El Pantanal Hotel Santa Cruz

... directions, there's a<br>possibility we might all get to be in the same place at the same<br>time.<br><br>We've had a nice couple of days off the<br>bikes, relaxing, catching up on mail and stuff, eating lots of fruit<br>(I feel like I've eaten my body weight in beef since being in<br>Bolivia) and drinking lots of batidos and fruit juices, my body is<br>thanking me at the moment.<br>laters<br><br><br><br><br><b r><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>< br><br><br><br><br><br>

... few days as she had issues with her ankle and was having difficulty not getting dragged when he ran - and he was giving her a far harder time than me (I think being big helps as i also got off more lightly than my two shorter replacements that i trained last week :-) Thus i was alone with him all day, which i rather enjoyed for a week. Man with cat in jungle :-) Monkeys in the trees, macaws screeching about - it was nice just spending time in the jungle and not getting rushed ...

... see snow for the first time in my trip... it becomes hectic. Gaining altitude the snow thickens, and thickens, along with slush it starts to create one slippery slope. Starting to spin-out up the mountain along with many other vehicles we end up getting stuck. Not alone, with around 3 thousands vehicles stuck along the mountain side. A giant bus at the top unable to move. I am excited and jump out of the vehicle and show everyone the ...

C'est notre dernier jour en Bolivie, finalement, nous partons ce soir pour Buenos Aires. Nous prenons un bus pour le centre pour y passer la journee principalement sur la place à critiquer les gens qui passent et dans un cafe a jouer aux cartes. Derniers achats aux abords de la gare pour liquider l ...

... etc. Then he asked for the $270USD cash (for Jacqui and me)... At this point, I had anticipated that there wouldn't be an ATM before immigration (I was right), so I had gotten out the equivalent of $270USD in Brasilian Reals before leaving Tres Lagoas. But no...they don't accept this visa fee in Reals, only in USD. They DID allow me to go through the customs and immigration to go outside to the Cambio Exchange (I had to leave ...

Santa Cruz de la Sierra was the object of my four day bus adventure across Bolivia´s low lands. I arrived to cool weather with a recent shower of rain. Checked into a hostal and wandered around a bit. There isn´t a huge amount to write about Santa Cruz, its Bolivia´s richest and largest city founded on the wealth of natural resources such as gas and farming.. and possibly the coca trade. The city is pleasant, with ...

We left Corumba and travelled across the border. Alvaro had told us not to identify him as our guide as the border patrols would demand more money from him. We all hatched a cunning plan to get across which involved us going in two groups. It went pear shaped. The border was closed. Alvaro disappered with Pinnochio, the local mafia man. We later foud out they had phoned the wife of ...

... chatted and were then formally introduced to each of our porters. The youngest was 18 and the oldest 57! I was blown away by their fitness and ability to do this every day. Some of these guys have sandals made from recycled tyres and then there's me wearing 100GBP super boots. During dinner it also became apparent that if we trekked to the intended campsite the following day, we wouldn't arrive at Machupicchu on day 4 until at least 8 or 9am. This ...

... city/state in Bolivia and is supposedly much more modern than the rest (we cannot really compare yet as its the only one we have been in!). Tomorrow we get a bus to Potosi. It can't be as bad as the death train. Potosi is the highest city in the world at 4,180m so it should be interesting to see how we fare at the altitude, who needs oxygen anyway!

... more details including contact info. I highly recommed the organisation and feel their offering is exactly what travellers are looking for. A rich rewarding opportunity to give back without having to fork out expensive ´fee´s´that you never know where they end up. I know where all my donations will go and that is unique and amazing. The cultural experience and the opportunity to ´give back´make FAMUNDI a great choice of volunteer organisations.