BOLIVIA

BOLIVIA

La Paz, Bolivia

Arriving in La Paz is mind blowing. Located 4000m high in the mountains with 2million inhabitants, just houses and buildings everywhere. Look at the pics and video. I have never seen anything like it. Rocked up to the Wild Rover hostel, good crack, next registered for, of course, The World's Most Dangerous Road mountain bike ride. Has to be done, ...when in Rome and all that.

The World´s Most Dangerous Road, La Paz

We left very early in the morning and drove for about an hour up to the top of the mountain some 4500metres high. It was freezing! The bikes were amazing, $2500 a pop. We had about 10 in our group and headed on down. About a quarter of the 42km were tarmac, namely the first bit, the rest was full on off road with drops of 1km to the side. As we went down we would take off more layers because it got hotter and hotter until we were cycling down into the rain forest. I had a feeling of deja-vous ala Machu Picchu.

I did have my own personal problem though, namely irritable bowl syndrome. Serious stomach cramps and pains not to mention the rest. I had obviously been eating too much of those local delicacies again (bring on New Zealand food). Finally we stopped for lunch so i managed to find some toilet paper and ran into the forest to relieve myself. Thank goodness. It felt good and i felt a lot better afterwards. (I hope its not too much information, i just thought you might laugh :-).

To be honest although the roads were extremely dangerous and even more so when you had a lorry coming at you and another trying to over take it, i felt the margin for error was much less compared to the motorbike ride to Machu Picchu. I guess the speed factor was less even though we did bomb it down. Me trying to keep up with this mad Ducth man at the front. funny. Anyway i didn't fall and got to the bottom in one piece and as they say got the t-shirt (free in you completed the ride ok).

San Pedro Prison, La Paz, Bolivia

The second crazy thing i did in La Paz was visit the infamous prison, San Pedro. If you have ever read the book Marching Powder you will know the lovely hotel i am talking about. Me and a mate Zack were sitting on this park bench outside the prison as we were told to by other travellers when this big black guy approached us. I said to Zack, here we go man, i bet he's the one. He was. He asked us if we were interested in visiting the prison, of course we were. Well i couldn't believe it.

We agreed the price and waited in this room off the entrance the size of a small toilet, with a few other travellers who were waiting too. Moments later this guy entered saying he was our guide and these other four guys were our bodyguards. you what! They opened the steel prison gates and we went in. Prisoners everywhere, roaming about. looking bloody dodgy and dangerous. Bolivian prison. Hello.

It was like a maze in there, small corridors just enough for maybe two people to pass sideways. We went through this one corridor called Base Alley. It stank, Stank of chemical poison. For though unfamiliar with the dregs of the drug world, base is a cocaine derivative also known as crack cocaine. Prisoners, continually, hour after hour, day after day, smoking crack cocaine. Not pleasant is an understatement. It was very sad and scary to be honest. They just looked like vacant zombies.

We continued walking and then we saw children in the prison. I asked i guard, whats the crack with the kids. he said of the 1500 inmates, there are 200 families. Apparently its better for the kids to grow up there with there family than to be left in the hands of the non-existent Bolivian welfare system. You cant judge, you just have to take it in. This is part of the world we live in although i am sure the majority of us are oblivious to it.

Another shocking fact, they have a factory in there producing some 1.5tonnes of **** a month. I was astounded. Can you imagine! And i didn't see a police man or guard in site. The guide said they keep guard themselves and deal with any problems themselves. Paedophiles are killed immediately. I met this one man, who looked harmless, well he had been living in this whole, big enough for a bed, that's it, you couldn't stand up in there, well he had been there 29 years. ready to leave in a year. Apparently whether you murder one person or 100, you get 30 yrs. I just couldn't begin to imagine how he lived there for so long. He must be totally institutionalised (like in Shawshack redemption). I wonder if he would have a clue what to do with himself if/when he leaves. Poor man.

I have to say its one of the most scariest places i have visited to date. no kidding!

Well after all that i needed to get back to reality and aside from the bike ride and the prison, the two things i really wanted to see in Bolivia was Park National Maidi in Rurrenabaque the Amazon and the famous salt flats in Uyuni. Well i just managed to (time wise).

Rurrenabaque, Bolivia
I cheated and paid the $100 dollar return flight to the amazon instead of the harrowing 18hr dirt road bus ride. Trust me, it was well worth it. You just have to splurge sometimes. The flight itself was amazing, leaving La Paz, flying not so high over the snow covered Andean peaks and then down into the amazon jungle with its tributaries and carpet rainforest's. That morning i met up with the seven other travellers in my group, a mix of crazy Irish and English. After the three hour awful jeep ride on the dirt road we made it to one of the Amazon tributaries where we boated down for a couple of hours until we got to our camp.

I have to tell you, the amount of animals we saw was astonishing. Cayman like crocodiles everywhere, i mean hundreds. Cocabara's which are a mix between rats and beavers i guess but the size of dogs. Herbivores.

We also went for a trek into the jungle and found both anaconda snakes and adder snakes. At one point i was just standing by the water and then i saw this tiny snake, 40cm long. I said, Diego (our guide) whats that. he said. Luke step back now. Of course i did. he told me it was a death adder. forget its size, its so poisonous it kills a man within 20minutes after one bite and they

have no cure. Ok ok. I shall stick with you.

But it was just great to be out in the real nature. Although we did come across some land that had obviously been slashed and burned. I thought that strange for a protected national park. Diego told me the gov had sold it for money and then the big old trees, some 800yrs old are removed and the land left to waste. The truth hurts. But that is reality. Money talks, bullshit walks. Sad.

All in all i did love the 3 days i had there. The landscape reminded me of the Panatanal in Brazil where i went last year. Very similar. I do hope to see more of the rain forest during the rest of my journey in South East Asia.

Oh and for the boys and girls at home, i learnt a fantastic drinking game from the Irish called circle of death. Trust me, we will be playing it when i get back. haha.

Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia

The Salt Flats in Bolivia are the largest in the world. Some 12000km square. Millions of years ago there was a vast expanse of water stretching between the Andean mountains and the Occidental mountains. Over time the water dried up causing this huge white white expanse.

And in the middle of it we visited one of these islands covered from head to toe in Catie.

Check out the awesome videos below.

I did a three day tour, had some cool Swiss girls in my group, Mary and Silvia and Simon. A good group. After the first day visit to the salt flats we drove in a 4x4 jeep and visited green, red, white and yellow lagoons filled with pink flamingos.

They are obviously there for the mineral values the water offers them. i do have some beautiful pictures which you'll see below. Such a stark difference in landscape from the rain forest but just a beautiful in their own right. Plus there´s one of down and dirty in mi andean clothing!

The weather there is quite extreme, in the day 30C and at night -5C but we were all good.

The only bad thing of this trip was coming back. i had paid for a tourist bus to get back and yet when i got to the agency they told me protesters in La Paz had not let the bass pass so i had to get on a local 'chicken bus'. Not fun at all. A 12hr night bus that stank of toilet and pooh. Oh well, i guess this is literally getting down and dirty with the locals, hey.

Back now safely in La Paz, I fly out tomorrow to Auckland New Zealand. Honestly i have really enjoyed my 6 months in Latin America. I do hope at some point to write a page or so regarding my thoughts of the continent, its people and culture. I would highly advise visiting Latin America. It is a rich country in both people, landscapes and culture, if not money. That being said, i feel i am ready for the next phase of my tour of the world. I am really excited about visited New Zealand. i have heard such great things about the country, its people and landscape and i am sure those high expectations will be met. But that's all for now folks. Will be in touch soon. Over and out. Luke.