trying to remember something about the bus ride from Cochabamba to Sucre. It can´t have been that bad, or that good if I am struggling to remember it. But this is Bolivia, so of course it wasn´t straight forward! I had trouble finding a company that was going overnight to Sucre. When I found one, they told me that they only sell the tickets on the day and to come back in the morning. I came back in the morning to be told there wasn´t any tickets left (or no bus, I´m not quite sure). I eventually found another company with one seat left and they gave me a small discount because it was at the front and the semi-cama seat didn´t have the leg rest. No problem for me because I´m not that tall and I was just grateful to get a seat at all!  When it came to catching the bus I nearly missed it because it was parked behind another bus and I couldn´t work out where the bus was waiting.  Luckily, the driver of the bus was at the travel desk when I went to ask about the bus so he made sure me and my luggage got on the right bus.

 

 

 

Sucre - La Ciudad Blanca

What can I say, I loved Sucre! I stayed at a nice hostel and met some really cool people. The hostel also had a kitchen so I could cook for the first time in a few months. I had great fun buying random ingredients at the market – the best thing in Bolivia is that you can buy exactly only what you need at the market, no matter how little. I called my dish Aji de Soja (dried soya meat in a chili sauce with rice).

The best fruit salad lady in Sucre market

The highlight of each day was going to the market for fruit salad. There was a corner of the market with a bunch of ladies with stalls selling fresh juices and fruit salads. Fruit salads came in 6, 8 and 10 Bs. sizes. I always opted for 8 Bs. size and was never disappointed. The fruit salads were full of exotic fruits and topped with yoghurt, cream, shredded coconut, nuts and a wafer biscuit. What more could you want??!!

Bs.8 size fruit salad

Because Emmanuel fell over (drunk) in Berlin and hurt his arm, he had to go to Venezuela for an operation which meant he wouldn’t be going to Australia until February (rather than November as planned) and because I couldn´t get a flight from Buenos Aires to Sydney until 23 January at the earliest, I decided to take the opportunity to stay longer in South America and go to Australia a bit later. 

 

 

While I decided what to do with my extra time I enrolled in Spanish lessons for a week at Sucre Spanish School.  I took 4 hours of one-to-one classes each day with an enthusiastic teacher called Johnny.  Fortunately, I didn’t really have much new grammar to learn so it was mostly revising bits of grammar and then reading a text on a topical subject before having a discussion about it.  The classes were a lot of fun and I learnt loads – oh, and they were a bargain at only US$6 per hour.  The school also organised after school activities so I got the chance to play wallyball.  Check out the link for more info but it’s basically volleyball played on a squash court and you can bounce the ball off the walls as well as hit it over the net directly.  As with my attempt to play volleyball in Peru, I was absolutely rubbish as wallyball.  It was super fun though and as always my Bolivian team mates (it was me plus 5 expert Bolivian wallyball players) gave me lots of encouragement and were super patient with my attempts to even hit the ball, let alone score any points!  We had a lot of laughs the next day when I showed them all the massive bruise on my wrist from my attempts to hit the ball.

Dinosaur telephone box near the hostel

In Sucre I wish I had the Cholas in Bowlers book to read (even though I’d already read it in London and passed it on).  I had no trouble finding the cafe mentioned in the book (Joy Ride Cafe) as it’s such a major traveller hangout.  They show films each night so I managed to see The Devil’s Miner documentary about the mines in Potosi.  I hadn’t realised the film was about children working in the mines, so it was even more hard-hitting than I expected.  I’d already read quite a bit about the history of the mines in Potosi and had already decided for my own reasons that I wouldn´t visit the mines.  I really recommend seeing this documentary if you can.  There is also a more recent documentary on a similar theme (that I’ve not seen yet) called Todos Los Dias La Noche.

As I ended up doing quite a lot in Sucre I’m going to break this post up into several smaller ones so I can share lots of pictures.