EC-Rider Travels

It was a sad farewell to Noel who has been the most fantastic guide and now has a nine hour journey on the bus back to Sucre… but at least he is not heading for Santa Cruz. I flew to Cochabamba and then on to Santa Cruz. The Civil unrest continues here and everything is at a standstill, there are still blockades on the road and no petrol. However, it was nice to see lovely Cynthia again and the agency had kindly moved me to an airport hotel. So here I am in the Sun Hotel – again not one to rush to but nice and close to where I need to be tomorrow. It also has a swimming pool, so I spent a happy couple of hours there in between trying to sort out another leak at Smith Terrace. 😠

I will be sad to leave Bolivia, I have really, really loved it and had a unique and very special time. It remains an enigma to me that there is such extreme poverty when it has so many natural and valuable resources. There is potential with so much investment at grass-root level, particularly with education …. but there is a long way to go and as in all of South America – corruption is everywhere. Still, it is indescribably beautiful, with its ever-changing mountains, extraordinary salt flats and wonderful flora and fauna.

They struggle with the service industry but are trying (hotels look ok, but nothing works!). Little English is spoken, even in an airport hotel! Everything is just in Spanish. Thank goodness for Google Translate…. It has been quite busy today, ‘my safe isn’t working; my key isn’t working; there are no light bulbs in the bedside lights – poor girl on the desk!

There was definite tension in the air and the few staff who were in the hotel seemed very on edge and ….. it was a very noisy night. I am not sure what was going on, but there was unbelievable noise and what sounded like gun-shots into the early hours. Cynthia did not think it was, but I can’t believe they celebrate Guy Fawkes here! However, what there was no doubt about, was being woken at about 4am by the screams of a woman, I am sure being abused. Screams and shouts of no, no no. Horrific. I felt so hopeless but just did not know what I could do to help.

As much as I have loved Bolivia, I wont be sad to leave Santa Cruz.