We arrived in Cochabamba, the city of 'Eternal Spring' due to its pleasant year round climate, to a busy modern market town with a giant towering white Jesus accessed delightfully by Bolivia's only cable car! This Jesus is THE LARGEST in South America (sorry Rio de Janeiro) standing at 40m tall and weighing in at a BMI busting 2000 tonnes! We took great pleasure in posing with the great one and enjoying the rainbows and amazing views from the summit. Apart from the ginormous Jesus, Cochabamba was a lively, modern student city with many western amenities (including the first Burger King we had seen in two months) and felt distinctly less Andean with a lack of colourful shawled women in bowler hats. The city is known as the breadbasket of Bolivia due to the surrounding nutriment rich verdant valleys. At times the city felt like one giant marketplace with people selling a huge range of foodstuffs on every street corner. However, the highlight of our stay was definitely the rock puppet show in the central plaza (see video below).
The modernity continued when we got a bus to Santa Cruz as we luxuriated in an air-conditioned Mercedes Benz bus along smooth paved roads (a rarity in Bolivia). Santa Cruz is a world apart from the rest of the country with a river of drug money flowing through it, as evidenced by the predominance of Narco-cruisers (expensive 4x4's with tinted windows, pumping stereos and shiny rims). We also noticed a musical preference for Euro trash dance music amongst the boutique hotels and trendy bars. The ice cream and surubi jungle fish were culinary highlights but we can't say the same about our 'junky chic' hotel which was without a doubt the WORST grimey hovel we had to endure on our travels so far.
We swiftly decided to move on to Samaipata, three hours away and a world apart from Santa Cruz. This cooler jungle paradise nestles in the last of the Andes before plunging down into the featureless plains of the Bolivian and Brazilian Pantanal. It proved to be a fortuitious decision as we found paradise in an organic Eden created by a wonderful Dutch couple who have made it their home for 26 years( http://www.lavispera.org/ ). Over 200 species of bird have been identified around the eco-lodge as well as hundreds of butterflies and wild guinea pigs. An extensive herbolarium and garden infused the air with a multitude of yummy smells. The stars shone above us as we cooked German bratwurst over the campfire and enjoyed possibly the best camping facilities in the whole world. Thank you Pieter!
From Samaipata we did a few day trips including a visit to the enigmatic archeological ruins of El Fuerte, a Mojocoyas site inhabited since 300 AD incorporating a large zoomorphic carved ritual rock that was possibly used for offerings of chicha or blood. We also partook in ritual bathing in the beautiful river flowing beneath the site.
Another bathing adventure took us a gorgeous set of cascading waterfalls. The tropical setting and the warm clear water made it an unforgettable aqautic experience. It was like one of those pictures from an expensive Thomas Cook holiday brochure but without the annoying chavs! All that fresh water beating down our heads must have cleared our thinking because in the taxi ride back to Samaipata we resolved to head for Brazil the following day and catch the notorious 'Train of Death'.
The Train of Death (unlike the Road of Death and the Mine of Death) was not physically dangerous but rumoured to cause death by being the most boring train ride in the world. At 680 featureless kilometres through a scrubby swamp called the Pantanal it was 14 hours of excruciating mind-numbing boredom, replete with an awful airplane like dinner. With an average speed of around 50km an hour, this was hilariously called the 'express service'. Just as well we weren't on the economy train which took a whole seven hours more!
After two fantastic months in Bolivia we had finally reached the Brazilian frontier. In 40 degree heat it was very warm welcome indeed.....
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