Back to the mountains
Trip Start
Mar 31, 2006
1
20
37
Trip End
Mar 31, 2007
Sucre,
Bolivia
Monday, September 18, 2006
Back on the road which continued very straight and very dusty and still boring with farms and slash-and-burn instead of the original bush. Although we did have the excitement of three ferries in quick succession with all the ferries very "unique" in character and mode of operation; Sheila was got by some young men who said the ferry was private and we had to pay 10bols; we realized as we left that their story did not make sense and after crossing another two we were officially charged another 10bols. The road gradually improved with a change to a dry forest (very reminiscent of our Zambian bush) and rolling hills
A ferry with character
. It also turned to good tar and some quite heavy rain which washed our car of loose dust. We had to stop at San Roman that seems to owe its being to being at an intersection so is a mess of restaurants and little shops servicing the truck drivers and bus passengers. But we did get to go to a very good restaurant run by a displaced Brazilian who had his TV switched to a Brazilian channel. Half his patrons were Mennonites (I think they were as the guide book says the area is full of them escaping persecution in Canada and the US) but they were very stern and unsmiling.We made San Xavier, our original destination, early the next day; this pretty little town is part of the Jesuit mission circuit from the late 1600s. We just caught the church and museum before closing at 12 and were treated to the prettiest church we have seen. It, and three other churches, were all built by the same man, Hans Schmidt, over a period of about 10 yrs starting in 1749. Not only did he build four beautiful churches but he also made an organ for each of them (using wooden pipes), started a musical instrument factory and then wrote music for the instruments - music that is still performed today; and in addition he wrote dictionaries of local dialects. At the end of all this, the Jesuits were expelled from Bolivia in 1767 for upsetting Charles 111 of Spain. The churches are now Unesco protected and have been restored over a period of 25yrs by a Swiss architect
La Higuera where Che died
. San Xavier's mission church still retains most of the original timber; they are all decorated in local patterns and dye colours and are truly beautiful. We then went off to find a campsite recommended to us by other travelers. It is at Laguna Soroboqui in the middle of a cattle ranch. We were the only people there camping on the edge of a large dam and wandered the fields and forests looking at birds and relaxing. Well I relaxed but Sheila was worried they were mistreating the cattle and when they turned some 100 of them from bulls to bullocks she was sure of it! I must admit I kept my legs tightly crossed but the cattle seemed not to really notice and went back to chewing on the grass right after losing their gonads.
Lovely and relaxing but back on the road after three nights - cannot relax, this is not a holiday! Our destination now was Santa Cruz the second largest city in Bolivia and a centre of the disturbances that had stopped us in Moxos - they want "autonomio". We had another "motoring" experience on the way to Santa Cruz when we came to a road block where we were stopped waiting for a train, as train and car shared the same bridge. Quite noteworthy just for the train, since we had not seen one for months. Latin American countries have for the most part let their rail systems fall into disuse which is sad
One of the Jesuit churches
. After the train had passed and a huge convoy of cars and trucks followed it over the bridge it was our turn with our co-driver at the wheel. We were at the front but this did not worry the rest of the horde who raced Sheila for the bridge entrance in clouds of dust and stones and we well back in the field when we gained entrance. We had to straddle the rail lines on a narrow rickety wooden surface and go hell-for-leather with trucks breathing down our necks and me, now the co-driver, screaming at Sheila to move over as the tyres were rubbing against the rail line and Sheila, now at the helm, screaming back that she was going over the edge! It was a very long bridge and the screaming back and forth got louder and louder and we went slower and slower and generally totally disrupted proceedings. After a mini nervous breakdown and profuse apologies for screaming and various words about our car not being wider than a bus etc we went on our merry way.The reason for Santa Cruz was another visit to a hospital for Sheila, this time because she was having flashes in her right eye which is 'a' symptom of a detached retina. I know it is not fair but if you have a little money in a poor country you can get to see a specialist within a few minutes, and half an hour later after being examined by up to date equipment we were on our way with pills and eye drops and no problems as far as he could make out and only $30 the poorer
Our campsite on the Laguna
! Sadly I have had to send Sheila back to Canada as she has become such a liability and have gone onto Craig's List to find another traveling companion, any offers?Although Santa Cruz is big, busy and hot it does have a certain charm and we fortuitously found a delightful hostel, down a little dirt side street in a most unlikely area, with a clean and comfortable bed and huge bathroom (with toilet paper) which cost the princely sum of $5. Our evening meal of chicken stew and a huge salad and two large bottles of beer cost a further $3; the only problem is Sheila is getting quite used to these ridiculous prices and returning to NA costs might prove impossible. As we sat at the roadside restaurant there were loads of people jogging up and down the median and the local five-a-side soccer team were doing circuits opposite. And lots of young families were coming in for dinner and as we watched and enjoyed the passing scene we realized that everywhere is not so dissimilar, just people trying to get by and have a normal existence; it is just that in Bolivia the politicians to date seemed dead set on making it as difficult as possible.
The next day we were off again still on tar but rising gradually as we headed west into the mountains again. Lovely country and even when the tar changed back to dirt the road was not bad but maybe we have just got used to it. Our destination was La Higuera where Che Guevara made his last stand and was ether executed or murdered by the Bolivian army (depending on your political persuasion), and the excellent little hostal and campsite of Casa del Telegrafista. They seem to really revere Che here and his image is all over Bolivia. There were other campers here when we arrived, only the second lot we have seen in tents since we left Vancouver. These people were doing it on motorbikes and are clearly stark raving mad! We are having another relax here for two nights; we need lots of relaxation; I am not sure you all realize how hard this all is for us?
