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To Rurrenabaque by boat
16th May 2010
Continuing our trip with Deep Rainforest, interrupted due to a roadblock at Caranavi, we travelled 6 hours north of La Paz on a nail biting bus ride to Teoponte, part of which could have been on the world´s second most dangerous road.
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From there we boarded a long river boat powered by an outboard motor, expertly manouvered through the rapids by Herman and Camisas for a 3 day trip down the Rivers Kaka and Beni to Rurrenabaque in the Bolivian Amazon. Such a memorable trip it was, gliding with the current of the river, thick jungle of the Madidi National Park all around us.
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We camped 2 nights on the river banks, went piraña fishing (Jeff was the only person to catch one) and had jungle walks with Ivan, our guide, opening up a space ahead with his machette and explaining the medicinal value of various plants. Carmén, the cook, was up well before dawn cooking up huge meals for 12 tourists and 4 crew.
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Rurre, as the locals call it, is a real jungle outpost where canoes arrive at the market on the river bank. The amazing sunsets are best watched from an open air thatched roof bar beside the river.
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We flew back to La Paz on an Amaszonas Airline 19 seat Metro. What an experience – taking off from the rough grass airstrip and flying through a gap in the snow covered mountains to land at one of the world’s highest airports .
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Santa Cruz – Bolivia
24th May 2010
Santa Cruz, in the eastern lowlands of Bolivia, is 1 hour from La Paz by plane and 23 hours by bus. We took the plane. There are tall white Mennonites strolling around the city, the men all dressed alike in overalls and straw hats, the women in the same coloured conservative dresses.
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Near Samaipata, 120 kilometres away, is the mystical carved mountain top used by the Pre Incas 3000 years ago, and later the Incas, as a temple to the sun and moon. Samaipata is a nice little place so it is no surprise that many foreigners live there. In the nearby jungle are many lovely walks. Just out of town is the animal refuge El Refugio where sick and injured animals are cared for by volunteers.
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Not far away in La Higuera, the Bolivian army captured and killed Che Guevara.
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The Jesuit Missions (Bolivia)
30th May 2010
The Jesuits arrived in eastern Bolivia (Chiquitania) in 1691 aiming to convert, civilize and educate the indigenous people in a harmonious social environment. San Xavier was the first mission, followed by 10 others until the Jesuits were expelled from South America in 1767.
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In a week we travelled a circuit of some 1000 kilometres by train, buses and taxis from Santa Cruz to visit 8 former Jesuit Missions with centuries old restored churches. The region has been declared a Unesco World Heritage site, not only for its churches, but also for the rich indigenous culture.
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All the churches feature huge, artistically hewn wooden columns supporting exposed timber beams and wood or cane ceilings. The white washed adobe walls are covered inside and out with elaborate decoration, painted in ochre, yellow and black. Mirrors near ground level on the altars taught the heathens how to bow down to God. The churches all face beautiful plazas, the other 3 sides are lined with colonial buildings, their terracotta tiled roofs overhanging the sidewalks are supported by carved wooden columns. One block away the streets are dirt.
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San José de Chiquitos was founded in 1698. Its beautifully restored church complex, the only one to be built in stone, consists of 4 buildings, taking up an entire city block. Nearby the church of Santiago de Chiquitos, 1754, bears images of the Santiago pilgrim. The mission of San Ignacio de Velasco was founded in 1748. San Miguel dates from 1721, San Rafael from1696. Santa Ana mission, although established in 1755, has a humble church which was built after the Jesuit expulsion of 1767. The Concepción mission was founded in1709 and San Xavier in 1691.
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Sajama National Park
04th June 2010
South west of La Paz, near the border with Chile, lies Sajama National Park, Bolivia´s first. We spent 2 nights in the small pueblo of Sajama (4200 metres) below the majestic, snow capped Sajama Volcano. When the sun set behind the twin volcanos on the Chile border, the temperature dropped to well below zero.
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Inside the park we walked in a forest of keñua trees, the highest in the world, at over 4400 metres. We cooked eggs in a bubbling geyser, ate llama, soaked in an open air hot springs surrounded by volcanos and observed llamas, alpacas and vicuñas.
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On the way we passed many ancient Aymara funeral towers, made of adobe brick and almost always facing the rising sun in the east. Many still contain human remains.
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A striking adobe and thatch church stands proudly above the humble dewllings in many of the local villages. The largest and best restored of these is the church of Santiago de Carangas, built between 1587 and 1608. Inside the walls and ceiling are covered in original frescoes of bible scenes in the Mestizo style.
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Lake Titicaca – Bolivia
20th June 2010
We arrived in the enchanting town of Copacabana, nestled between two hills on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca at 3872 metres, in time for a lovely sunset followed by a dinner of trout from the lake. The Moorish style cathedral, built between 1605 and 1820, dominates the town.
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At 10am every day outside the cathedral, cars, trucks and buses decorated with flowers are first blessed by a priest, then sprayed with soft drink, beer, rice and flower petals. A traditional holy man then passes over them with smoke. It is quite a spectacle to watch.
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A little over an hour away by boat is the Isla del Sol, birthplace of the Inca. We climbed to the village of Yumani on the southern end of the island where we spent the night, the views over the lake outstanding.
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