Bolivia has been one of the highlights against all expectations because we were just expecting it to be a poor, run down place without much to offer. La Paz (the capital) is bizzarre, most people make their living selling things on the street. You wouldn´t believe the way the old women look here. They wear about ten dresses on top of each other giving them the appearance of a walking ball! They have these thick wooly socks, waist length plaits, and an impossibly small bowler hat perched on top of their heads. Their faces look like they are made of polished mahogany or tanned leather and are more wrinkled than you would imagine possible. I can see why they called the indians red indians because they really are kind of redish brown.
La paz is the only capital city we´ve ever seen where there is nobody even remotely scary or shifty looking. Not one scumbag (just like Dublin!!!). It´s a very poor, ramshakle, crowded city but nobody shows any interest in robbing you! The people are lovely and friendly. They´re like rural Irish people in the old days (the days when people still had the time to lean on a pitch fork and watch the world go by!) The city is all steep streets with little shops, shacks & kiosks where people sell things and repair things. It´s like going back in time about 150 years! It´s in a basin (an extinct volcano) and is surrounded by snow capped mountains. This area is called the altiplano (highlands) and the people here are very different looking to the ones in the amazon lowlands who are much better looking altogether. LA Paz is a city that grows on you more and more. Spent about 5 days there then flew down to a charming little village called Rrurunabaque, the launching point for a trip into the Bolivian Amazon. Flew from a military airport in La Paz. We needed a cash point when we were in the airport but it was too small so we asked some air force guys if there would be one in the airport in Rurrunabaque and they just cracked up laughing. We found out why when we landed-the "airport" was a strip of grass cleared in the jungle! The flight over the Amazon was incredible, the river is ENORMOUS! Even from a plane it stretches as far
...where shoot out scene from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid was filmed...as the eye can see in both directions. The forest is so thick that from above it looks like never ending broccolli! The only exception is the nice neat empty squares where the naughty human beings have been at work with their chainsaws!
Went on a three day guided trip up the river into the pampas. Saw amazing wildlife - crocs, alligators, amazing birds (toucans, birds of paradise, eagles, storks, parrots etc) snakes (held an anaconda) swam with pink bottle nosed dolphins, fished for pirahna and caught one - vicious little thing he was!, saw capybaras (worlds largest rodents - they're about as large as a big pig). Took a night trip along the river to see crocodile eyes in the light of a torch. The huts where we stayed had an alligator that used to hang around on the banks and in the water. One day we got a bit brave/stupid and pissed him off by pulling his tail. He wasn´t a happy camper. More of a snappy camper!
Scenery was stunning. On the last night there was an almighty storm signalling the start of the rain season. It was terrifying! Our hut on the river bank had no windows so there was no sound insulation. The noise was unbelievable. The thunder didn't just bang, it roared and growled for a long time and then exploded. It was like the world was about to end. We never seen such heavy rain. About a foot of rainfall in a few hours. All along the banks of the amazon there are burned trees that have been struck by lightning. We didn't know if we'd be able to leave cos our little dugout canoe kept filling up with water and looked like it might sink!
Back to La paz then to fly to Chile. Bolivia has been one of the highlights against all expectations because we were just expecting it to be a poor, run down place without much to offer. La Paz (the capital) is bizzarre, a hilly, bustling, friendly, safe, cheap and rundown place where most people make their living selling things on the street. The old women on the street look bizzarre. They wear about ten dresses on top of each other giving them the appearance of a walking ball! They have these thick wooly socks, waist length plaits, and an impossibly small bowler hat perched on top of their heads. Their faces look like they are made of polished mahogany or tanned leather and are more wrinkled than you would imagine possible. I can see why they called the indians red indians because they really are kind of redish brown.
La paz is the only capital city we have ever seen where there is nobody even remotely scary or shifty looking. It´s unbelievable - a very poor, crowded city with nobody showing any interest in robbing you! The people are lovely and friendly. Theyé like rural Irish people in the old days (before we all became Nouveau Riche!). The city is all steep streets with little shops, shacks & kiosks where people sell things and repair things. It´s like going back in time about 150 years! It´s in a basin (an extinct volcano) and is surrounded by snow capped mountains. This area is called the altiplano (highlands) and the people here are very distinctive because the high altitude has given them short limbs. The altitude causes you to be out of breath after just climbing a few stairs. It´s like being a geriatric who smokes 60 fags a day!
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