We made it safely to Buenos Aires after a very very long bus ride from La Paz (53 hours). Our morning in Bolivia started off with cold eggs and stale bread. We made our way to the bus station where we found out that the tickets we bought the previous day did not include transportation from La Paz to the border, which was frustrating. We were given tickets with another (extremely disorganized) bus company called 2 de Febrero. After much confusion (passengers screaming and yelling), we sat down in a very dirty, dilapitated old bus and began our journey to the border town of Villazon (what a nightmare). Shortly after getting on the bus, we obtained three pieces of information that we found to be quite interesting. 1-There was no ventilation in the bus and we couldn't open any windows. 2-There were no meals included (as we were originally told). 3-Conveniently, there was no bathroom (and we both had diarrhea). The funny part was that it was a 20-hour ride to the border. After four or five hours into the drive, the bus suddenly changed direction, and squealed into a farmer's field. We roared through dirt and debris down a some sort of path that sort of looked like a road (we're still not really sure). We spent at least two hours in this field as we came across many obstacles. We got off the bus to lighten the overall load of the vehicle to cross makeshift bridges, we bottomed-out a few times in holes that swallowed the wheels of the bus, and at one point everyone was involved with the construction of a bridge where the road seemed to suddenly disappear. We finally got back onto a reasonably good road and noticed that we had only detoured through the field to bypass a small town. We're not sure what the intention was maybe they were trying to avoid a check point or something. We spent the night trying to sleep as the bus rampaged down very rough switchbacks and were given a chance to go to the bathroom at approximately 3:00AM on the side of a cliff. We made it to the small border town of Villazon at 8:00AM. We retrieved our bags from the bus, and they were completely covered in dust and dirt (great). At the bus terminal, much more confusion awaited us. Supposedly, the bus company had over booked the bus and a handful of people we're required to take another the next day (luckily we were able to catch our connection that morning). Everyone was assigned new seats and there was a tremendous amount of confusion and discontent amongst the passengers (people were very grumpy). We finally got our bags and seats sorted out and drove two blocks to the Argentinian border. We spent four hours standing in the rain waiting for our passports to be stamped. We also had to get all of our bags back off of the bus, so that the police could root through all of our belongings (in the rain). We got back on the bus and were finally served a meal (after 28 hours with no food - actually, we had water and a few Goronzo chocolate bars from a desolate gas station back in Bolivia). We drove for another six hours to catch another connecting bus in Argentina (this is where the story completely changes). On this third bus, we were assigned luxury leather seats, that completely reclined to make a bed, we were served meals, there was air circulation/ventilation, and they even had wine. We couldn't believe the contrast. We spent the remaining 24 hours on this bus, sleeping and eating, reading and enjoying the scenery. We arrived in Buenos Aires around 5:00PM on Sunday, February 24th. We took a cab into San Telmo (main downtown area), found a hostal, and got drunk. (We will keep you posted with regards to how things unfold in Buenos Aires).Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Buenos Aires, Argentina
We made it safely to Buenos Aires after a very very long bus ride from La Paz (53 hours). Our morning in Bolivia started off with cold eggs and stale bread. We made our way to the bus station where we found out that the tickets we bought the previous day did not include transportation from La Paz to the border, which was frustrating. We were given tickets with another (extremely disorganized) bus company called 2 de Febrero. After much confusion (passengers screaming and yelling), we sat down in a very dirty, dilapitated old bus and began our journey to the border town of Villazon (what a nightmare). Shortly after getting on the bus, we obtained three pieces of information that we found to be quite interesting. 1-There was no ventilation in the bus and we couldn't open any windows. 2-There were no meals included (as we were originally told). 3-Conveniently, there was no bathroom (and we both had diarrhea). The funny part was that it was a 20-hour ride to the border. After four or five hours into the drive, the bus suddenly changed direction, and squealed into a farmer's field. We roared through dirt and debris down a some sort of path that sort of looked like a road (we're still not really sure). We spent at least two hours in this field as we came across many obstacles. We got off the bus to lighten the overall load of the vehicle to cross makeshift bridges, we bottomed-out a few times in holes that swallowed the wheels of the bus, and at one point everyone was involved with the construction of a bridge where the road seemed to suddenly disappear. We finally got back onto a reasonably good road and noticed that we had only detoured through the field to bypass a small town. We're not sure what the intention was maybe they were trying to avoid a check point or something. We spent the night trying to sleep as the bus rampaged down very rough switchbacks and were given a chance to go to the bathroom at approximately 3:00AM on the side of a cliff. We made it to the small border town of Villazon at 8:00AM. We retrieved our bags from the bus, and they were completely covered in dust and dirt (great). At the bus terminal, much more confusion awaited us. Supposedly, the bus company had over booked the bus and a handful of people we're required to take another the next day (luckily we were able to catch our connection that morning). Everyone was assigned new seats and there was a tremendous amount of confusion and discontent amongst the passengers (people were very grumpy). We finally got our bags and seats sorted out and drove two blocks to the Argentinian border. We spent four hours standing in the rain waiting for our passports to be stamped. We also had to get all of our bags back off of the bus, so that the police could root through all of our belongings (in the rain). We got back on the bus and were finally served a meal (after 28 hours with no food - actually, we had water and a few Goronzo chocolate bars from a desolate gas station back in Bolivia). We drove for another six hours to catch another connecting bus in Argentina (this is where the story completely changes). On this third bus, we were assigned luxury leather seats, that completely reclined to make a bed, we were served meals, there was air circulation/ventilation, and they even had wine. We couldn't believe the contrast. We spent the remaining 24 hours on this bus, sleeping and eating, reading and enjoying the scenery. We arrived in Buenos Aires around 5:00PM on Sunday, February 24th. We took a cab into San Telmo (main downtown area), found a hostal, and got drunk. (We will keep you posted with regards to how things unfold in Buenos Aires).Friday, 22 February 2008
Expreso Transamericano
We will be travelling to Buenos Aires, Argentina from La Paz, Bolivia today at 1:00PM. The bus ride will take 48 hours in total. We will be making the trek with the following argentinian busline:EXPRESO
TRANSAMERICANO
Servicio directo desde: Villazon, BOLIVIA hasta: Liniers, La Noria, Vilja Celina, Escobar, F. Valera, La Plata, ARGENTINA
Wondering La Paz
Imagine a prehistoric canyon, at 3660 metres, almost filled to the brim with houses, sky rises, cobblestone streets and people. Phil and I, for the past two days, have enjoyed La Paz´s spectacular scenery and amazingly busy streets filled with markets, music, food, and cars/buses/micro-vans. Yesterday, after arranging our 48 hour bus ticket to Buenos Aires, we wondered the streets first visiting an artisan market, where Phil found another lovely instrument, a Quena, a traditional Bolivian wind instrument, made from bone and wood. Next we wondered through the Mercado de Hechiceria, a witch craft market, which lead into a handful of other markets (where we enjoyed a freshly squeezed grapefruit juice) along our way to the Museo de Instrumentos Musicales. This museum had an amazing collection of traditional and modern Bolivian instruments, as well as a collection of international pieces. After this we headed to a little café to collect our musical thoughts, over a te con lemon (and a local liquor), delicious! The rest of the day was spent wondering from a main square to a look off, where Phil learned some Quechua (the language of the Incas) and I made friends with a little girl who graciously accompanied me down a large slide. In the evening we tried to catch some music at a Peña, a local folk-music venue, but by the time we had to head back to our hostel (we had a curfew) the main band was just going on. Although we did get entertained for a couple hours by choreographed dance numbers representing different groups in Bolivia (very touristy, but interesting), and a lovely solo artist on classical guitar. We look forward to exploring La Paz again in a month, but for now it is on to Argentina! Many thanks for the comments, great to hear from you!Thursday, 21 February 2008
La Paz, Bolivia
After arriving in La Paz, we took a taxi to our hostal. We were greeted by a friendly fellow behind a thick orange door adjacent to a busy downtown street. We checked in, went for something to eat, and returned, amidst a thunderstrom, to our nice dry rooms.Casa de Huespedes
ARTHY'S
Guesthouse
Av. Montes No. 693
Tel. (591-2) 2281439
A morning in Puno
We woke up in Puno after a very cold night. After getting on the bus in Arequipa, we noticed that many people were wearing winter jackets and were covered in thick wool blankets (we now understand why). The hostal thankfully had three heavy wool blankets on the bed and we stayed very warm while we slept. We got up early and took a rickshaw to the main bus terminal. We looked around for tickets to Tacna, but nothing was leaving until late in the evening. As we did in Arequipa, our route took a sudden change and we booked an afternoon ticket to La Paz, Bolivia. It is lovely to have the freedom to make these whimsical decisions. After booking a place to stay, over the telephone, upon arrival in La Paz, we explored the streets of Puno. We stopped at a small artesians market and found some great hats called "choclos?" (cone shaped felt hats typical of this southern region). We wandered up the hillside with our hats on and took in a panoramic view of the city framed by hills and the shores of Lake Titicaca. We went to the main square and helplessly had our shoes shined by 8-10 extremely enthusiastic boys for s/. 3 (our shoes sure look good). And we had a delicious lunch on a balcony; asparagus soup, fish, chicken, desert, and pisco sours. We left Puno at 2:30PM and drove along the southern shores of Lake Titicaca. The afternoon was beautifully lit by the sun, the scenery was stunning. We crossed the Peru-Boliva border late in the afternoon with no problems and arrived in La Paz at 10PM.Puno, Peru
After a day spent trying to figure out how we were going to escape Arequipa by bus, train, plane or any suitable means, we finally decided to head west. We changed our originally course slightly to avoid the road blocks and violence along the Pan Americana and ended up in Puno, Peru (located on the western shore of Lake Titicaca). We arrived at 3:00AM at the following hostal:Los Pinos Inn Hostal
Jr. Tarapacá 182
Puno, Perú
Tel. 51-367398
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Around Arequipa
We spent our first full day in Arequipa with two fellows from Dawson City, Yukon. In the morning, we inquired about booking a tour for the following day either a trek through the Colca Canyon (second deepest in the world) or biking down one of the volcanos bordering the city. We decided mid-day that we wanted to head south sooner than later and made plans to leave for Tacna, Peru the next day instead. We spent the afternoon at the Santa Catalina de Siena Monastery with our two new friends from the Yukon. This White City of Arequipa was begun in 1579/1580, forty years after the city was founded. The monastery was enlarged over the centuries until it became a city within the city, about 20000 sq./m. in total and covering a good sized city block. At one time, 450 nuns and their lay servants resided within the community, closed off from the city by high walls. As we toured the monastery, we walked down narrow streets named for Spanish locales, passed through arched colonnades surrounding courtyards, some with fountains, flowering plants and trees. We lingered in churches and chapels. We looked into private rooms, each with small patios, common areas like the colonnades, and the utilitarian areas such as kitchen, laundry and outdoor drying area. It was very impressive. As the day passed, we became more and more aware of the protest taking place within the city and throughout Peru. The farmers are unhappy (farming costs are high and prices for the food is low). They have set-up blockades around the city and departing by bus will be extremely difficult. We are attempting to leave Arequipa tonight for the southern border town of Tacna. If we are not successful, we will be in Arequipa for at least another day.
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