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Alistair writes: Belated Views on Bolivia

It was with mixed emotions that we left Bolivia really.  On the one hand there are some stunning and truly unique places.  On the other, we had just about had enough by the time we came to leave! 

At least 3 of the real highlights of the trip so far occurred in Bolivia, one of which being the Salar de Uyuni.  It was so impressive we ended up going there twice, though not entirely by choice (after visiting the Salar independently we found that all the organised tours to the Bolivian lake district (Reserve National de Eduardo Avoroa) went there too so had to go again).  The Salar is amazing.  A huge expanse of salt flat with coral islands (it used to be a sea despite being at 3700m altitude), so big that you can ride to the middle and see nothing but the horizon in some directions.  Camping on the Salar was the real highlight, watching the sunset and then the early morning sunrise over the brilliant white surface was amazing (but bloody cold - more of that later).

Then there was the (Reserve National de Eduardo Avoroa).  The organised tour we took lasted 4 days and covered 1000km of unmarked, very rough "road" (which is why we did it in an organised tour) and we were never below about 4200m altitude the whole time.  The accommodation was "rustic" to say the least and it was so cold at night that we all slept in sleeping bags under the blankets just to keep warm.  Lake Colorado was just one of the highlights of this trip.  Its shores and shallows are encrusted with borax and salt which contrasts with the flaming red, algae-coloured waters and hundreds of flamingos which breed and live there.  There are many tour groups in the reserve at any one time but we visited this lake very darkly in the morning so had it all to ourselves which made it all the more impressive. 

Though there were many memorable experiences, the third highlight that springs to mind was the Inti Wara Yassi wildlife sanctuary in Villa Tunari.  The capuchin monkeys were so tame that, if they took a fancy to you, they just ran up your leg, up your arm, onto your shoulder, wrapped their tail around your neck and then wouldn't leave.  They also had many  other animals including other types of monkeys (not so tame), pumas, some sort of ant eater and parrots, two of which were "gay".  Well, why not, it's positively normal these days.

Unfortunately, most of the Bolivia's attractions are on the altiplano.  This means that they are all at altitude.  Around and below 3000m this is fine as the climate is sunny and warm during the day and pleasantly cool at night.  Sucre and Cochabamba, at just below 3000m, fall into this category.  Sucre is a beautiful place.  The only problem we had there were the revolting locals (revolting against the government's decision to keep La Paz as one of the countries capitals rather than make Sucre the sole capital as previously promised).  The "best" of the action seemed to occur near our hotel and you could smell the tear gas in the hotel garden!  In fact, the people of Sucre liked us so much they didn't want us to leave.  We had to bypass about 20 blockades just to leave town! 

Potosi (4070m) and Uyuni (3700m) are at the other end of the scale.  If you are in the sun then it is just about warm enough, but at night (and even just indoors during the day) it is seriously cold.  There is no heating so you have to sleep with a mountain of blankets on the bed just to keep warm.  And if you didn't manage to get a room with on-suite bathroom, you really didn't look forward to wandering outside in the middle of the night for a pee!

Unfortunately, there are some down sides to Bolivia (and not just the food poisoning).  It pains me to say it, but the main reason why we won't be rushing back anytime soon are the people.  You just get the impression that the resent you being there.  A typical example was when we had to stop in a small town in the middle of nowhere when we realised we wouldn't make our final destination in one day of riding.  Walking through the market late in the afternoon we were passed by an old indigenous woman who looked us up and down and muttered something about Gringos.  I personally find "gringo" a quite offensive term.  If my Spanish had been better I would have countered with "look, another one of those ignorant locals" (not really, I'm far too polite for that).  Another annoying habit some locals have, especially in places where they obviously don't see too many tourists, is whistling at you, not because they want to talk to you or help you but just to try to get you to turn around.  However, my Spanish is good enough to respond "no es un perro"!  It's not just in the street where you get the impression that you are resented, but also in the hotels, where you are actually PAYING for some level of service.  I'm not looking for false (N) American style of fawning but it would be nice not to have your breakfast thrown at you or maybe see the odd smile instead of a scowl.  The hotel in Tupiza was really the last straw.  After about 1000km of dirt road we wanted a bit of luxury so stayed in the most expensive hotel in town, the Mitru.  Granted it was still only $20, but that's not the point.  After one night I wanted to leave, because of the attitude of the staff.  A few examples of why.  After 1000km of dirt road we were pretty filthy and the hotel advertised washing facilities.  So we washed all our stuff by hand and went to put it on the washing lines. The girls up there scowled at us and said there was no spare line but eventually, reluctantly, gave us some.  Then, heaven forbid, we asked for some pegs.  Again, scowling, they said there were non but eventually, reluctantly, gave us some.  When we went back later, to see if they were dry, the girls had taken the pegs back.  As the washing lines are on the roof, and it gets very windy in the afternoon, we were lucky not to find our underwear scattered all over the street below!  One morning moved the bikes to a place out of the way of the other cars and 4x4s in the car park.  20 minutes later we were told that we couldn't leave them where they were as they wanted to cut the grass.  OK, we moved them again, and again 20 minutes later were told we couldn't leave them where they were because "that's where the minibus parks and it has to be parked in the shade".  So we had to move the bikes 3 times because the girl on reception couldn't be bothered to get off her arse and show us where we could park the bikes.  We asked for something to be fixed in the room.  We come back later and the thing hasn't been fixed but we knew someone had been in the room because the door had been left unlocked.  And all the time the attitude was the same, unfriendly and unhelpful, bordering on rudeness. 

It all sounds trivial now when writing it down, but the cumulative effect was that we just wanted to leave.  Of course there were plenty of exceptions.  The bike mechanic we found in Cochabamba, Charlies, was great and couldn't do enough to help us even when I turned up in a bit of a panic when I thought my head race bearings had gone.  He fixed it the same afternoon!  And the old couple in the Colonial Hostal again in Cochabamba were a couple of diamonds.  When I got (severe) food poisoning, Maria mentioned it in passing to the old guy on reception.  He asked a few questions about the symptoms and then before she knew it, had written a prescription out for antibiotics.  It turned out he was a doctor and partially ran his surgery from the hostal reception.  You have never seen a more unlikely doctor, unshaven, missing front teeth, slightly dishevelled, but it did the trick and he never asked for any fee.  It's a bit of a sad state of affairs when a doctor has to work on a hostal reception to make ends meet!

One last observation on Bolivia, there are kids everywhere.  Every woman seems to have about four of them and everywhere you look, there is a baby stuck on a breast!  They start young too.  Every teenage girl seems to have a baby.  Personnaly, I blame the Pope!  Mind you, they don't let having children get in the way of working.  None of this creche or nanny rubbish.  They just take them with them, the babies in a sack on the mother's back.  If they have a little business, then all the kids contribute.  A restaurant in Tupiza was a real family affair.  The mother was in the kitchen, the oldest was cooking, the next one taking the orders and the youngest sat at the table quietly watching TV. 

However, to end on a positive note, Minuteman Pizza in Uyuni does the BEST pizzas in the whole of South America.  The American guy who owns/runs the place has been in Uyuni on and off for 14 years (why????) and is a top bloke.  Highly recommended!

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