Crossing the Border: Tarija, Bolivia - Salta, Argentina

Even though we were disappointed about missing the Salt Flats, we had a really great few days in La Paz and had a chance to, em, let our hair down before boarding our flight to Tarija. We knew absolutely nothing about Tarija, it was simply recommended by the girl in the Amazonas Office as a good place to cross the border to Salta. 

It turns out that Tarija a really pretty and scorching hot holiday spot for wealthy Bolivians and Argentinians - it kind of reminded me of The Hamptons. It's best known for its vineyards but we didn't opt to do a tour as we will be in Mendoza soon and will have plenty of time for wine tasting there. Instead, we ate ice creams in the sun, ran away from pigeons in the square and visited Casa Dorada, which is the building on the 20Boliviano bank note. 

Tarija has lots of fancy hotels but we stayed in possibly the town's only hostel, called Casa Blanca. The guy at reception could not do enough to help us and the rooms were nice and cosy. It was a bit loud at night with the road just outside the window and people playing music, but it was definitely a good night's sleep compared to what was ahead of us the night after...

We had no idea how to go about getting across the border to Argentina and then on to Salta by ourselves, so we found a company online called Red Dragon who look after the whole trip for 250Bolivianos. After we found the office and booked our ticket, we read a few bad reviews about Red Dragon online and freaked out slightly. But we had been on 10 hour busses in Bolivia with no air con or toilets - how bad could it be? 

We were pleasantly surprised when we were picked up by a really modern bus and a driver who asked us to put on our seatbelts (yes, it had seatbelts, imagine!). After about 4 hours we arrived to the Bolivian checkpoint and were stamped out of the country, got back on the bus and drove 1k down the road to the Argentinian checkpoint and got stamped into that country. But when we went to get back on our lovely bus the driver was taking all of our stuff off it and loading it into... a Renault Clio. Our new driver was the spitting-image of Hurley from Lost and had a mouthful of coca leaves in his mouth so large that we couldn't understand a word he said. 

So now there was Hurley and an old Bolivian lady in the front, Karen, me and a woman with a baby in the back and all of our stuff somehow squashed in the the tiny boot. It was not comfortable. 

Hurley drove for about 10 minutes before pulling over and making us all get out on the side of the road where 3 Argentinian guards were waiting. As we stood watching him pull everything out of the boot (even the baby looked at him like he was crazy), I gave myself an internal pep talk that went something like this:

"Right, this is it Emma. It was bound to happen at some stage, you're in South America. We have to bribe these guards or we'll never get our stuff back. Crap I can't speak Spanish. Ok ok I've got this"...

Turned out we had a flat tyre. 

And the guards were really nice and gave us a jack and let us use their bathroom. Scarlet for me. 

Throughout the rest of the night we would learn that Hurley has a penchant for power-ballads, we would be stopped by guards and asked to get out of the car and open our bags 2 times, stop for gas and have to get out of the car 3 times, and I would be head-butted by a Bolivian baby (but just the once). 

We arrived in Salta at about 7am and I realised how much I have changed in just 7 weeks of travelling South America, because, all in all, I'd actually consider that journey quite the success! 

I'd still recommend Red Dragon despite their bad reviews, they should just make it clearer that you will have to change cars because some people looked quite frightened and didn't know what was going on. The rest is beyond their control really. 

Bolivia and the Blockades

We have been pretty lucky to have been in Bolivia for 3 weeks without falling victim to a notorious blockade. These are very common occurrences when groups of protesters block main roads and travel paths. 

We have heard so many horror stories from friends and travellers about being stuck on a bus for hours (sometimes days), or being stranded on the side of the road, or having to hike for hours get around a dreaded blockade. 

Unfortunately, today was not our day. And proof that even the best laid plans can fall apart.

A group of 5 of us from Sustainable Bolivia had made a (very informed!) plan to get an early bus from Cochabamba to Ururo, and from there board a train to Uyuni. We have heard nothing but bad things about the overnight bus to Uyuni and how cold and uncomfortable it is, but there is a train that runs once or twice a week from Ururo and is apparently miles better than the bus, even if it takes a little longer to arrive (about 7 hours). 

So we got the 4.5 hour bus from Cochabamba to Ururo and arrived in plenty of time to buy our train tickets. We were super excited planning our photo-shoot stunts on the Salt Flats over lunch. But when we returned to the train station at 3pm and were just about to board, we were met by hoards of people getting off the train and going in the opposite direction. There was a blockade down the track, the train (and us) were going nowhere. 

We had to queue for a while to get our money back, then decided to head to the bus station to see if that was an option. It wasn't. The roads were blocked for the weekend and busses wouldn't be running again for another 4 days. Shizzers. 

The only options were to go back to Cochabamba and try again later on in the week (not an option for Karen and I because we are due to be in Argentina next week) or get a bus back to La Paz and hope there is a flight to Uyuni over the weekend. 

So that's where we are currently - the only 2 gringos on a 4 hour bus to La Paz with Spanish dubbed "Resident Evil 4" blaring through the speakers. We are hoping against hope that we won't miss out on the Salt Flats, and sorry to be missing out on doing it with our buddies who decided to cut their losses and head to Torotoro instead and do the Salt Flats another day. 

Hope we made the right decision, wish us luck... 

Update:

Well unfortunately the Salt Flats are not to be. There are daily flights from La Paz to Uyuni, but the riots in Uyuni mean that all tours of the Salt Flats are cancelled for at least a week. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit devo, it's one thing I was really looking forward to and may never get the chance to do again.

But on the brightside we are get to do another few days in La Paz and we booked a flight to get us closer to the Argentinian border so...

Next stop: Tarija

Cochabamba, Bolivia

We have been so lucky and so glad to call Cochabamba home for the past 2 weeks. 

It was something we had arranged long before we set off, to volunteer with an organisation called Sustainable Bolivia for 2 weeks and to stay in one of their volunteer houses in the permanently sunny town of Cochabamba. If nothing else, it was so good to be able to unpack that godforsaken backpack for a while, but it was so much more than that. 

Sustainable Bolivia works with loads of partner organisations around Cochabamba to provide them with support and funds and volunteers. Most volunteers stay for a few weeks or months and can be set up with an organisation or a project that really suits their strengths and interests. Because Karen and I only had 2 weeks and have a limited level of Spanish, the organisation best suited to us is named Movimiento Sonrisa.

Movimiento Sonrisa helps the families of children being treated in the Videma Hospital in the city of Cochabamba. Parents who have brought their children to the hospital for treatment from rural areas are often forced to sleep on the streets because they lack the funds to pay for accommodation. Movimiento Sonrisa provides accommodation for parents in this difficult situation.

Movimiento Sonrisa volunteers also work within the children's hospital playing with the kids and keeping them company through some pretty tough times. The patients can be on their own quite a bit, so they really appreciate just having someone to hang out with. There's also a rule that they can't leave until their medical bill is paid, which means that some kids end up staying much longer than they need to if their parents are doing it tough. 

We absolutely loved going to the hospital every day and will be so sad to say bye to our little niños when the time comes. We worked between the General Ward and the Burns Unit, with more than an occasional visit to see the babies too. 

The kids were incredible. I can't even describe the feeling that you get from being around them. The kids in the burns unit in particular have such a hard and long recovery time in front of them, but they were the most resilient and cheekiest little ones you'll ever meet. 

I did find myself getting frustrated sometimes because I couldn't talk to them much in Spanish or I didn't understand what they were asking me for, but in reality it didn't matter to them as long as we were there. But one little girl, Carminia, did take me under her wing and teach me all of the colours in Spanish one day while we were painting. Cuteness. 

Call us girls, but we LOVED feeding the babies. Most of them were there due to malnourishment and were so teeny-tiny, but even after just 2 weeks we could see a difference in them and were like 2 proud mammies! 

As well as going to the hospital every day, I opted to take daily intensive Spanish lessons (4 hours a day for 5 days for 1,000bolivianos/€100ish). I can only apologise to my teacher for those 20 hours of blank faces on my part. I am not picking it up as quickly as I'd hoped. No bueno. 

I also learned how to ride in a "Trufi", which is like a cross between a taxi and a public bus but with no set stops. So for 2Bolivianos you can jump in and out wherever you like - just don't expect the driver to wait for you to close the door. 

We took a trufi to the ridiculously huge market, La Cancha, where we bought all kinds of stuff, including some questionable but oh-so-cosy floral thermal leggings, which will remain unphotographed if I can help it. Oh, and we bumped into these llamas:

And of course I have to mention the the Plato del Dias - 3 course meals for less than €3. These may be part of the reason why EVERYONE is sick in Bolivia, but delicious all the same.

We had karaoke, salsa, bbqs, jazz nights, sightseeing and endless fun, but one night that sticks out is when 4 of our group got arrested and piled off to the police station for not having their ID on them... but still made it to the nightclub afterwards! 

We loved Cochabamba and Sustainable Bolivia (can you tell?!) and would stay so much longer if we could, but the thing that makes us saddest to go is leaving the amazing people we've met. Those volunteers are the business and it's safe to say we'll miss them quite a bit! 

Other bits and pieces: 

Looking for a bus to Cochabamba? Follow the people in the bus station screaming "COCHAAAAAAABAAAAAAAMBAAAAAAA" at the top of their lungs! It's extremely annoying but very effective. The bus from La Paz was supposed to take 8 hours but took more than 10, so try to get one with a toilet. 

Bring a copy of your passport and immigration card with you everywhere in Cochabamba, the police are so strict and will ask you for it, especially if you are going out at night. 

La Pimienta Verde is the best club in town, we had the best night there  dancing until 4am.

There is an area called Las Islas which has the best food. Taxi drivers should know it.

It sounds too good to be true, but it actually is always summertime in Cochabamba! 

Next stop: Uyuni and the Salt Flats 

La Paz, Bolivia

After 3 amazing weeks in Peru we crossed over to Bolivia and made our way to La Paz. 

We made arrangements in Puno to get a bus across the border, which was no big affair as long as you have your passport. You do have to queue to get stamped out of Peru and then walk across the road to another queue to get stamped into Bolivia, so it does take about 2 hours. 

After a long drive, the sight of La Paz sprawling out before us was a welcome one: 

Our hostel this time is another Wild Rover, the old reliable! It's really central with great wifi and of course one of the best bars in town. 

La Paz is steeped in history and has so many stories attached to it, we loved just walking around and discovering something new around every corner - and there are LOTS of corners!

My favourite part was a walking tour with Red Cap. The tour is free, you just need to tip your guide (and they really deserve it). 

We walked around the city for 4 hours learning all about places like San Pedro prison, a prison with about 7 guards outside and no guards inside. The prisoners run the show themselves, including rule enforcement and punishments. They also have to pay rent inside (as you can imagine, accommodation varies greatly depending on what you can afford) and they can even rent out their cells to make some cash. Up until a few years ago tourists were allowed in to have a look and prisoners had jobs as guides, but after a few "incidents" that practice stopped!

We took a stroll through the massive market where hundreds of Cholitas work all day selling absolutely everything. By all accounts these Cholitas are forces to be reckoned with and you don't want to get on their bad side! Our guide explained that you should buy everything from the same Cholita, if you try to spread the love and buy oranges from one and bananas from another for example, they will both be terribly offended and will let you know all about it! And of course no Cholita would be seen dead without her bowler hat: 

We knew they were strong chicas when we saw them trudging up hills carrying bags of potatoes in one hand, a bag of carrots in another and a baby on their backs, all while balancing a bowler hat on their head and having a gossip with their friends, but we were still shocked to hear that Cholita Wrestling is a huge sport in La Paz. I can't think of anything more terrifying. 

As well as the Cholitas, Shoe Shiners are symbolic characters of La Paz. These guys are to be found working on almost every street and wear balaclavas over their faces so that they are unrecognisable, ashamed to be seen.

A big highlight of La Paz is the witches market. You can't miss it, it's the one with lama foetuses hanging outside every shop! You can find a cure for any ailment, an answer to any question and hope for any situation at the witches market: 

There were so many other cool stops along the walking tour, too many to mention them all, but we really felt like we got a sense of the city and the people who live there. One really interesting part was at the parliament buildings. 

Bolivia has had over 100 presidents and a very turbulent political past. Each time the people lost faith in their president they stormed his building, killed him, and someone else would declare themselves the new president. They even pushed their enemies off a cliff at Death Road!

And speaking of death road, have look at us!

We took our lives into our hands and booked a tour to mountain bike down the most dangerous road in the world, aptly named Death Road. There are a number of tour operators who do this but Gravity are by far the safest and most professional, they also have the best bikes. We absolutely loved our guide, Mike, who made sure we were safe the whole time and was just an all round nice guy. You really do cycle along the cliff edge with no barriers in most places and you go FAST. I'm going to chalk this one down as an "experience" because I can't say I loved it, but Karen absolutely did, so it's just a matter of different strokes for different folks. 

A new road has been opened recently and so the number of deaths on the Death Road has thankfully dropped from an average of 300 a year! I'm just glad we didn't watch this video until the day after: 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fuG4msyQz3Q&feature=youtu.be

Next Stop: Rurrenabaque and The Pampas