Santa Cruz, Beni: 20.07. – 03.08.2010

As we passed the border to Bolivia we instantly felt a hundred years set back in time. The roads felt like Swiss cheese, did it look like that in Europe as well back then? Oh well eyes shut and thru, it’ only for about 500 kilometers. So we went with a breathtaking maximum speed of about 30km/h trying to avoid potholes and stones thru the low land of Bolivia.

In the mean time we knew what roads to expect in this country we also got accustomed to the frequent military check points. On one of them we have been trouble though. If we would have answered the question if we where ‘Ambulancia’ with yes, it would have come all different but a straight lie in that matter, nope we are not that cold yet. But in the end we think it would have been better. For more than 30 minutes we argued and waited in the hot sun to get passed this check pint. We got at two youngsters who had literally no clue what to do with the species tourist. The despair was written in their faces, because their order was to thoroughly inspect the vehicles, but a look into Nisto told them it would take hours. And we could hear them say “why just us?” A little we felt sorry for them but we also kept our line and told them; ‘we are just tourist, we have no drugs and the previous controls everything was fine, so just lover that chain we pass and everything is fine.’ But their fear of the boss was bigger and asked us to drive aside and wait till the boss returns it only might take an hour. That wish we didn’t grant them, we also had our plans and soon it would get dark.

We’ve only been in Bolivia since two days but that much we have learned. If you want to change something in this country you need to block the roads to get in talk with the government. So we did exactly that and Nisto was a perfect roadblock of that one lane checkpoint. And as a truck drove up from the other side we hoped that an angry truck driver would convince them to let us thru. Indeed the Truck driver did get angry, for one or two shouts, and then he calmed down and used the time to clean his cabin. Well it seems like we have found a major difference in mentality. Nevertheless, one of our youngsters swung onto a bike to ride to the next village to consult his boss, as he came back 10 minutes later he came up to us only to apologize, they’ve never seen tourists here and we were free to go. No problem, there is a first for everything.

So it went on for a sleeping place. Before we arrived in Bolivia we always asked us if we would find places to sleep? Yes, we would and even real nice ones too. Even though people seem to be more cautious, but once they saw what and who we were. We got presented to the whole family and were invited to café and fresh baked bread.

After we visited the missionary towns in the east of Bolivia, we wanted to get to the western lowlands. However we didn’t want to take the ‘normal’ tourist route. Armin, whom we met in the Pantanal, told us about a road off the ‘beaten’ track that is supposed to be incredibly beautiful. Meaning it is not marked on any map but it exists. We didn’t have to think all too far, this track was supposed to bring us to Rerrenabaque and we got rewarded with plentiful animals. In the meantime the Yellow Chest Araras replaced the Giant Toucans. Sometimes we came up on trees that were full of them. We also got to see hundreds of storks resting up in the trees just along the way. Moments that are hard to describe that they don’t sound lush, but we’ll definitely never forget them. On one evening, it was already dark and we enjoyed a cool breeze, it rustled in the tree just next to us. Brave as we are armed just with a torch we went outside to figure out what caused that noise as we soon looked into two big round eyes of a tiny little monkey. It was later that we learned that it was a night or owl monkey that we disturbed on its nightly business.

While in the beginning we asked us from village to village it soon got rarer that we got to see civilization and the so called road, was literally two lines across graze. We had to open and close countless gates. In the beginning we still counted them but around thirty we lost track of it. As our track suddenly disappeared we of course asked at the next farm where to go. …Adelante, Adelante… keep on going, keep on going, was the answer. Ok straight across another Estancia where with quite some phantasy one could see some tracks. But as time passed (not so much distance though) it got more and more difficult to find track that could originate from a vehicle. So it happened now and then that we zig zaged across Estancia land just to find a track that could originate from some cattle as well. Of course as soon as we found a human being, which did not happen very often, we asked for the way. But the only directions we got was; “…Adelante, adelante… “ keep on going, keep on going. Well if that isn’t a helpful description, so we went across another Estancia. And that is how it came that we stud completely lost on a meadow, to be added was that it was full of mudholes that needed to be crossed and in the third one we got stuck. Now the winch would actually come into use. However a tree was not to be seen, so a fence pole came into use. The first one creased just from looking, but the second one defied the almost 4 tons of Nisto and a few minutes later we were in the dry again. Needless to say, that the next critical passages we took at full speed.

After 5 days we reached Rurrenabaque. Here we wanted to give Nisto a break. So we moved for three days into an Ecolodge in the Pampa. At boat rides on the river Yacuma we enjoyed the fauna from a different perspective. Even if we knew the one or the other animal, we enjoyed every encounter. And also for us there were new things to discover. Pink River Dolphins followed us, turtles relaxed on limbs or on each other to get some sun and several monkey species climbed from tree to tree. On one evening we even tried to fish Piranhas. Another of those animals with a bad and indeed false reputation. There is no problem to even swim with them, the only condition is; no open wounds. Simply armed with line, a hook and a piece of meat we stud on the boat and waited for the big catch. Indeed, even most of them got off, we got lucky. These rows of teeth really are quite impressive.

After these event and wonderful weeks in the Bolivian lowlands we continued on to higher altitudes. For the next weeks it means to get accustomed to thin air.

Till soon

Sonja and Markus

Here it goes to the pictures…