hey a few days ago i left the park, and headed to santa cruz, which is a pretty big city, 7 hours ride from the jungle. i left to santa cruz with Jessica, another vlunteer from the park. we caught a bus in the middle of the city where the park is, and we were really lucky because it took us only half hour. we arrived there and got some dinner, w...

After arriving back In La Paz, Alycia succumbed to Boliviaīs inevitable stomach woes. A quick trip to the pharmacy, where all medicine is available over the counter (and dirt cheap), looked to be the solution. However an allergic reaction to the drugs caused both of her eyes to swell and close over within minutes, so off we went for a taste of h...

A wonderful few days spent in Samaipata with some of the guys from Jodanga; as they had been volunteering for the last month in a childrenīs centre in Santa Cruz it felt almost like a summer holiday! We stayed at the fabulous Posada del Sol, where we were well looked after by the owners Trent and Maria who honstely served the best breakfast in t...

Well it was time to leave La Paz and head east and as we couldnīt stand the idea of a ridiculously long bus ride so we caught a plane to Santa Cruz. The flight was very picturesque with great views of the snowcapped mountains that surround the town and we could also see many of the high crater lakes. As Santa Cruz is just another big city we joi...

Having waited in Sucre for days to make sure I was well enough to travel, it seemed extremely unfair that thirty minutes before our bus left my diarrhoea reappeared worse than before. I took stoppers and anti-cramping drugs, but on an empty stomach (note to self: don't take pills without food). Consequently, as well as being tormented with stoma...

Isnīt it funny how places work. How you judge them and how one person can hate a place and another person love it? Well Santa Cruz feels to me much more relaxed than the rest of Bolivia to me. I suppose this feeling started on the plane (well maybe even at the airport when two 7 and 9 year old girls befriended me), then on the plane, the two men...

Tuesday august 8th Samaipata to (en route to) Quijarro Not much to be said. We got a shared cab back to Santa Cruz for less thatnr Saturday but not the theoretical 25 each. Then another taxi to the bus/train station. We were hoping to get the Ferrobus (luxury train) but it was full. So we are off in a bus at 5pm to Quijarro on the BRazilian bord...

Monday August 7th Bella Vista Erwin Acuņa, the guide, called for us at 7am. The other person was Tiherry (pronounced Jerry, for the non-French). It is about an hour and a half to the start of the walk, and the day was perfect. You turn off the main road about 30km from Samaipata then it is 20km along a rough track with lots of trees and lots of ...

The wine was good, the wake up was smooth. We got ready and headed out in search of the place to catch transportation to Samaipata. A taxi cooperative, where a few cars were waiting for passengers. A couple of Bolivians were waiting to go, so we hoped on and off we went. Celebrating their independance day, there were schoolkids in uniforms in al...

Sunday August 6th samaipata The trip to the ferns was shared with a family from Santa Cruz with 4 silent children of 9-14 years, and a couple from Santa Cruz. the children and the couple sat in the back of the ute. Luckily the weather was OK for this. We reached the start of the walk, and we had **********e 50 metresd uphill when we had to stop...