May 2008

We arrived in Santa Cruz early in the morning and as it was May Day everything was shut, so we got straight in a taxi to Samaipata, a small town about 2 hours drive away. Getting a taxi may sound a bit extravagant but it cost less than 2 pounds each and saved waiting all day for a bus. The area I am in now is very different from the rest of Bolivia that I have seen so far, its a very green area and looks very tropical, which is a big change from the cold,dry areas I have seen so far.

We arrived in Samaipata for lunch and had a look round the town. After speaking to a Dutch guy who lived there we followed his recommendation to go to the zoo. It wasn´t so much a zoo, but more of an animal sanctuary in the back garden of someone's house, but it was an amazing place. There were 3 different types of monkeys, most of which were just free to run around and climb on you. We also got to feed some of the caged monkeys. They also had a sloth, some parrots, toucans, deer, a wild cat and various other things. Luckily we had arrived at feeding time, so walked round with the volunteers while they fed the animals.

The next day we went to see el fuerte, a pre-Colombian fort that was about 10km from the town. It was in a spectacular location, on top of a hill in the middle of the valley, so you could see for miles all around. The main feature of the fort was a huge rock, about 200m long that had various different carvings covering it and no one really knows the significance of it. The fort had also been taken over by the Incas and then the Spanish so had a really interesting history. And then we had a nice walk back into town.

On the 4th May there was a referendum in the area to vote for independence, we had been warned to try and leave by then as strikes and riots were predicted, so we cut short our stay in Samaipata and went back to Santa Cruz on the 3rd to get a bus out of there. But just 15 minutes before the bus was due to leave it was cancelled because of road blocks. After desperatly tring to get a bus to anywhere we realised we were stuck and would have to stay a couple of nights. So after finding a hostel we went to the only place open for dinner, an Irish bar. Here things went from bad to worse as we found out that alcohol was banned 24 hours before an election. So we had dinner and an early night.

The next morning we went for a walk around the town, and found there were none of the riots predicted, apart from a few people sitting in the main square the place was dead and absolutly everything was shut. But then on the way back to the hotel we went round a corner as a few cars came round the opposite corner. One car was surrounded and lots of guys got out with big sticks and started attacking it and a few people around, so we decided it was time to turn around and walk the other way back to the hotel, where we watched the incident for a whilewhile playing scrabble. Couldn´t work out what had happened, one car had been smashed up, the others were gone, a crowd of reporters were around, and empty ballot boxes were being taken out of the car. Quite a crowd developed and a police van turned up but it was told to leave by people in the crowd, so they just did. Later on a lot more armed police and riot police turned up with tear gas, and eventually got rid of the crowds. Saw something about it on the bews later, but still don´t know what really happened.

In the evening the result of the vote was announced, so there was a big party in the main square just down the road from our hotel. A lot of firecrackers, fireworks, flag waving, and music. Luckily for us the Irish bar over looking the square opened again and we were finally able to get something to eat and drink while watching the celebrations.

The next day there weren´t any buses until the evening so we were stuck in the city for another day. We ended up going to the zoo, which was actually quite good, as it was all animals and birds found in Bolivia and Peru.

In the evening we got the overnight bus to Trinidad, where we then took 2 flights to Rurrenabaque. The flights were good, the smallest plane I have ever been in, only 19 seats. Had good views over the rainforest during the flight. The landing was quite exciting, just a muddy strip of land cleared in the forest, but by the end of all te travelling and waiting around we were just happy to have finally arrived.

I arrived in Sucre late afternoon, so just had time to have a quick walk round the centre before it got dark and it seemed like a really nice city. And it was, I ended up staying longer than I planned.

The next day I explored more of the city and went to a really interesting museum about indigenous art from the area. It was all about how the traditional designs and techniques had been forgotten but in the last few decades there had been a big effort to revive the traditions. In the evening I went to the main Gringo cafe to watch the film-documentry about the mines in Potosi, after having been there a few days ago it was really interesting hear about the mines from the point of view of 2 boys that had to work there.
The next day I went on a trip to a cement works just outside of town where there are thousands of dinosaur footprints in a cliff face. Can´t decide whether I believe they are real or not, despite our guides insistence that thay had been verified by a team of Swiss paleontologists. But I started to have my doubts when the guide described one of the dinosaurs as being a similar species to the Loch Ness monster, and I really don´t think he was joking. On the tour I met a nice couple from London and an Irish guy and spent the rest of the day with them. I was suppossed to be catching a bus that evening but was persuaded to stay and travel with the English couple the next day.
In the morning I went to the museum of Bolivian history, basically they have been in a lot of wars and lost all of them, so the country is about half the size it used to be. We went to a nice cafe over looking the city for lunch, before having to get the bus in the evening. As usual in Bolivia, at the bus station there was chaos and we ended up being delayed leaving for over an hour because of some pricing scam. But we did eventually arrive in Santa Cruz the next morning.