Escape to Coroico!

After 58 days in La Paz, it’s finally time to leave! We cannot afford to wait around for the Irish and the Bolivian postal services to get their act together and deliver my new ATM card, so we’re jumping ship and going on our merry way again.

But the last few weeks weren’t without any adventure. Of course there was the usual Wild Rover madness, but Kev and I also managed to disappear to Coroico for a few days, to make ourselves feel like we weren’t completely wasting our time here. Coroico is the end-point of the hair-raising Death Road bike ride and is a world away from the chilly altiplano climate of La Paz. Only 2.5 – 3 hours away, it’s a small town perched within a tropical forest-covered valley called The Yungas. Most importantly it had the one thing we’ve yearned for most since our time here: HEAT!! It has a warm, spring-like climate all year round and it’s at much lower altitude that the city. Like little excited school kids going on a school tour, we set of on our mini vacation, being transported to Coroico in a people carrier, wedged between a grumpy teenager and a traditionally-clad woman with a baby in her blanket. The 3-hour drive there was spectacular in itself; along the main road which forms the first part of the Death Road cycle. The road winds initially through sparse high-altitude mountains which look remarkably like the tree-less expanse of Connemara. Next, as we descended we were driving past huge black rocky Andean peaks, dusted with a constant layer of snow – simply breath-taking. Funnily enough, as the journey went on and as we reached lower altitude, the heat gradually hit us; windows were opened and jumpers came off. The scenery was changing immensely too; the mountains remained, yet instead of snow, there was a thick blanket of tropical vegetation including banana trees, coffee plants and palm trees.  The bus left us in the small town square and we got a taxi up the steep hill to our abode for the few days, Sol Y Luna.

Sol Y Luna markets itself on being an “Eco lodge”, providing an Earth-friendly place to stay with hostel rooms, camping facilities and private cabins or cottages. Kev and I went for a little cottage called Nectar, with adobe walls, a small kitchenette and a balcony with a beautiful view. It looked very much like an old Irish shebeen if you will and we absolutely fell in love with it. Our balcony provided us with an uninterrupted vista of tropical forest in the foreground fading into mountain peaks in the distance, with wispy, misty clouds rolling in over the tops and up from the bottom of the valley floor below. We sat in our deckchairs on the balcony for hours, just watching nature perform in front of us, making it seem like we were sitting in a zoo enclosure. Everywhere we looked there were birds with yellow tails twittering away, eagles soaring and stalking their prey, hummingbirds zipping around beautiful bright pink hibiscus flowers and hundreds of butterflies flitting around, displaying their vivid colours with every flap of their wings. But because God has a mischievous streak, he also tainted this wonderful scene with the scourge that is Sand Flies. Sand fly bites are equally as unnoticeable until you notice a little spot of blood on your leg, and 20 minutes later it’s a red lump, some of which are just downright painful. No amount of insect repellent could deter them though and after a while it looked like I had a bad case of chicken pox. Thankfully though, they don’t spread disease, they’re just irritating enough by their mere presence. Our little cabin also had its own shower and toilet, both of which were located outside in another little hut. Luckily there were no spiders to interfere with my “connection with nature” and there was something very satisfying about having a hot shower while watching the sun disappear behind the mountains.

Coroico Valley

our little cabin

Beautiful flora and fauna

We spent the days lounging around the small, very cold pool and taking in the rays and our dose of Vitamin D. Coroico town was a 15 minute walk downhill, past some snappy dogs, but there was a beautiful viewpoint on the way, giving a panoramic view of the valley and the river meandering its way through the green peaks. Eagles could be spotted gliding their way over the valley as they searched for their next meal. In the town, we stocked up on fresh veg, fruit and pasta at the open market and a lady with 3 freshly-dead chickens cut off the entire breastplate of one poor thing for our dinner; 2 chicken breasts for €1, very cheap living and she threw in a lung for free. It felt great to finally cook for ourselves again and get away from the hamburgers and curry chips we were getting too used to in the Wild Rover. We relaxed on our deckchairs, admiring the sunset with beers in hand, swatting sand flies away and chatting about nothing in particular. We were glad to have ourselves to ourselves again, enjoying the peace, quiet and sounds of birds instead of the same soundtrack in the pub every night. Our neighbour from the nearby cabin invited us over for some beers and we sat outside their cabin in hammocks with him and his Argentinian girlfriend, practiced our dodgy Spanish as the local church bells signalled the arrival of 8pm. Their view was also breath-taking, a wide, open vista of the twinkling town lights below, with the bright moon casting an eerie glow on the tops of the trees. On our last night, we also met a German couple who we escorted from the town to the hostel and to repay the favour, they were so nice to cook for us. So again we enjoyed good company, some questionable beers, and some delicious food while discussing British 70s comedies, global warming and questioning how much of written history is actually accurate. We stumbled back to our cabin in the rain and snuggled in under our mosquito net-covered bed and drifted off to sleep to the sounds of heavy rain pounding off the corrugated iron roof.

View from the balcony

When the dreaded time came to leave, we decided we want a cottage in the country when we return to Ireland and I’m going to take up gardening. The drive home was an experience to say the least. Our driver insisted on cutting every corner, narrowly avoiding head-on collisions and taking bends with such speed that the tyres screeched. A few driving lessons wouldn’t go astray in this country! He could definitely give The Stig a run for his money. The scenery on the way back was noticeably different; the heavy rain obviously hit the altiplano too and what was a gentle frosting of snow the days previously was now a full-blown ski slope. The almost vertical mountains were striped with fresh waterfalls, varying in size from thin, wispy streams of water to impressive roaring torrents of water that threatened to spill over on to the road. We came across a fresh landslide, with a mini JCB just starting to clear the debris. We made it back to La Paz in record time, thanks to our Formula One driver and reluctantly made our way back to the hostel.

It was so refreshing to escape again for a bit of seclusion for a few days and enjoy being in each other’s company, without the stress of the bar. We feel ready to hit the road again and we have decided to head away to Sucre and continue on the road towards Chile. And it really couldn’t come sooner!!

Where we stayed: Hostel Sol Y Luna http://www.solyluna-bolivia.com/

  

How much?: 260 Bs (€26) per night for a private cabin with private bathroom and kitchen

Pampas Tour in the Bolivian Amazon

Right so, we’ve been cajoled into working for one more week in the Wild Rover, as they’re short on staff…or maybe it’s because they love us so much, who knows?! PLUS, someone managed to clone my ATM card, so I’ve to stay put until Ulster Bank manage to send me on my new Debit Card, so just when we thought we had cut the umbilical cord connecting us to this place, we’re back in the womb again! Hello Hotel California!

We did manage to escape for a few days for a wonderful trip to the Amazon Basin however. Just before we finished up work we booked ourselves a 3-day Pampas Tour with Hoatzin tours, which we booked for  the knockdown price of 1200Bs (€120) each, including return flights to Rurrenabaque which was our starting point of the tour. 1200Bs was a steal considering the standard price is 1800Bs and I paid almost double that for the 3-day tour when I was in Brazil this time last year. So we packed up our stuff, said our hasta luegos (knowing we’d be back in a few days’ time) and paid off our tabs for the last month.  Wow this came as a shock, damn that Dice Game, 14 Baby Guinnesses??? In true “Murphy’s Law”, that day there were protests on the streets of La Paz, so getting to the airport was more like as episode of “Challenge Aneka”, with some Colin McRae- wannabe taxi driver bringing us through the narrowest streets to avoid the road blockages. We arrived at La Paz Airport, a glorified barn and checked ourselves onto our flight with Amazonas Airlines. “I’ll give you seats 3A and 3C” said the air stewardess, “lovely seats beside the window”. We discovered when we climbed onto the tiniest plane in the world that all the seats are window seats, separated by a miniature aisle, wide enough maybe for an 8 year-old to walk through. In noted, once I folded myself into the cramped seat that the plane was a Fairchild aircraft. “Wonderful” I thought “a smaller version of the plane that crashed into the Andes into the Andes in the movie Alive”. As the cockpit was so miniscule, there was no door separating us from the pilots so we could see everything, and hear everything, including the concerning rapid beeping! There were into total about 10 people on the flight. The propellers started up and before long we were hurtling down the runway and thrust into the air, hanging there it seemed by the grace of God and the warm air current. As scared as I was, this was thrilling; the smallest plane I’d ever been on and we were coasting over the Alti-Plano of La Paz, the huge snow-covered peaks of the Andes and 30 minutes later we were gaping out the tiny window as the majestic mountainous jungle of Rurrenabaque and the Amazon. It spanned as far as the eye can see, like something from Jurassic Park, there were vertical rock faces covered with thick foliage, flanked by row after row of tall palm trees. We landed on an air strip short and narrow enough to be considered a country lane, complete with grass growing up the middle and we taxied to the airport with was a corrugated iron-roofed shed. Getting off the aircraft, the first obvious thing that hit us was the immense heat and the stifling humidity. Coming from the frigid evenings of La Paz, baking in 35°C+ heat and 98% humidity at 6.30pm was a shock to the system certainly. Amazingly, we had switched climates dramatically in 40 minutes; at least the alternative 22 hour bus journey may have allowed for a more gradual acclimatisation! We hopped into a taxi and made the short spin into the town centre, along a road which on one side had those aforementioned majestic jungle mountains and on the other side had small straw-covered huts and wild chickens running all over the place. “Now THIS is South America” we thought; unimaginable poverty, yet the most beautiful, smiley little kids running after the taxi and waving at the Gringos as we drove by. Animals everywhere and gorgeous brightly-painted huts; this is the stuff I’ve seen on TV! We picked a hostel at random, one called Los Tucanes, which cost us 100BS per night but was one of the most unpleasant hostels of our trip. There were huge holes in the curtains which made me question their presence in the first place, a fan which was so slow it made no difference to the damp warm air of the room and THE most uncomfortable bed ever! But for one night we just sucked it up and dealt with it.

                The next morning we arrived at our tour company at 8.30am and of course, in true South American-style, we didn’t get going till 9.30am. Our rickety-looking jeep picked us up carrying Flo, from Holland, Chan from Korea, Pierre from Italy and Franco and Chino from Chile. In the cramped jeep we quickly formed a friendly rapport during the 3 hour drive to Santa Rosa, from where we bailed onto a long, canoe-style boat and where we met our guide Alex. We were warned about the presence of many mosquitos on the river, so we promptly covered up. Even still we were getting quickly abused by mosquitos! Apparently linen pants aren’t enough to deter the massive mosquitos of Rurrenabaque! The hour or hour and a half journey down the river towards our lodge was amazing; every 5 minutes or so we stopped to observe some animal or other. We saw alligators swimming by the banks, Paradise Birds with their bright blue faces, Cormorants, Eagles, Egrets, Howler Monkeys watching us from the tall branches and cute little Squirrel Monkeys. The encounter with the Squirrel Monkeys was hilarious; Alex produced a banana and within seconds they all jumped onto the boat and climbed all over us too in the mad dash to feed on the banana. Our close proximity to them allowed for some great photos and we were assured that they’re not aggressive and will not attack you. Good thing really, cos I had 3 crawling on my head. When we finally arrived at our basic lodge, we surveyed the accommodation (beds with large mosquito nets on them, and some toilets and showers very much open to the elements!) and dumped our bags. We swallowed down the cold juice we were given with gusto, MAN we were sweating so much, it was impossible to keep your face dry! That evening, we were brought to a common area on the river for all the tourists the congregate, play football (yes, EVERYWHERE you go in South America will have a football pitch, even in the Amazon!) or just chill out and have a cold beer. We were treated to a beautiful sunset before taking our mosquito-bitten asses back to the lodge, where a surprisingly sumptuous slap-up meal was waiting. When darkness fell, we again went out on our little canoe and with the help of some torches, searched the banks and the water for the tell-tale red eyes of Cayman alligators. Elusive as they were, we managed to spot a few small ones before retiring to the lodge for the night.

                The next morning we were exciting about the possibility of seeing an anaconda. We were brought to an area of open grassland and swampland, where we searched with the other tour groups for the giant snake. Our guide was telling us scary stories of the largest snake he has seen in all his time in the jungle; a 10m monster with a body as large as a big dinner plate. Not knowing whether or not he was taking advantage of my gullible nature, it made me a little more wary when walking through the waist-high grasses, although we were told that a snake that big was very rare and that we should expect to see something no bigger than 2-3m. The grasses soon turned into knee-deep swampland where the attention was focused as this, we were told is where they all like to hang out. One tour group later told us that they saw the head of one (about the size of a mango) sticking out of the water but when the guide tried to catch him it slithered away to safety. Whose safety I’m not sure! We unfortunately saw nothing however, and at this stage it was 10.30am and absolutely baking hot. The heat was reaching 37°C and we all appeared to have come straight out of the shower we were sweating so much, I had never experienced that humidity before; it was like walking around in a sauna, absolutely horrible!! Thankfully we were brought back to our lodges soon after, less disappointed at the lack of anacondas and more grateful for the breeze that was blowing in our faces as the boat raced down the river.

Next we were brought to a wide area of the river where Pink Dolphins love to swim in abundance. Were you brave enough to get into the murky brown, smelly water you could go swimming with the dolphins, but considering the stories one girl told me of them biting her foot, I was less than keen to get in! Not to mention the fact that a few hundred yards away there were plenty of alligators, including Pedro, the alligator that liked to lurk around our lodge – there was no way I was stripping off to get in there! That being said though, some brave souls did get in and the dolphins became curious. Not on the same level as Fungi now mind, but we got some good photos nonetheless. That night we took it easy, grateful that the sun had gone down and given us a slightly cooler night. We played pool and chilled out on the deckchairs by the river, listening to the sounds of bats, night insects and birds while watching the beautiful starry night sky and admiring the dramatic electrical storm in the distance.

                The next morning, our last, we were brought to the more sheltered parts of the river in the hope of catching piranhas. Unlucky for us though, the f*ckers decided not to show up and the fishing trip was rapidly abandoned and we were brought back to the Dolphins for some more attempts at photographing them at play. After lunch it was time to leave, say goodbye to our lodge, Pedro the alligator and make our way back to Santa Rosa again, where our chariot would bring us back to Rurrenabaque.

                The three days were one of the most amazing 3 days; we saw so many animals up close and it was refreshing to get out of the suffocating altitude of La Paz for a few days. One thing I won’t miss however is the presence of large frogs in the toilets and the showers, making me uneasy as it meant there were more than likely lots of snakes about! Now that we’re back in the Wild Rover, I can appreciate the cushioned toilet seats, toilet paper and clean, hot showers! It was a fascinating experience and on return to Rurrenabaque that evening, we were treated to the spectacle of anniversary celebrations which resembled a miniature Carnival! That evening we all decided to stay in the same hostel, a really cosy hostel called El Curichal, which actually had working fans!! It was a great ending to a wonderful 3 days but I have brought back with me, the worst case of ass mosquito bits ever!

Where we stayed: Los Tucanes de Rurrenbaque  http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/bolivia/rurrenabaque/62680/

How much: 100Bs double room, private bathroom

Where we stayed: El Curichal Hostel http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/El-Curichal-Hostel/Rurrenabaque/72078

How much: 90Bs double room, private bathroom

How much was the Tour?: 1216Bs with Hoatzin tours and Amazonas Airlines

Tequila and Tattoos - A Month in the Wild Rover

So, 2 weeks of working in the Wild Rover Hostel in La Paz, Bolivia turned into 3.5 weeks, due to the fact that we would receive an additional 20% off food and drink and cos we were having such a great time, meeting some really lovely, crazy, mental, fun people and going on the piss for nearly an entire month! Working here has been one of the most random yet rewarding experiences of our trip to South America so far. It was an unexpected stop-off in one of the more random cities of the trip, certainly not one of the places I expected to spend almost a month of my life!

I remember seeing the city for the first time as we arrived here the day before New Year’s eve and thinking “Holy crap, let’s get back to Cusco, NOW!!”; the poverty and the general hodge-podgeness of the place made me immediately adamant that we would stay no longer than 4 or 5 days. Almost one month later, I nearly have to be dragged kicking and screaming from the place I have called home, with my new-found family of Bolivians, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis and Brits. I have grown used to working all night and seeing pretty much no daylight for 3 days straight, going from the bar to the staff dorm room and back again, repeatedly, venturing out of the hostel occasionally to eat in other restaurants and to head to one of the many night clubs once the bar had closed.

The hostel here was most definitely a “party” hostel; no night was a quiet night and Diego, our Bolivian Events Manager who is developing an Irish accent made a huge effort in organising a different themed night every night. We had parties such as Tequila Night, UV night, BBQ night, and probably the best one so far was the massive Oz-themed piss up for Australia Day on the 26^th January. There was an all-day BBQ, lots of Aussie paraphernalia, drinks specials all day, the infamous Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown and a general good-humoured jolly atmosphere between the largely Aussie – Irish contingency.  As bar staff, and ultimately volunteers, we were encouraged to chat to and have a few drinks with our customers, making them feel welcome and of course, encouraging them to drink more! This resulted however in us regularly getting AS drunk as the customers, if not worse my case – note to self that drinking too much tequilas on Tequila Night will result in me having to be escorted to my bed! But hey, at least we boosted the sales of Tequila! There is the nightly ritual of dancing on the bar, some say it turned into a scene from Coyote Ugly, with the bar maids regularly getting up to dance to Gangham Style or All the Single Ladies, and pouring free shots straight into the mouths of those beside the bar! Luckily nobody fell off the bar, which, considering the amounts of alcohol consumed was a miracle! And of course, I got myself a small tattoo, to top off the craziness levels, but it’s now as much a part of me as my underlying ginger-gene….

On our days off or even just our mornings off (if we got up before 3pm!), we ventured off into the city to explore. The consistently drunk Diego organised tours for the hostel guests (and us!). We were brought to weird and wonderful places such as Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) and the jam-packed market in the city’s Parque Central for the Alasitas festival:

Valle de la Luna was an unusual, lunar-like landscape just outside the city centre. Being in a valley, the weather was worlds apart from the bustling streets of La Paz. While it was pissing rain near the hostel, the sun was beating off the clay and rock formations of the valley. It reminded me of pictures I’ve seen of other canyon / desert landscapes such as Arizona or such places. We had a wee walk around, took some obligatory photos and made our way back to “normality” by local chicken bus.

The Alasitas Festival of Bolivia began on the 24^th January. Traditionally, it is an annual festival where locals converge on the busy market to buy miniature trinkets of items they most desire, in the hope that they will be blessed with genuine, real-life versions of those possessions within the year. You can buy miniatures of literally everything, from cars and houses to college diplomas, groceries and computers. If you desire a girlfriend or boyfriend, you can buy a Barbie or Ken doll to represent them, or if it’s a husband or wife you’re after, you can buy a miniature hen or rooster! The trinkets are then blessed by a “witch”, kind of like an ancient Celtic Druid; they pray and bless the trinkets with Holy Water and use flower petals and incense to complete the ceremony. When your trinkets have been blessed, the idea is to arrange them around a statue of the “god” called Kkekko, put a lit cigarette in his mouth and offer him and Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) some alcohol and pray that your desires come true.

I will really, really miss this place. I’ll miss the staff dorm room, the great friends we made and the great laughs we had, trying to keep quiet when we stumbled in at 5am, trying not to wake the others up, giggling like schoolgirls at Diego’s train-like snoring and having fits of laughter at Myles looking for his locker key under his bed, pissed as a fart and muttering “what the f*ck is going on?!”. An end of an era, but we’re ready to get going on the road again. Next stop is a few days in the Pampas (grass wetlands) of the Bolivian Amazon before returning here again for a few days! Will we ever make it out of here???

Alasitas Festival

Aussie Day