Radical Reminiscence - Bolivia Diary/Journal 2007
Ok, so here is my long planned long ass/massive e-mail/blog about my Bolivia trip…
This is as much for myself to remember as everyone else so take from that what you may…This is still very much a work in progress. I would like to add more pictures and links but right now I just feel like posting and getting this out there. Again, more then a few pictures are already uploaded and nicely chronological for all that want to follow along. So I suggest bringing up my pictures in another tab of your browser (if you use the best and indispensable Firefox of course) and follow along that way.
Ok, I know my grammar sucks in here, deal with it ;P (and better yet suggest corrections so I can put them in ;). I will probably be editing/adding/subtracting so this may change a bit but for now it is DONE!!!!
Anyway I hope some of this interesting and you enjoy…
P.S. My dates and facts are not going to be really accurate now as I am going off the top of my head mostly along with some notes, etc. So fact checking, editing, will come later…Feel free to help me along with corrections, etc.
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Saturday, September 1st
My early morning trip from Chicago to Miami was pretty uneventful other then for some texting around 8 am ;)… on the flight to Miami I sat next to a Japanese couple who had a little daxsin - don´t know how to spell it - dog with them in this little carry bag they could zip him/her up in…it seemed kind of on the down low the way the one stewardess was whispering to them and motioning for them to keep it zipped up before getting off the plane…interesting ;)…
So my tour officially started September 2nd but I decided to come a little early to try and get a jump on things…Because of this and the fact that the only other people on my tour (a grand total of 2, a 67 year old retired teacher and a 26 year old Master's student…not including our 50 something guide) were all coming at different times no one was going to pick me up from the airport…Now I can sometimes be kind of adventurous but arriving in another country by myself around 11 p.m. without knowing more then "gracias" (seriously though, and even that was pushing it ;) was not very appealing…
However I had the tremendous luck of getting seated next to a very cool guy who I struck up some conversation with…So VERY luckily I made friends with this guy on the plane from Miami going to the same city I was going to -VERY lucky again since there was two stops in Bolivia on my flight- he ended up translating for me in the Santa Cruz airport, helped me get some of my money exchanged, and then offered for his father and brother who were picking him up at the airport to drive me to the hotel AND then took me out and bought me a traditional Bolivian (churrasco) dinner at a nice restaurant along with them!!?? Unbelievably lucky...and I of course offered to pay him and his brother for the gas, trouble of driving me as well as the dinner but he kept insisting I am a guest...
I know some people will think I am totally crazy but it all worked out and I really do not know how easily I would have made it to the hotel otherwise especially since it was so late (there were just about nil taxi's in front of the airport and would have charged a pretty penny – even in Bolivia – for how far the airport was from the hotel, plus would have been boring as hell in the taxi by myself) and all the currency exchange places were closed - I was just lucky because I had him to help me out and find someone that would exchange for us though they were not officially still open...
Otherwise I watched Blades of Glory and Spiderman 3…crazy as hell that I actually watched these…"when in Rome" and when otherwise bored as hell ;)…
When I got back to the hotel sometime after 12 am I was exhausted as hell…I pretty much just took off my shoes, etc. and crashed in the huge ass bed (what a waste of space ;) and then I realized that the party for some young woman's 15 year birthday (aka a quinceanera of course a huge thing throughout a lot of Latin America) was still going on and would keep going on the whole night (boom…bbbbooooommmmmm…boom…bbbboooommmmm) I still got to sleep though ;)…
So that was my first night in Bolivia…
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Sunday, September 2nd
Our first couple of days in Bolivia we were set up in a five star hotel…This is not a usual thing for Global Exchange…they are shoestring, non-profit, activist oriented tour solidarity type of group…We are usually lucky to get into a 3 star…But according to our guide the owner of the hotel had come across the group's website and thought it was very cool and decided to offer of her own volition a "solidarity" price for us to pick her hotel…crazy…
So I finally met my other two main tour participants (other people would join us on the tour for a day or two but not official/not paying) for a brunch/lunch meeting…we met each other and got introduced to a good deal of history and politics (old and current)…We met with one of the local heads of the MST (landless movement/land reform) and had a pretty decent presentation and question and answer after…A lot of good conversation before and after…
After that we had free time to do whatever so I chilled outside by the hotel pool with the girl on the trip with me (Sarah), talked a lot, read a bit, and really did not get a tan ;)…
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Monday, September 3rd
The morning was taken up getting to the airport and flying to Cochabamba (the next city on our tour of Bolivia)…A very short plane flight (about half an hour)...We were in the central part of Bolivia right now...almost dead center (Santa Cruz is kind of very north east corner) the altitude is a little higher here but still not too bad at all...
After we checked into the hotel I went walking around town for a while with the girl Sarah that I am on the trip with now and took a bunch of pictures...
Cochabamba is not much to look at…the region is very dry, desert (though important to remember "part" of this region is also Chapare – the jungle – which is tropical of course and very nice – for me anyway – to look at compared to the rest) city is typical Bolivia, mostly dirty, rundown, and just not much to look at…as Sarah kept saying (and I also) Bolivia is not as beautiful for its landscape/scenery (though there is a lot of that also) as much as its People…
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Tuesday, September 4th
Early morning trip to a very poor settlement in Cochabamba. After the miners strikes and subsequent government suppression in the 1930's – 40's the miners were forcibly resettled in this isolated/bumblef*ck region for their "retirement" in "homes" which often had no roofs or windows (and their pensions – what tiny amounts they might receive – were garnered for this sh*t)…It is one of the driest parts in Cochabamba which is already very dry. Water has to be brought in by truck/tankers which the people pay a private company for and the water which is dirty as hell full of dirt, sometimes sewage, and often worm. The "water" makes kids and most everyone else sick all the time. People fought a "Water War" in Bolivia in the 90's and 2000 and "won" but change is slow in coming. Finally there is some progress happening, Cuban doctors brought in to provide medical service to people. FINALLY where there was none before, a school being built, and clean water FINALLY going to be coming in hopefully by next year (2008) still a lot of money not coming from federal government but private donations which is f'd up…
We had a brunch (first time I had salteñas for the first time uuuuuuummmmmm good stuff!) discussion with Senator Leonida Zurita at Ayni Ruway (prisoner and adolescent rehab project) about the current political climate (at the time there was a lot of worry about a planned protest in a few days of 100,000 or so peasants from the coca fields, etc and what plans the opposition might have for making the event a "bloodbath" what the reaction of security forces would be, etc.…what she thought of the future, etc.
During the main lunch (at the same place) we had a presentation by Domitila Barrios de Chungara (Nobel Peace Prize semi-finalist 2006 – check out here autobiography, "Let Me Speak")…the historical and especially political presentation by her partner after her discussion I thought was one of the main highlights of the entire day…the guy had a good presentation and some powerful stuff, I was almost literally on the edge of my seat…
At the end of the day we visited the Patino Mansion (now a publicly owned/maintained building) multi-million dollar "home" built in the 1920's, exquisite artwork, unbelievable detailing from everything to floors to desks, marble, stone, and other building materials imported in from countries around the world, all of which was never lived in ONE day by either the builder (Patino, mining magnate) his wife, or any of his grandchildren…
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Wednesday, September 5th
Today we were in Chapare - the hotel Las Palmas in the jungle (where they have the coca fields)...We stayed at another really nice hotel with four beds, a huge bathroom, and even a fridge! ;) It would have been almost perfect if there were not huge cockroaches in the bathroom also ;) (big as or bigger then my hand I am serious…I mean this is the jungle mofo's not playing around ;)...
We saw a lot of the jungle on the crazy ride. Driving on highway "Number 1" in Bolivia (if you drove on it you will know why this is ironic and if you were in the van you will also know why hearing/remembering hearing it makes me cringe) to the hotel was a trip in more ways then one. Because of the altitude during the ride I started getting a headache, lightheaded, queasy, etc. To counteract this I tried chewing coca for the first time. Man, it really does help! I started feeling better within minutes. And no, it does not give you a high or anything like that just helps with the symptoms of altitude and it is just really healthy anyway for everything (look it up). We had fish almost straight from the river (very good) lunch and some Bolivian cherry brandy (awesome stuff! F'ing sucks it would have been hard as hell to carry that bottle home or I would probably have bought it) and beer. Having fun with the girls (another one is on the trip with us for a couple of days).
Lot more to say…perhaps…but I will refrain… ;)
I think this was one of my better/best? days on the trip, good times.
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Thursday, September 6th
We went to see a coca field. They can grow this tiny amount that is considered legal and not for coca production. Unf*cking believable that the government still allows the DEA in the country to destroy farmers/families crops/livelihood…Just like the School of America's issue (government still has dealings with the SOA and lets military train there in good 'ol American as apple pie torture just like in the 'ol days or nowdays/GITMO, extraordinary renditions, etc., etc.), lot of stuff that makes me doubt the government and its commitment to the people…What are they thinking?? What are the reasons for this?? I/we have a lot of ideas…and no, it is not all easy to solve and understand, not all black and white as some people like to think…
After seeing coca when it is growing, its seeds, etc. we went to one of the few nascent community radio stations in Chapare. After the radio station we went to see the Defender of the People again (human rights advocate independent of government/ombudsmen unfortunately no real enforcement/legal/etc. powers) at his headquarters. He did a Power Point presentation which was basically a lot of pictures from cocalero protests, etc. and showing the huge militarization/martial law environment that existed even just a couple of years ago in Bolivia against those (mostly) small family farmers who grow coca. Women were at the forefront of the fight (as they are in many worldwide) but usually this is covered up, etc. Seeing the dead bodies after the military/police were done torturing them or even just the wounded people brought back this was some serious sh*t. People put their bodies on the line but most of them were just caught (many not having anything to do with the protests, etc.).
After this presentation we went to the animal refuge for rescued (from the black market or caught by farmers, etc.) and recuperating animals such as monkeys, parrots, and even a bear (we could pet them)...I am really starting to realize how disproportionate the amount of Australian and Irish tourists there are in Bolivia compared to all other nationalities…Europeans are big in South America/Latin America and I think just in general around the world while American's (U.S.) are nowhere to be found…expected and typical…I think a lot of people reading this knows people that have never traveled internationally much less out of their damn state!! Unfricking believable and yet man I have known it all too long…sucks, needs to change…but what could make it change?? Hhhhhhhmmmmm I have some ideas but…. ;)
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Friday, September 7th
We flew into La Paz today. We met one of the very few opposition (to President Morales) figures by chance at the airport (our plane to La Paz was late as was his) and had an impromptu presentation by him over breakfast. He is the president of a center-right think tank in La Paz. Educated in the best schools in Bolivia and the U.S. (I think he did post-grad at Yale or Princeton) he did not come off as haughty or extreme but well-spoken. And he had my head nodding more than once because any of the criticisms he mentioned he supported with many facts and were indeed criticisms some of Pres. Morales' strongest supporters had been making. A lot of things he posited as "solutions" were also couched in the same factual terms (even so much as giving costs/numbers) and were practical and realistic. For being a possible imperialist "running dog" I was impressed ;)…Too bad we did not get to meet more of the opposition (expected and not altogether missed but still…)…
After we arrived, the first thing was to rest and drink plenty of coca tea to get acclimated to the altitude and then to get settled into what would be our home for the next five days, the Maryknoll Society House. We would make fun of it as alternately the "Nunnery" or "Ice Palace" (some of the nuns that were staying there with us for a couple of days actually came up with the latter) but it was a cool place to be overall. The home was a mansion formerly owned by a magnate of one sort or another. Now the Maryknoll Society owned it. Maryknoll is defined by Wikipedia like this: "Maryknoll or, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, is a U.S.Catholic Society of Apostolic Life which has, throughout its nearly hundred-year history, had an exclusive emphasis on ministry and missionary work overseas, particularly East Asia, in China, Japan, Korea, Latin America, and Africa… Maryknoll also has extensive connections with many Latin American countries, where it has long worked to help alleviate poverty and bring constructive changes to the life of Latin America's poor." Now those who know me might be like what the hell were you doing staying in a "place of God" and all you atheist/agnostic/etc. you ;)…Well it was very cheap and we had free meals ;) Nah, actually this is a very progressive sect, even self-admittedly liberation theology in their orientation (awesome!) you never find that anymore these days. They were all cool. From the various nuns that would come through and stay for a couple of days to one of the heads of the sect who had lunch with us this day. They were not afraid to talk about politics and how f'd up the religious right was in the U.S. these days, etc. We had some awesome discussions.
Otherwise we did not do much that day (again it was a day for rest because you do NOT want to get altitude sickness)…Dinner was a different story though…A coordinator of the Extradite "Goni" Campaign (campaign to extradite former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada y Sánchez Bustamante for tremendous human rights atrocities/abuses, especially during his last term) had dinner with us and gave us a presentation on what she is doing now…A lot of Americans do not have an inkling of this…Do you have any idea who is now hiding out and being protected comfortably in Miami by the United States government (how many terrorists and war criminals are relaxing just in Miami…?? Who knows…way too many). It is some maddening, scary, and disgraceful sh*t…
Then we had one of the very few American citizens working for the Morales government as the International Liaison for the Vice Ministry of Social Movements (gotta love titles eh?)…Something I do not really like to admit but both were women, both around my age, American citizens, and both were cute as hell…Put that together with the politics and being starved of "eligible" people, etc., etc. and it is a recipe for temptation ;)…It ain't all bad though ;)…
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Saturday, September 8th
Today we spent most of the morning touring El Alto led mostly by our guide, journalist Marco Quispe who has his own radio show in El Alto (he would stop our van every once a while and get out and either start interviewing people on the street or ourselves – especially that early in the morning it was an experience, some of our group were not amused ;). El Alto was formally a part of La Paz but broke off and became its own city. People here are intensely proud of what they accomplished and what they have been through (this city was also the site of some of the worst massacres in recent years during the Goni years). The city is one of the most radical in Bolivia. It is a hotbed of protest and radical movements and its poor but up and coming (they will tell you proudly of the new "petty bourgeoisie" and/or local businesses coming up and making good) can be counted on as a stalwart supporter of the present "people's" government (ostensibly, all we know is they are hell of a lot better then all the previous governments in terms of representing the people, though does this tell you that much?). The city was instrumental in bringing down Goni and for this especially they are respected by the elites, etc. Most of this is coming straight from Marco but has been confirmed in other accounts as well from what I have read, heard, etc.
On the way back from El Alto we stopped in front of the government buildings/square and took some touristy pictures…Then we went back and walked around Witches Alley again for a bit…
After dinner our night was free so our guide suggested we go to a pena…Now a pena is defined as "…a grass-roots community meeting place where popular folklore - usually New Song - and other artistic expressions accompanied by food and drink are showcased" by Wikipedia (and similarly by Lonely Planet). However, the place we went to, Ram Jam, was most definitely not a pena as advertised ;)…It is described in Lonely Planet as the place "Paris Hilton" and her ilk might go and that is what it was…just another club…It was cool though, even though I drank WAY too much (which I am sometimes wont to do ;) but in the high altitude it ain't the same for even the hardest of the hardcore ;)…Funny thing I knew this and I still did it ;)…We got back around 2 am or so and then had to wake up for the Lake Titacaca trip like 5:45 am…fun stuff indeed ;)…
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Sunday, September 9th
This was a sucky day. Now this was not only a sucky day because I was a bit hungover with almost no sleep (all that can be overcome, and was pretty quickly) but just overall sucky. This was one of our big "field trip" days which the guide did not go on because she was too sick. Basically the whole day was set aside to visit Lake Titicaca and Isla de Sol (the island on the lake where a lot/most of the touristy stuff is)…All that is well and good, what is not well and good is having one perpetually cranky/toxic (come up with many more similarly negative traits and they will all fit) personality in the group…Of course, we did not get much chance to talk on the noisy outboard boat that took us to the island and then once we got there we went hiking on our own sans the other individual. It was good to get away but my h/o and altitude started catching up with me again so I did not make it all the way up (damn that "trail"/steps up the island was hard as hell! I think I would have had trouble even without my other stuff going on)…Nothing much else to speak about, not positively anyway…Oh yeah, I think this was the night we stayed up and had another long ass talk into the night and watched Lord of War (her for the first time, me for the second) a good film btw people, I highly recommend it…
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Monday, September 10th
Not much of note happened today. Basically we had a lot of abortive meetings.
The meeting that did happen was our first of the day (in the morning) with the Solon Foundation. Basically it is a foundation started by famous Bolivian artist/muralist Walter Solón Romero with the goals of providing a place for his art and most importantly "that is giving voice to the discriminated and critical social sectors that challenge huge social inequality and call for social transformation." We had a lot of time to look through the gallery of his art, had a bit of a tour. Finally, we had a presentation by Director Elizabeth Peredo Beltrán about the foundation, what she is doing, Bolivian politics in general, question and answer session, etc. (our typical routine with speakers during the tour).
Later in the afternoon we had meeting planned with a guy (something to do with human rights I think) and he did not show up on time. Finally, we ended up the day by going to meet with what is described by Wikipedia as a "anarcha-feminist collective" called Mujeres Creando. From what we were told this Mujeras Creando was the trendy "sell-out" lesbians. There is another Mujeras Creando in another (much poorer) part of town which are not the "sell-outs" supposedly. Basically one Mujeras Creando took money from groups abroad and are seen as representing more of the elite or richer gay "community" (there is no community, all very much underground of course). The other Mujeras Creando is not getting all of this international money and attention but think of themselves as representing everyone and not only those who are rich, etc. The "sell-out" Mujeras Creando building was certainly very nice (especially compared to other one that we would visit later) and a lot of things were for sale but I still do not know all the politics…I think my opinion might have been better if the person we were supposed to meet with had actually shown up (another one that stood us up at the last minute).
I do not really remember anything else about this day. I think this was the dinner-night of the confessional(s)/revelations and some conciliations, etc. but I do not remember for sure. I think I might have watched another movie with Sarita that night.
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Tuesday, September 11th
This was the last day of my tour (but of course not of the trip). This was another day I do not really remember much about. In the morning we went to meet with the other Mujeras Creando (whose members actually showed up). We had a pretty interesting presentation/discussion with them. The one thing that really sucked was our guide (and really our translator) gave out almost totally today so most of the day she could not speak and asked our resident harridan to speak in her place. Now her Spanish was pretty good but she was not a good translator. First of all she wanted to tell us what she thought and not what was actually said…a lot of the time she would not even feel it necessary to translate all that was said…it overall sucked. I think with a backup translator (actually also a backup guide) we had a MUCH better time here as well as during the whole tour.
Again I really do not remember much about the rest of this day. I know Sarah and I walked (as we did virtually every day together) by ourselves around the city. If I remember correctly I think we stopped by the hostel (where we would be staying the next day) to scope it out (and for myself to make reservations).
Random Memory: Walking from the hostel to "downtown" La Paz is a very busy thoroughfare. Actually, the hostel is off of a very busy road (kind of a highway). Obviously there are a lot of people walking, driving, etc. along this 24/7. There was this one part which was kind of an intersection across the highway. At this intersection whenever we passed there was a cordon of zebras who would block off traffic to allow people to cross the street. Yes, zebras. Well, people dressed up as zebras ;) but we never figured it out…I figured they had something to do with a business around there but who knows…crazy…
We did say our "goodbyes" during/after dinner because our guide and other member of the trip were both leaving early in the morning.
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Wednesday, September 12
Today was our last day at Mary Knoll. Sarah and I ate our last breakfast there (along with the ever innervating Gabrielle (actually she had her moments…you all know I have love for everyone ;)…she is just a…difficult personality to put it mildly). Originally, I was thinking of staying on at Mary Knoll because it would be a lot cheaper plus I would not have to repack and move my huge ass suitcase…But I quickly changed my mind when I found out that I would be basically the only person staying at this huge ass mansion while the S already had reservations at a hostel. Now, I always had wanted to check out a hostel because I had heard it was a cool place to meet people and most importantly younger people. So this was a no-brainer. (I am glad as hell I did!). Our plan was to get packed up in the morning and have everything ready by the door before we left to be ready for when we were moving to the hostel. Then we were going to go on a suggested self-tour walking tour of the city from the Lonely Planet (LP) guide. The always raring to go (and very light packer) Sarita was already done packing by like 7am. I ate a quick breakfast and then hurried up and packed up (right after I finished I took a couple of pictures of my Ice Palace/Nunnery room which I have up on Myspace).
So we left on our walking tour. Man, this walking (and early in the morning, we left around 9:00 a.m. from what I remember) tour was hard as hell. The roads from the MK to where we were supposed to start were steep as hell (typical La Paz) huge ass uphills (think San Francisco but a hell of a lot worse ;)…So the tour went through another market area we had not really been through before…Now this was not the touristy Witches Alley area, not as nice at all, this was like more for residents, practical stuff to buy, etc. Packed as hell. People all up on you no room to walk. So we are walking along and along I feel something wet on my cheek. I am like wtf?! Obviously, it was a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, I thought maybe some water from the building above…and all of sudden off of my cheek I see this huge ass mf'in string of mucus drip off onto the ground…So some mfer spit on me…Ok, let me break in here for a sec…Now the DAY before when I was reading Sarah's LP to get some ideas for what we were going to do the next day I came across typical scams to watch out for in Bolivia. There was the spit scam where someone spits on you and a accomplice "notices" this and attempts to "help" you clean it off while someone else goes through your pockets.
Ok, so I was already thinking of this almost immediately. So after standing incredulous and disgusted for a few seconds I say to Sarah lets get out of here and go into a shop (to get away from all the people). Still somehow these mfers (must have been while standing there for a few seconds saying to Sarah "someone fucking spit on me") they went in my zippered pants pocket (down on the knee of my cargo pants) and stole it…I found this out about an hour later when I saw my zipper pocket open…so I had about a $100 bucks in bolivianos and dollars and my drivers license and one credit card…Luckily I still had the majority of my money, cards, etc. in my money belt so I was good…Obviously at first I was pissed off that I could have let it happen, pissed at being in Bolivia, pissed at the world in general, etc. But most stuff I get over quickly and that was the case here…I mean when you look at it what I had as "side" spending money would be a pretty good income for someone for a month…My drivers license and card I could get replaced easily (and no one charged a thing on my card for the hour or so they had it till I was able to cancel it)…I am seeing this as a learning experience, yeah money belts are kind of inaccessible, etc. but well worth it and really one of the safest ways to travel…I think this was the first time in all my travels (or even in the states) that anything was ever stolen from me, I am really fortunate to have the luck I have had so far…And by the way, to all the people who believe the typical shit everyone here says about "you are going to get everything stolen from you" and always assuming it is "dangerous," etc. etc. Obviously (but not so obviously to the majority of people unfortunately) this could and DOES happen here, in our own cities and suburbs no matter how prosperous and supposedly "safe" all this is about is taking normal precautions and not getting complacent (like I did).
So after making sure my card was cancelled and e-mailing around a bit (at the internet café) we went out on our planned lunch at a Japanese restaurant. (Factoid: La Paz has sizeable populations of Japanese and Germans among many other nationalities)…The food was good and even pretty genuine Japanese (according to the resident expert ;) and we picked a good time because we missed the majority of the rain that fell mostly during our lunch. After lunch I think we went back to the mountain biking place to make sure about our biking trip for the next day…
We ended up going back to Mary Knoll for the last time to pick up our suitcases and then took a taxi to the hostel. Now I make taking the taxi sound easy. It was not ;)…We must have stopped about three taxi drivers and got turned down each time as soon as they heard where we wanted to go…Now the area around the hostel is just pretty much normal for La Paz. Nothing extraordinarily bad or anything (we walked to it two times before at all times of day and had no problems) so we were like wtf? I mean here we are two gringos, a white girl and a white guy (though interestingly I was mistaken as Bolivian or at least "Latin" by more then a few Bolivians), not showy or anything but obviously we should have money. So anyway, we finally got a guy to take us there and as soon we got there we figured out why no one wanted to take us there (at least our best guess with all the evidence). There was a protest blocking off the road right in front of our hostel. (I have some pictures of it but you really cannot make it out very well from them.) It was funny because this was the first protest or any activism of this sort that we had seen and it was not even during our tour. We never really found out what the protest was about unfortunately. A few minutes after we got there and started taking pictures the police came in to break it up (or at least move it off the street). Now this protest was very small. Maybe fifty or so people max. But when the police came they probably outnumbered the protesters three times over (just a bit of overkill as per usual).
After we got to the hostel the main objective was to get dinner and give the mountain bike place (Gravity Assist Bolivia) a call to see if our planned trip for the next day was going to leave or not. We ended up going to a German restaurant (it was all ethnic stuff today I guess ;) a REALLY nice restaurant btw (we did not know this until we got there). It was very nice inside and out. A doorman to open the door and the kind of place the waiters are called "garcon" ;) Now it was particularly that this was a nice place because one of the reasons we decided on it was that they said you would get a free drink with your meal (with a coupon we had from the bike agency). Sarah was like are you really going to give them a coupon in this nice place?? I was like hell yeah…Hey it is Bolivia, who is going to know (other then whoever reads this ;) right?? ;) Plus it is a freebie, I cannot pass up a freebie! ;) We did get the free drink (a Bolivian mixed drink thing), the beef stroganoff I had was ok I have definitely had much better, but the service and atmosphere (they had a piano player) was definitely the highlight.
After that we went back to the hostel. Now the things I have not told you about this hostel yet were its two biggest selling points (other then that you get to meet a hell of a lot of cool young people and it is CHEAP). The two selling points you ask? You get a FREE pancake breakfast every morning and a FREE beer (they have their own microbrewery IN HOUSE! ;)…Now I would have probably would have done the hostel even without these but they definitely made it a certainty. After getting up early, all the usual walking we did, etc. and having some time to kill till the bar opened up (oh yeah the hostel has their own bar IN HOUSE!!) I decided to chill in my room a bit, eat, listen to some music and maybe doze. Well I ended up just kind of getting paralyzed I could not get up man. The room was f'n freezing as per usual La Paz so I was just a total old man and slept the night away (even slept through Sarah knocking on my door somehow)…
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Thursday, September 13
During breakfast together at the hostel Sarah and I met a few Australian's who had just got into La Paz the day before and were looking for something to do. As we had already been all around the city walking for the entire week we decided to go along with them. I played up Sarah's awesome navigation skills – she is used to (actually prefers) going to cities/countries around the world with no knowledge of the language, etc. and just making her way SOLO, unf'nbelievable. This is in addition to all of her other accomplishments. Now up until now I have not really talked about Sarah (and she probably would not want me to go on at length since she is one of the most humble, cool and easy going people I have met but I will do a really short list for you all)…
1) She runs a farm…
2) She raises, sells, and rides competitively horses…
3) She has been through a coup (where she had her passport and all her money stolen at knife point by two huge ass guys)…
4) She has traveled solo on a plane since she was 10…
5) She was a firefighter for 6 years (ask her about chemistry or saving someone's life)…uummm yeah I could go on ;)…I give her huge props)…
The one thing I did not like is that we went through the exact same market where I had got my stuff stolen. I really do not know why since I think there is just sh8t there anyway but anyway… ;) After a while of walking around we stopped in to a Middle Eastern restaurant and had some falafel, etc. (I had some grape leaf stuffed with meat…my favorite so far of all the Mediterranean food I have tried)…From what I remember we went around some other markets (a couple of the Aussie's wanted to shop), saw some other sights and then came back for dinner at the hostel. Now the hostel always usually had dinner you could have if you want (have to pay of course)…But tonight was a special night, they were calling it the grand opening "Jacuzzi" party…So after we got back to the hostel we chilled until the dinner…I watched "Casino Royale" again with Sarah and Tim (the other guy we had met that day from South Africa) and then we went to dinner…Now this Grand Opening was at the other hostel's location down the street (they had just expanded into another building) so the grand opening was also for the new hostel location and the Jacuzzi was just an added benefit ;)…Now this new building is interesting, they call it the vampire's castle and whatnot because the entrance doors are those huge old things like you see in movies…and when you get into the building it is even weirder, the steps have this weird canopy over them and the courtyard (where we took our group picture after mountain biking) is just strange…So you get into the building and go out to the back where they have a yard. At the bottom of the yard (two levels – you can get some idea of all this in my Jacuzzi folder of pictures on Myspace…) they had the grill set up and a couple of those things like they have at out at a park (a roof and bench to sit). I got my food and then went up to the stairs where they had the bar and most importantly the bonfire and Jacuzzi ;) So it turned out the much ballyhooed Jacuzzi was actually a bathtub they had set up over a kind of firepit thing to warm up…Now of course the problem is that the bottom of the tub got very hot ;)…To avoid burning anyone they had wood planks set up on the bottom (you can see them in my pics of the girls who btw are not only there for gratuitous semi-nudity and titillation ;)…
This was an awesome night, that is all I have to say about it…One of the best days I had on the trip hands down…I mean sitting around the fire, eating, enjoying a nice big plastic free cup of the microbrew and talking to all sort of cool people from all around the world. I met a former Israeli soldier, more then a few people from Ireland, of course the (by that time) seemingly obligatory Australians, a bunch of people who worked at the hostel (including one lone American ;) and of course all of the people we had already met came also…Talking about everyone's travels was awesome (again most people were on multi-month trips around South America) and just getting an idea of where they were coming from…I met up with a very cool Bolivian girl who worked for the hostel and we ended up the night talking about Bolivian politics, teaching me Spanish, etc., no better way to end it… I would not have left the party at all but we had the mountain biking trip in the morning (we had to be at the café downtown to meet by 7 a.m.) so I left around 11:30 ? to get some water in me and get to sleep…
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Friday, September 14
So I met up with Sarah and we walked to other hostel location to meet up with the rest of our group (two Australian guys Paul and Brendon and South African Tim). We got to the café, had a little breakfast, and met up with our two bike group guides (Alistair – also the owner of the bike company – and an Austrian guy). The view from where we started was spectacular (that is the first group picture on our bikes and seeing the tops of clouds). It was still early morning and being above the clouds on the top of a mountain…well all I can say is that is mountain biking. Alistair (a New Zealand native if I remember correctly), our brave leader ;) was one of the funniest and nicest guys I have had the pleasure to meet. He also had some good taste in music! He had his iPod hooked into the jeep's system and we heard everything from Del the Funky Homosapien (old school, lesser known, but essential/classic) to Eminem, to punk, to rock and jazz. He was all over, just like I like it ;)…
Man, this was an experience for me. This was only my second or third time ever on a mountain bike. This was also the first time in my life I was going off-road mountain biking. Finally, this would mark the first time I had ridden over a mile or so (my longest ride before that was a ride along of some of the Lakeshore). Keep in mind I do not work out and that all the other people on the trip were seasoned off-road riders. Now a lot of the trip was downhill but even with a lot of downhill, it was over 50km!!!! Approximately 31.07 miles for those who need the conversion. I only fell once or twice. We got chased by potentially rabid dogs a couple of times. We had to cross a landslide (totally had destroyed the road) while carrying our bikes with us and rocks sliding underfoot everywhere (and if we fell, then oh well, because we would slide right down into a ravine and would not stop for quite a while). I can definitely say that of the few times I was worried for my life during the trip this was the worst time. I can proudly say that I finished the entire trip and all without ever once getting into our assistance vehicle that was trailing us for most of the trip (obviously had to take a detour around the landslide). There was some awesome jungle scenery towards the end of the trip (as with everything else there are pictures on Myspace)…The beginning was really hard. Starting out at high altitude does not help, hard to breathe; everything seems harder (and cold). I had my hand on the brakes a lot which did not help out (kills the hands after a while). The bikes were awesome, great balance, suspension and everything, true mountain bikes (retail around $3000) but if you are not riding it right it can only help out so much. I think I did get a lot better over the course of the trip and learned what they told me. Everyone was very cool during the thing for my slow ass. More then a few times at the beginning I was pissed that I was on this trip (was like we should have done the easier ride first) pissed at everyone else being a hell of a lot better on the bikes then I was, wondering if I was going to be able to finish. Of course, I never voiced any of to this to anyone but I was definitely thinking it…I just kept focusing on finishing and not appearing too neophytish. And like I said, I did finish, eventually ;) The goal of our trip was a castle built by war-prisoner labor (Paraguayan prisoners of war built it for a former Bolivian president during the Choco war) now converted into a restaurant and hotel. We sat out poolside and chilled for a while and had a beer. Then we all took showers and got changed to have some late lunch. Unfortunately, it was not as easy as that ;) On the way to the castle we had noticed some water jetting out over the road. We later found out this was probably all the water that was supposed to be going to the hotel. So anyway, a couple of people got to take showers and then the water turned off. So me and the Austrian guy had to wait about an hour in a half until they got some water back. Another thing in Bolivia is that hot water is a precious commodity (when you have water of course). They rely on this electrical heater thing that fits over the shower head (and sometimes can give you a shock ;). The only place I had hot water during the trip was at the Ice Palace (they had their own water heater…you NEVER see that) and here (after a bunch of tries). It is a science to get that water hot even when they do have a heater.
Anyway, we had a good lunch. It was good to just sit and talk and have some beer. I was tired and aching like all hell. But surprisingly another highlight of the trip for me was our ride back. Had some good conversation and I got a bunch of recommendations for good Australian films, hip hop, etc. to check out…
After we got back we (Sarah and I) had dinner at the hostel and Paul (his girlfriend also), Brendon, and Tim came over from the other hostel and we all ate and drank up together. I wanted to use up my last remaining dollars as this was pretty much my last day in Bolivia. So I was buying up shots for everyone and had more then a couple myself ;) Heard some funny as hell stories from the bartender who sat down with all of us and just had some good talk with everyone else. We said our goodbyes and the end of another good day.
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Saturday, September 15
My last day in Bolivia. My flight left at 8 p.m. so pretty much the entire day was taken up with packing, last walk (solo this time) around the city, and getting some bad pizza. I had one of my last adventures when I realized I did not have enough money for the taxi to the airport. I had no way to get more as the currency exchanges were all closed on Saturday as well as banks, etc. (and I only had huge American dollars left). The only way would be to get my money changed with one of the black market people who will change your money for you. Of course, I did not want to f' with that so I was between a rock and hard place. Very luckily, another person staying at the hostel who we had met during dinner the night before (a British girl) who I told my sob story to decided to give me the equivalent of about $7 so I could take the taxi (I will forever be grateful to her ;)…I was kind of sad leaving but at the same time I felt like I had my fill for the trip. This was not the feeling I had my last night in Venezuela. Man, that was a hard trip to end, so many cool people, so many cool things, powerful moments, it was emotional. I really still miss Venezuela. I would have looked forward to talking and going out with some of the cool people we had met at the hostel if I had more time (and definitely getting into politics there more directly then we had been, etc.). There was also another person who I would not have minded getting to know better then I had during our very brief time together. It could have been revolutionary ;) Eh, I always knew what I was in for during the trip. However, at that time I was just tired of La Paz and Bolivia to tell you the truth (even some lifelong La Pazian's will tell you they rather prefer Santa Cruz, etc.)…
At the airport I met up with a retired American couple from Colorado who were in Bolivia finishing up their vacation. I talked with them a while. I had a last interesting encounter while I was waiting for the plane at the airport in La Paz. I had grabbed some Burger King right before that to eat but did not have a chance to eat before they had called our plane. So there I was sitting at the gate stuffing my face with a whopper and fries and some guy walks buy and says (in English with a total American accent) "Man, have to make me jealous like that eh?" Or something along those lines, basically he was hungry. Now before that, when I was ordering, somehow I had accidentally ordered an extra thing of fries so I decided to take it over and offer it to him (I also wanted to talk to someone ;). Turns out this guy worked for the violent crimes division of the Peace Corps. Yes, they do have a violent crimes division ;) He had been in Bolivia for only a week following up on the disappearance of a Peace Corps volunteer about six years before…He had to camp out in the jungle, etc. following the trail, coordinating with various police officials there, etc. We talked about everything from Bolivia, our respective trips, jobs, to women. He even bought me a beer! ;) It was a good way to round up my last time in Bolivia.
My flights back to Bolivia were pretty uneventful. I met a guy who I think was 20 going on 21 (La Paz resident) on the flight to Miami who I talked to for a while (his mom was on her way to an environmental conference in Wyoming and was taking him along). Miami airport was as usual horrible. Rude ass people, stupid ass airport design, computers not working, etc. Especially coming off of a red-eye flight like we were none of this helps ones mood ;) (btw I cannot ever really get any sleep in moving vehicles, particularly airplanes). One bright point about Miami is all the hot ass women you see walking around, but that is small recompense ;)…
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Afterword
Getting back to the Chi was nice. After the trip all the health stuff that I guess had been waiting until then started to happen. My foot started to kill and I was having a hard time walking on it when I got home. I also started to feel sick, and could not really eat much. I think a lot of out it was due to jet lag because I did feel a lot better in the morning (and I went to work and all). But definitely the foot was something else. I have no idea to this day what it was all about or even how it had happened. I think I might have sprained my ankle carrying around my inordinately large and heavy suitcase. Anyway, my foot got all red and swollen and I could not walk on it comfortably for almost a week (one night I could not walk on it at all, had to get damn crutches was how bad it was). I also had some other stuff which I shall not describe here ;) that lasted until about the weekend and thankfully it was gone. The foot finally got back to normal around the time of the end of the weekend so I was still able to go out somewhat and catch up with a friend or two which was really good.
If anyone actually reads this entire thing major props to you! ;) Definitely tell me about your accomplishment if you do ;)…I hope this missive/dissertation/treatise has at least occasionally interested you and even more I hope that it might have told you something you did not already know, maybe even gave you another perspective. Thanks for reading!!
Ever onward…More international traveling hopefully coming up very soon!!
