The Bolivia TR

[basinbeater]

Enough polluting other threads with my bullshit.

Down in Bolivia and Brasil for a couple weeks visiting family. My mother (rip) was from bolivia. We used to travel to Santa Cruz as kids growing up and into our early twenties to go on all sorts of adventures and road trips, and i lived in Bolivia for like 8 months when I was a kid (13yo).
Time goes by, and now married with two kids, it was time to go back to Bolivia and take the fam so they could get a taste.
I'll post stuff in this thread, and quit clogging up others.
The basic plan was get to Santa Cruz, kick it at my uncle's house, and pass Xmas there. Then the whole class was going to head into the mountains to hang out at an off the beaten path ecolodge owned by a friend of the family.
Then to Santa Cruz, pack up again and off to the border with Brasil where the family has business and a boat. Do new years there and hang out a few days, the. Back to Santa Cruz and home.
So... Yeah. That's was the plan.


Uncle has a cool plane, we did a reconnaissance flight over the spot we were headed to in the mountains.

[basinbeater]

Got a nice aerial view of Santa Cruz.
City is growing like mad. Sprawling.
Heres a shot of the small secondary airport in Santa Cruz. This airport came into play politically a few days later.

[JimmyCarter]

Uncle has a cool plane, we did a reconnaissance flight over the spot we were headed to in the mountains.

I’m not saying your uncle is a drug runner, but…

[basinbeater]

As you leave Santa Cruz and head into the mountains, red rock cliffs emerge from the jungle floor. Steep roads wind their way into the cliffs. Before long you leave the pavement and let the kids climb out of the sunroof.
Did i mention that these turbo diesel 200 series VX land cruisers are badass? They are. But they also BARELY fit down the road to the lodge. We did make it without incident.

[basinbeater]

This place is fucking amazing.
Waterfalls and swimming holes all over the place. Gigantic cliffs all around with crazy hairball trails going to the tops.
The kids had a blast! The adults did too.

[basinbeater]

I’m not saying your uncle is a drug runner, but…

Well, he does work in shipping... Just not that kind of shipping.
He flew the plane up to the osh kosh air show a few years back.

[rideit]

Well, he does work in shipping... Just not that kind of shipping.
.

Hasta dónde tú sabes, gringo! Jaja
Fotos geniales!

[hawkgt]

following, interesting new year so far i bet

[Danno]

Subscribed.

[detrusor]

Also subscribed


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Cruiser]

Moar pics!

[basinbeater]

So we sat around chilling out after lunch, after climbing the cumbre, and generally relaxing. Dark clouds hung pregnant with moisture above the valley. My aunt was going bonkers about her car (the one I drove down into the lodge) not being able to make it back up and out if it rains. She's not wrong, it it rains, nobody gets in or out until the road dries up a bit.
Somehow there was cell service there, so a couple folks busted out their phones to check the weather. A couple seconds later, oh shit. Que Paso? News.
Policía boliviana kidnapped the Santa Cruz department (state) governor (also the national opposition leader). People got shot, the governor was snapped up and taken to the airport we flew out of a couple days earlier and flown out of Santa Cruz in an air force helicopter.
Shit. 30 minutes later, bill is paid, car is packed and i am navigating tight steep switchbacks as fast as i can to keep up with the car ahead of me.
The text messages come in, "do you have gas?"
"yes"
"good, don't stop, stay on Sebastian's bumper until we get home"
"Roger that."
Now it is rally driver all the way back to Santa Cruz. We go blasting through small towns in the rain with mile long gas lines and barge through crowded Santa Cruz roundabouts until we get to the house. Hours later roads are blocked off and there is no travel.
The next day was a strike day, and roads are blocked off. So like any good tourist family we went with my cousin and her kids down to one of the road blockades and took pictures.

It was hot as balls that day, so we went back to the house and played in the pool and grilled up some meat for dinner. Good times.

[basinbeater]

The strike was a bit of a bummer, are up a day when we could have been on the road, but the strike ended, and we piled into the vehicles to head east to the border with Brasil.
Past the Chinese plastic factory.
Through a crazy hairball thunder and lightning storm.
Get a local beverage. Blech. My aunt is a camba and she hates the fucking collas so she almost made me walk. Shit was nasty. Guarana with coca extract.
More to come...

[ötzi]

My aunt is a camba and she hates the fucking collas...

No idea what this means. Cool thread, though. Thanks.

[basinbeater]

Cambas are people from Santa Cruz, while they speak Spanish, they don't really identify with the rest of bolivians, particularly the people from la paz who are called collas (co-yas). The cambas have been victims of election fraud for decades, and census shenanigans that fuck them over from a representative standpoint. most of the economic and population growth in the last 20 years has happened in Santa Cruz area, but their representative footprint has not changed in 20 years. The census due in 2020 has been delayed... the federal government tries to tax the shit out of the lowlands and confiscate businesses and land and redistribute to the colla people. Santa Cruz feels oppressed and many people we know here want independence from Bolivia.
In the last election, the Organization of American States determined that there was widespread election fraud in the highlands where just enough votes were found to put Evo Morales (former coca leaf grower union head, and aspiring leftist dictator) over the top with no runoff. The leader of the opposition, Camacho, led protests that eventually led to Evo being ousted.
New elections were held, and an Evo lackey won.
Before we came down there was a 36 day strike (Santa Cruz department only) and then it stopped. Now, while we were here, the govt swooped in and grabbed Camacho and has imprisoned him.
I think i got most of that correct.

[basinbeater]

More shots from the road. Not sure why i like stuff like the truck with grass growing, but i do.
Also, if you got multiple mattresses on the roof, and Jesus as a copilot, your probably all good in case of a rollover...

[basinbeater]

Beautiful little town of Chochis. Incredible scenery, and just a tiny tiny little town. Amazing paintings on some of the buildings.

[basinbeater]

Never a good thing down here when you run into a line of trucks not moving.

While we were on the road, there was trouble again in Santa Cruz. So, we ran into another road block a little past the halfway point of the drive. 20 minutes of talking with the road block guys by my aunt (she looks camba, and my uncle looks gringo so she does the talking) and they arranged for a motorcycle to guide on a bypass. Added 20 minutes of dicking around, 30 minutes of driving, and a "tip" to the motorcycle dude of $60usd got us around the town. As a gringo in the front seat, i just sort of keep my hat down and chill ...

[PB]

That's no down-stream road block.

[ex-powderbroker]

when is the maggot summit?

[basinbeater]

The detour took us by an active Bolivian air force base. Check out that control tower yo.

[boltonoutlaw]

In for all of this. Sick!

Bolivia has been high on my bucket list about 5 years now, with Santa Cruz on the list (despite the heat). Strikes, curfews, and assassinations have wadded a few of my trips. No fun but memorable and history is happening in front of you. Vaya con dios, and keep this coming!

[Harry]

This thread is wild. I hope your family gets out ok.

[chaka]

wow. definitely following this. hope you all get out ok.

I went on a guided mountaineering trip to bolivia years ago, very fascinating place. No shortage of bullet holes in the walls around La Paz from political instability. If you do end up in La Paz, The Valley of the Moon is definitely worth a visit!

[mtndave]

Awesome thread, thanks for posting. Last May, I flew to Santa Cruz and spent 2 weeks traveling thru Sucre and Potosi. Got to watch an auto rally race that went right in front of hotel in Sucre. It was bad ass seeing cars flying and drifting. It's called the "White City", beautiful.

Highlight in Potosi, of course is taking a tour in a working silver mine on Cerro Rico. Not for the faint of heart. Purchased a stick of dynamite at a local market to donate to a miner inside and I had the opportunity to light it and the guide walked about 50 feet in and out before it detonated. What a rush!!

The miners chew on coca leaves for energy on 10 hour shifts. My guide gave me some to chew and it definitely gives you alert buzz. My mask was solid black inside and out when the tour was finished. No wonder the life expectancy is 46 years for a miner.

It was my 3rd time in Bolivia. The govt problems doesn't surprise me, the Bolivian govt has been overthrown over 200 times! Bike riding the Death Road in La Paz is a must! Also ride in a Landcruiser overland from San Pedro Atacama, Chile to Uyuni, one of my best trips ever.