Steph and I should have knowen from the begining that travelling was never going to be easy if our travelling to South America is anything to go by... Our trip from La Paz to Santa Cruz has definatly been one of the more dramatic. When you buy a bus ticket from one place to the other, I guess you assume that the bus will get you there. Not in this case!! We started our trip to Santa Cruz at about 5pm, we were to arrive at our destination at 9am the following morning. After snuggling down for a nights kip on the bus (which Steph and I have gotten quite good at) I felt the bus come to a halt. Some hours later I woke again and found the bus was still stationary... neither of us really thought much of it. At about 6 we were woken and told it was a toilet break. In a state of sleepy confusion we both got off the bus and found ourselves surrounded by lorries and buses... There was a road block.
At some point in the morning about 4 men on the bus decided to walk up the hill to the nearest town and see what they could do. Unfortunatly, this was the only way to Santa Cruz. One of the men was flying!! For twice the price of our bus ticket!! Why not just fly in the first place!! At about 10am the bus drivers came on and told us all to go if we could. They really didnt think they were going anywhere today. Anna and I loaded up and started down the hill, we were told it would be a 2 to 3 hour walk. The only person left on the bus was a women with her 4 children who were all under 6. She had no choice but to wait it out.
About half an hour down the hill we came across the road block. They certantly know how to do things in Bolivia. The road was covered in bolders so nothing could drive over and the amount of people walking up and down the hill was amazing. It was like something out of a dooms-day movie. We made it across the road block and past all the protesters, who were angry about the government about pay and met out Boliviano family of ladies. They were lovely and were made up of and Auntie and Niece, and 3 other ladies, who all lived in Santa Cruz. With them we walked to the next town and then all squished into a taxi. Steph was in the boot.
We walked a little more, picking up some food along the way. We had made it to where the bus drivers had told us to go. However, the road block was still effecting the roads this far away. It probly didnt help that Bolivianos seem to have no common sense and blocked both lains, so even if the road block had ended no one could go anywhere anyway. Obviously people like to sit around clogging up the road for no reason in Bolivia!!
We ended up highering a man and his van for 7 hours to take us to Santa Cruz. He had no seats in the back, but at least there were windows!! We made it at 9pm, exactly 12 hours late.
Anna and I are not quite sure what all the fuss is about when it comes to Santa Cruz. It seems just like another big city and a not very pretty one. We didnt do much apart from city in the only pretty part of the city, the main square. We think all the nice stuff must be around it. Tonight we get on a bus to Asuncion. It takes 24 hours. Fun Fun Fun!!
Anna and Steph
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