Bolivia and Colombia

Upon finishing with lake Titicaca we headed into Bolivia



Bolivia is an impoverished country, but still has much to offer and was well worth the visit. The main reason we wanted to go there was to experience some part of the Amazon jungle, and for some reason this was proving difficult (was fate trying to send us a message?). For example, we originally thought of going to Iquitos in Peru, but all the cheap flight seats were taken, so then we thought we'd go to the Cuzco area of Peru, but mud slides had closed those roads. Then we thought we'd go into Bolivia and from La Paz head into Rurrenabaque, but protesters had created a roadblock. And so it was that on our fourth attempt we finally managed to get on a river boat cruise up one of the tributaries to the mighty Amazon river, near the town of Trinidad. Here's the boat that was our home for four days.

It's a little old, but sure was fun... In fact, the top two levels were actually a river boat transported from Holland and fitted to a Bolivian made hull and lower floor. Hey – why not? The Amazon scenery was really nice. I couldn't believe we were actually in the Amazon jungle!



We even got to visit a local farm by horseback...

It was here that I learned rural land in Bolivia is incredibly cheap. I was told that for as little as $60 USD you can buy a hectare of land (that's 10,000 square meters, or almost 2.5 acres). No – I'm not missing a zero there – I don't mean $6,000 or even $600. I mean $60 – s i x t y. A guy can spend that much on a nice dinner back home – or own a hectare of land out here! No – I don't have any announcements to make about any land purchases, but it does make a guy think...

It was also my birthday out there on our Amazon jungle visit, and I was happy to spend it with six very nice Bolivian nationals who shared our boat with us, as well as the very kind staff members.

Although we didn't see quantity or variety of animals I had hoped to see in the jungle, we did come across some wild life...



... including a delicious fish that Amanda caught us for dinner one night. Tasty as it was, we all went to bed a little hungry after splitting this eight ways (plus a share for the crew)



And if it's catching things that I'm discussing right now, how about our ship's captain. He caught these two guys No - neither became dinner - they were both "catch and release".

But if I am discussing food, how about our typical breakfast spread. All the tropical fruits a guy could desire.



This region of the world is also home to another food. Well, maybe food is the wrong word, but there's a leaf we often used to make tea. Others use it to make cocaine.



After our time in the jungle we returned to Bolivia's capital, La Paz, and its traces of colonial influence.



At 4,000 meters (well over 13,000 feet) La Paz is the world's highest capital city. Here's a more typical view of La Paz with the Andes in the background.



At one point we were walking through down town and we heard some loud bangs and pops, and then we saw a crowd of people running through the streets towards us. Slowly advancing behind the crowd was a line of riot cops - helmets, shields, batons, etc, and they were randomly firing tear gas cannisters to disperse the crowd - which explains why the crowd was running. This was a new experience for me, and even as I saw the gas coming out of the cannisters I thought "that couldn't really be tear gas - could it?" So I thought we'd hang around a few seconds to see if it was real tear gas or not, and yup - it was real: stinging eyes, a terrible smell, and a strange taste in the back of my throat. We then joined the running crowd to avoid an even stronger dose of the tear gas. We're told this isn't an uncommon experience in La Paz. This is how the police disperse crowds before protests become unruly.

In Bolivia it's common for traditional women to wear bowler hats. No matter how many times I saw this, I just couldn't stop staring. I just think it looked so odd.



Apparently the reason for this is that about 100 years ago an importer had brought a ton of bowler hats into the region but was unable to sell them. He gave a few to the wives of local aristocrats hoping that other women would copy the fashion and buy up his stock. He was so successful that he had to import more hats, and the trend continues to this day.

Across the street from our hotel in La Paz was the witches market where you can pick up all the essentials for your potions, and brews. Necessities like shrunken heads, cocaine leaves, crystals, aphrodisiacs, and yes, llama fetuses can all be found here.



I also joined a group for a day trip out for a mountain bike ride down what is supposedly the world's most dangerous road - at least that's what the brochure said. It's a dirt road starting at 4,700 meters - that's really high - the air is thin up there, so it's a good thing that it's a day of downhill riding. The road runs through the mountains along some perilous cliffs. In fact, many corners had one (or more) makeshift graves marking where some unfortunate soul went over the edge, to their certain death.

There's now a new (paved) road that's much safer and everyone now drives on that road, which leaves this old dirt road available for us mountain bikers. It lacked the technical challenge I enjoy with single track riding, but it was still fast and fun.



Although there are signs of improvement, Bolivia remains a very impoverished country raked by political problems. For example, I learned that only once in its history has a Bolivian president ever given over power to an opponent after losing in elections. There was also a time when Bolivia had three simultaneous presidents, and more recently there was a president whose term lasted just six hours before he was overthrown. With this sort of instability, it's no wonder that the country isn't exactly marching ahead, and that causes protests, which riot police disperse.

Amid more disruptions by protesters we managed to catch our flight as scheduled and returned to Lima, Peru for a few days.



We stayed with Duncan again, and he took us out to a great restaurant that serves beef heart on skewers. Actually, it was delicious.



We also managed to visit another friend in Lima: Pat, a university friend who happened to be starting a vacation in Lima so we arranged to meet up with him for a day.



Together we went to a museum where we saw this interperative painting of The Last Supper where Jesus and his disciples are sharing a meal of guinea pig and tropical fruits.



After a few days in Lima Amanda and I went our separate ways, so to speak. She headed to Chicago for a week to see a relative, while I headed to Bogota, Colombia where a friend of mine lives.




Fabian and his wife Elsa lived in Edmonton for five years, and being an avid cyclist he rode with a club that I also rode with. And so here we are enjoying his road bike collection at his new house in Bogota...



And it seems Fabian isn't the only one in Bogota with a love for cycling. How about this tough guy and his Harley.



Fabian, Elsa and family were such great hosts. They put me up, fed me, showed me around Bogota, and made sure I didn't get kidnapped.



We went to the city's main square, Plaza de Bolivar...



And to the gold museum.



Although I wasn't allowed to photograph it, there was a brick of gold weighing some 37 kg.

And then there was the art museum, which largely featured the work of Colombian painter Fernando Botero whose work was fantastic.



Colombia (well, Bogota anyway) was far more progressive than I expected. It was clean, modern, and a thriving metropolis. It far exceeded by expectations. Colombia is quite rich in resources, including mining and gem stones - especially emeralds. Some locals mine independently and bring their emeralds to the city to sell. They all sort of congregate along this one street and you can literally see tons of people buying and selling emeralds out in the open.



And if you look hard enough you can also see locals selling something else - fruit! Lots of it!



And then with just ONE WEEK remaining in our journey I headed to Cancun, Mexico to meet up with Amanda. This will be less of a cultural experience, and more of a relaxing week at a resort (I know - I totally feel like I'm selling out by doing this, but I guess we all have to accept our fates).