One interesting night in Bolivia

HAVING gotten our exit stamp from Brazil we walked 100 metres to the Bolivian border. Trying to walk separately from us, our peruvian guide, Hernan warned us officers at the Bolivian border control were sometimes very corrupt and would demand money for entry into the country, especially if they knew we were a large tour group. There is also some rivalry between Bolivians and Peruvians so any opportunity to take money, they will.

Pretending not to know Hernan and on his advice that we pretend not to understand any Spanish too we finally managed to get into Bolivia and no bribes needed.

There is very little to do near the border so it was planned we would take a plane to Santa Cruz and then another flight to Sucre – one of Bolivia’s big cities. Cabs had been arranged by Hernan and off we headed to the nearest airport in a small border town, Peurto Suarez.

The airport is also used as a military airport and there were soldiers, police and naval officers everywhere. All looking very serious in their uniforms with guns and many of them looking barely over 16.
It was then that we found out the airport was expecting a very important visitor – the president Evo Morailes.

Watching the military all gather and depart and watching out for El Presidente’s helicopter kept us amused for a while as we waited to hear about our flight.

Almost three hours later we were given the crazy news our flight had been cancelled. No explanation, no warning, no nothing.

Apparently Bolivian airports have a tendency to cancel flights at short notice. It just so happened ours was one of them.
In a panic Hernan managed to find the only hotel in the area that had space for 20 people. And it seemed he also found the only hotel in the area that hadn’t seen any guests in a pretty long time.

With the very basic of accommodation, two rooms were lucky to have air conditioning, en suites and tvs, while the rest of us just festered in our own sweat through the night in dark, dingy 1970s style rooms that looked like they hadn’t been cleaned since the place opened.

A communal shower and toilet block looked like it hadn’t seen some bleach or even been serviced in 20 years and live wires were everywhere. But somehow the hotel managed to have the biggest satellite dish I have ever seen stationed in its ‘courtyard’.

Welcome to South America!

I think spending a day in Peurto Suarez gave us a much truer look into life in rural parts of the county. While there was nothing to see and do, having a wander and people watching killed some time.

As we walked around the town we were like a freak show. People stared as they drove past or passed us in the street, and they weren’t subtle. I don’t think they were very used to seeing tourists, and certainly not such a large group.

Trying to make the best of a bad situation, we all began to think of ways we could get through the next 24 hours.

Now set back a whole day in our itinerary and with less time to spend in Sucre, we turned one of the air conditioned rooms into the party room, played games, ate and drank. Some of the group even dragged their mattresses into the cooler rooms for a slightly more comfortable nights sleep.

Our first few hours in Bolivia had been both eventful and uneventful at the same time. I guess plans changing at the last minute is all just part of the fun of travelling, especially in a country like South America.

As much as we all moaned at least we survived the night. With just a few hours sleep and living off the unappetising rice and sweetcorn dinner from the night before, I woke with no bed bug bites and even managed to shower without getting an electric shock from all the loose wires.

Praying our rearranged flight would go ahead as scheduled we packed up our bags again and hit the road. The journey back to the airport was made even more entertaining when we were told to get in the back of the truck that had been sent by the airline. With the wind blowing in our hair and sand in our faces I held onto the side for dear life and just prayed we had a careful driver who didn’t race round roundabouts or sudden braking.

What a way to travel! Even the locals were pointing and laughing at the bunch of gringos holding onto the back of the truck.As ‘fun’ as it can be roughing it sometimes, I was looking forward to a good nights sleep in a clean bed. I didn’t fancy spending another night in the South American motel from hell.