G's South American Adventure

After two intense days of shopping and eating my last pieces of meat in La Paz, I hopped on a plane and flew all the way home, back to wonderful, beautiful, freezing cold Canada. I was exhausted because I was so nervous about missing my flight that I barely slept the night before. I changed planes in Miami and it was definatly strange to leave Bolivia and arrive in the United States after only 6 hours of sitting on a plane. Miami was so weird! Everyone was so pale and geekly dressed and wealthy, although at least people were still speaking Spanish. After Miami, I boarded my Air Canada flight home and realized how close I was after hearing French and seeing all the Maple Leafs. Being home is fantastic! For the next two weeks, I am going to eat and sleep and watch movies, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. It is not really as strange as I imagined to be back in the first world, living my normal life. I was definatly ready to come home. I missed Canada and all of you guys. Happy Easter Everyone! Go and check out the final installment of photos on my website, the monkeys are really cute!

Well despite all the monkey pee and diarrhea that I get covered in by the end of each day (some idiot keeps feeding the monkeys grapes), I have decided to stay here in Villa Tunari, at the animal refuge in the jungle, for another whole week of volunteering. The monkeys really needed me to stick around. I also decided to stay because I have made some good friends here (of the non-monkey variety) and am a little sad to leave. And, I want to stay a few more days in order to visit some more of the amazing animals in the park. Although visiting is officially not allowed, once you get to know everyone, people will sneak you into the jungle to visit their animals. I went to see an ocelot named Rico yesterday and it was freaking amazing. Ever since I met the ocelot coat that Nain keeps in the closet at the farm, I have always wanted to see the real animal. And he was gorgeous. And the walk through the jungle to get there was also gorgeous. Everything about the jungle is wild. There are ants the size of your finger that will make you sick if bitten. There are trees entirely covered in huge prickly thorns. I got stung by a bee a couple days ago and my entire finger was swollen to 3 times its normal size. It seems like all the animals here are 10 times more poisonous than in the rest of the world. And also 10 times more colourful. The insects here are fantastic. I saw a neon pink dragonfly the other day and the butterflies are unbelievable. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to visit the female ocelot or maybe a puma or the spider monkeys.
Right now, I am working in the monkey quarantine, and at times it is great and at times not so much. A typical day in my life starts around 7:30, with the dishing out of breakfast to the monkeys (bananas) and then freeing them from their cages. All the monkeys that are given to the park (from families, zoos, etc.) have to live in the quarantine area for a while to make sure that they will not spread monkey parasites to the rest of the free monkeys. So, they live in cages at night and play on ropes in the trees during the day. After breakfast, I spray down the cages and clean up some monkey poo, clean the monkey blankets (my least favourite job) and then babysit some of the extremly needy baby monkeys. This last part involves lots of being peed and pooed on, although now I barely even turn a hair when it happens. Then, I untangle a few of the monkeys who are dangling from their cords. Some are smart enough to untangle themselves but others are not too bright or just too excitable, and end up upside down and backwards. I also play with the monkeys for a while, which envolves getting my hair groomed and my pockets picked. Lately, all the monkeys are grooming my hair and eating things out of it, which is starting to worry me a little. I pray that I don't have lice or ticks. Then we feed the monkeys lunch, normally bananas and papaya. This is followed by some more cleaning, some more playing and some more being peed on. Our job is basically that we have to watch the monkeys all day to make sure that they aren't sick or fighting or behaving badly with each other (all of which effect their potential of being released into the park). One of the sick monkeys named Kiwi died the other day and it was quite sad for all of us in quarantine. I knew she was going to die after she passed out in the water bowl that I had filled for her. After dinner (veggies), we give them api to drink (oatmeal juice) and tuck them into their cages for bed. The last part does not always go so smoothly, although most of the monkeys now do as I tell them. With the exception of one new monkey named Raul who is schizophrenic and keeps pretending to be my friend and then biting me with his enormous teeth. He's a jerk.
The scenery of the town and the park here are incredible and I am definatly enjoying my time here, especially the unique chance to befriend jungle animals. It is not all a bed of roses however, and there are tons of animals in the park that I want to secretly let out of their cages the night I leave. The mentality of the refuge is a little too loving and caring (in my opinion) and tends to ignore animal reality. Wild animals, especially crazy things like monkeys and pumas, tend to fight and kill each other all the time. But there are numerous animals in the refuge who will live in cages for their whole lives because, if released, they would be attacked by other animals in the park. Many of the animals are also too used to the presence of humans to be released, as it would put them in danger for being trapped again. It is complicated. But, if I were a monkey in a cage, I think I would rather be released into the thick of the animal kingdom and fight to my wild, bloody monkey death, if need be. Who knows. All that I know is, the longer I stay here, the more I feel like a monkey and the more I smell like one too.

I am now working as a volunteer at an animal refuge, called Inti Wara Yassi, at the edge of the Bolivia jungle in Villa Tunari. Which explains why I have not made a new entry in my blog for a while, as the internet is slow slow slow and busy from all the volunteers hanging out here. I was working with the birds in the quarantine at first, which was nice because of the beautiful toucans and parrots, but somewhat boring, and then I was moved to the monkey quarantine where I feed and untangle and play with monkeys all day. And I also get pissed on by monkey babies who also like to poo on me and bite my ears and pick my scabs off. All in all, it is fairly hilarious. Although, it is a fair amount of work, with very little 'free time' and lots of attention needed for my new monkey friends. I hope I do not get any monkey diseases. It is a mixed experience, as I have found all my volunteer work down here in SA to be, but I am now really quite enjoying myself and sad to leave. I have to go and eat some dinner, so I will continue thisblog later on with another, faster computer connection. I just want everyone to know that I am alive, safe and travelling perfectly fine on my own. Although some would seem to think that I am incapable of keeping myself alive and avoiding abduction while travelling by myself. Attached are two examples of emails I received after arriving here and not checking my email for 5 days. I appreciate your love very much but just want to clarify that I am FINE and will survive on my own. Will write more soon. Ciao.

The last email out of 6 that I received from Simon in 4 days.

From : simon bill
Sent : March 25, 2006 8:40:21 PM
To : gwynmac@hotmail.com

G. I really hope you are safe. I am worried right now... I am taking the bus in 1 h, so I'll be checking my Email once in Chiclayo, crossing my fingers that you are fine. Please G, write to me!
Simon

The response of my Mom when I 'finally' replied to her email with the subject of ''Please write me a 2 line email''. It only took me 5 or so days! I am sorry!

From :
Sent : March 30, 2006 3:24:01 PM
To : "Gwyneth MacMillan"
Subject : RE: aloha

well THANK YOU!! I suppose you don't mind that you have been the subject of a few sleepless nights around here. Could you please at least tell me the name of the place you are in, so that if we never hear from you again we know where to start looking? I mean honestly. please send an e-mail no matter how short no less than every 5 days, preferably every 3-4, OK?
love ma

Hilarious.

# posted by Gwyn @ 8:02 PM 2 comments

You will not believe how badly the last leg of my trip just began. For the next month, I am going to be travelling solo here in Bolivia, as Simon had to head back to Peru to meet up with Martin, his friend from Quebec, and I had no desire to take a 30 hour bus ride back to that dangerous place. Simon woke me up early, probably around 5, the morning he was leaving for Peru. Neither of us could get back to sleep, probably because I was nervous about travelling alone and he was nervous about leaving me alone, so we lay around awake until he left for his bus around 7:30. After a sad goodbye, I snuggled back under the blankets to try and fall back asleep for a while. To help me doze off, I reached over to pick up my guidebook in order to read about the city I was planning on going to next. But the book wasn't there. After two minutes of tearing apart the hostel room, I realized that Simon must have mistakenly taken the book, as it was him who normally carried it in his backpack. It was around 7:45, so I threw on some dirty clothes, ran down the stairs and out the door, my heart racing like a maniac, and jumped into the first cab to get me to the bus terminal, MUY RAPIDO POR FAVOR. The idea of travelling alone, in Bolivia, without a guidebook, was really not appealing to me at this moment. The guidebook is almost the most essential thing for travelling here, it makes things 10 times safer and easier. We have been calling it the Bible on this trip. SO, I show up at the huge, busy La Paz bus terminal and start sprinting around the gates (there are about 40) in a panic, with only 5 minutes on the clock before departure time. Suddenly, I hear my name, and there is Simon sitting calmly waiting for his bus. I explain the situation and we quickly tear through his bags, but no guidebook appears. THEN, with only a couple minutes before he leaves, Simon remembers that he probably left it on top of the computer in the internet cafe, back at the hostel. Fantastic. So, I race back to the hostel and MIRACULOUSLY, the book is still there. Then, I went back to the room, thanking the heavens for being so lucky, and start tiding up the mess I made looking for the Lonely Planet in the first place. While cleaning, I realize with some shock that my bank card is not where it should be. Actually, I soon realize that it is not anywhere. Shock soon turns to disbelief, horror and then panic. I start imagining what it is going to be like to have no money, alone, in Bolivia. I realize that Simon must still have the card, from when he used it to borrow money the night before. His bank card, which was robbed in Oruro, has still not arrived in La Paz and he was planning on using Martin's in Peru. After sending Simon a panicked email (although he was now on a bus for 30 hours straight), I head out into the city to see if I can get a cash advance on my VISA. However, after going to 5 different banks and getting rejected each time, I give up and go back to my room to sob for a while. When I calm down, I get in touch with home and my amazing brother Tom wires me money on the double. Now, I have a big wad of cash to carry around and feel much more relaxed, much less panicked, and maybe even willing to have some fun this month, even if I am by myself on this crazy continent. At least I don't have to worry about Simon being without access to money, now he can just keep using my account! What a day that was. Unbelievable.

This is the best batch of photos yet, check them out!

After another crazy bus ride from Potosi, where we drove into the bus infront of us, on a steep hill, in the middle of the night, by the side of a cliff, while I had a serious case of diarrhea, Simon and I arrived in Uyuni. Crazy bus rides are now the norm. Uyuni is another main stop on the extremly busy gringo highway due to the amazing scenery of southwestern Bolivia that can be reached from the town. Simon and I signed up for the classic 3-day tour and headed off in a cozy jeep with our Bolivian guide Roman, our cook Martha, and two young couples, one German, one Flemish. After five minutes of sitting in the back, I began to have some misgivings about the tour, as I was already beginning to feel nauseus from the bumpy dirt road. Sure enough, I was nauseus and sick to my stomach for three days straight and it made me a very grumpy unhappy person (poor Simon). The problem with the tour was that it was essentially three days of straight driving on either rutted dirt roads, bumpy salt flats, or sand dunes in the desert. The high altitude (we reached 5000m at one point) and the parasite living in my stomach did not help improve my mood either. However, despite my nausea and weakness due to an inability to eat much for three days, the scenery was completely and unbelievably amazing. The first day we drove to the famous Salar de Uyuni, which is an enormous salt flat with an area of around 2000m2, if I remember correctly. It is the biggest salt flat in the entire world. The flats were blindingly white and looked like snowy fields. The ground was a hard crunchy salt crust with pools of water all over, because it is the rainy season. It was beautiful. The rest of the afternoon we spent driving to other small touristy sites in the area, which weren't that interesting, except for the train 'graveyard' which was kind of cool. That night, we slept in a small town in the middle of nowhere, called Alota. The town was clean and colourful and nice, and we watched an amazing sunset from the Mirador in the main Plaza. Unfortunaly, the night was cloudy and we couldn't see the stars. However, Simon woke me up around 5 in the morning when he went to the bathroom, and there were a million stars in the sky. I could have stayed out looking at them until morning but the hostel dog starting barking and snarling, and I got scared and had to run inside before he found me.
On day 2, we drove through some beautiful snowy mountains, some of which were old volcanoes, and visited numerous pretty lakes, some of them salty and some of them not. AND... I saw flamingos for the first time! We ate lunch by a lake filled with pink flamingos splasing around. We also saw the first part of a series of weird shaped rocks that were scattered through the whole trip. It was called the Valley of the Rocks and was filled with tall, strange shaped rocks. I was feeling nauseus so I neglected to take any photos of it. Then came the COOLEST part of the entire tour, and one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. We arrived at the Laguna Colorado (the Red Lake) and the entire lake was bright pink AND filled with millions of flamingos. Close your eyes and imagine that: PINK LAKE PLUS MILLIONS OF FLAMINGOS. The lake was huge, around 10km long, and did I mention that it was PINK. Apparently, there are tons of microorganisms in the water that make the water pink when the wind mixes up the top layer. The flamingos match the pink lake perfectly because they eat the microorganisms and that it what makes their feathers pinkish. Or so the back of the admission ticket to the national park told me. While we were there a storm starting building from across the lake and the mixture of blue-black sky, white wind on the pink water, and big groups of flamingos taking off, while the llamas watched from the shore, was more than amazing to watch. That night, we slept in the desert in a basic hostel where we all shared a room together. Our group entertained each other before dinner with scary stories of travelling in South America, from Rio to Bolivia, including abductions, gun fights and robbery. I will not elaborate here, but I will have tons of stories to tell you all when I arrive home again, safe and in one piece. Alas, I was sick and skipped dinner to sleep. The next morning we were awoken at the ungodly hour of 5 (oh Lord, how am I ever going to tree plant in one month?) and drove straight away to the Geisers. Oh, and on the way to the geisers, our guide Roman kindly set off some dynamite for us, which the German on our tour had accidently brought with him from Potosi and which was making us all nervous. Nothing like a good old dynamite wake up call. We arrived at the geisers for the sun rise and it was like stepping out of the jeep and onto another planet. Actually, the whole tour was like taking a driving tour of Pluto. At 5 in the morning, at 5000m, the mixture of sunrise and volcanic activity was pretty special. There were thermal vents gushing steam and boiling mud pits everywhere. And, of course, we were allowed to stroll through the whole area at our own leisure, within meters of boiling pools, mud, and thick sulphur steam vents. It was mesmorizing. After the geisers, we all pilled back into the jeep and heading down to the lake to soak in some natural hot springs, while our breakfast was being prepared. What a luxury, although I was really craving some pancakes and maple syrup and not the usual bread and egg. Although pancakes might have made my parasite go crazy. After brekkie, we drove to the Laguna Verde (Green Lake) to take some more photos, because it was also very beautiful. We left half of our friendly group at the border with Chile, where the lucky bastards got to drive an hour to San Pedro, and then Simon and I started the long long long drive back to Uynui with our guides. When we arrived in Uyuni 9 hours later, I thought I was dying of nausea and bum soreness. I hate driving. And an hour later, Simon and I hopped on an overnight bus to Oruro (7 hours) and then another to La Paz (4 hours), where we arrived in the morning looking like corpses, but happy to have seen such amazingly beautiful things.

After a relatively comfortable night bus to Potosi, Simon, Adam and I checked into the hostel, ate a breakfast of left-over chinese food, and then roamed around the town. The view of the town from the roof of our hostel was fantastic, what a change from sprawling, dirty La Paz (although La Paz is beautiful from far away). The whole city is surrounded by rolling green hills and big red dusty cliffs. Plus, the main feature of the town is the large cone shaped mountain (Cerro Rico) that is full of silver, and of course, silver mines. Potosi was once the richest city in South America, due to the lucrative silver mines, and although it is now poor like the rest of Bolivia, it is still full of beautiful buildings. Now its claim to fame is that it is the highest city in the world, at an altitude of 4600m, and I could feel that altitude when stuggling uphill, gasping for breath. I keep having to tell Simon that it is not a race, as he walks so fast sometimes that I think I am going to pass out from lack of O2. Simon's stomach was up to the usual tricks, so we all decided to make a trip to the hot springs at Tarapaya and relax. It was a great decision, even though Simon looked slightly green on the combi ride, because it was the most beautiful natural hot springs that I have visited. We got dropped off at the side of the road, in what looked like the middle of nowhere, and the driver pointed to a narrow path up the side of a red cliff. When we arrived completly winded at the top, we found our American friend Liza and the most beautiful natural lake, which was apparently an old volcanic crater. The hot spring was a lake, surrounded by large wheat-like grasses, and the whole thing was the temperature of a bath tub. The water was actually bubbling in the middle while we were swimming. It was also really deep, and we quickly realized how difficult swimming in warm water at high altitude was, all ending up simply floating or clinging to the edges. It was gorgeous and we had the whole lake to ourselves to lounge about in. The most beautiful part of the day was watching the huge rain storm roll towards us over the mountains. We jumped out when the huge forks of lighting began and watched the storm approach from inside. The lake was steaming when the rain hit it. The next morning we all joined a tour group to do the classic tour of the silver mines. It was definatly one of the highlights of my trip. We started our tour at the Miner's market, buying presents of Coca leaves, alcohol, and dynamite (!) to take in to the miners. Our guide set off a stick of dynamite as a demonstration before we entered the mine. Where else but in Bolivia can you casually buy coca and dynamite in the market? And then set off the dynamite for fun? Our guides kept pressing coca leaves on us, telling us to keep them in our cheek and chew them, so that we would be able to handle the conditions inside the mine. The miners apparently chew 200 leaves (with ash as a catalyst) before starting their shifts, as the coca leaf acts as a stimulent, relieving hunger and fatigue. The leaves were so bitter that they gave me a headache. However, I am glad that I chewed them, because when I spat them out near the end of the tour, I became rapidly hungry and tired. The mine tour was wild. The conditions inside the mine are incredibly awful, abysmal. The tunnels are small and low, I banged my head about a million times, and, once you get a couple 100m inside, really really hot and stuffy. The coca was also supposed to help you breath easier with the lack of air. We were climbing through tiny tunnels that you had to squeeze through on your hands and knees, and heaving ourselves up narrow shafts with only small pieces of wood to help you up. We saw the statue of Tio, the god-like figure who protects the miners, and made some offerings of alcohol and cigarettes. The alcohol we bought for the miners was 96% and, although it said 'alcohol potable' on the bottle, it tasted exactly like rubbing alochol. We saw lots of iron and tin veins, and then climbed up a ridiculously narrrow shaft to visit some miners who were mining high quality silver. Some girls had to turn back because it was too difficult to climb up and 100% claustrophobic. Also, it was probably not the safest thing I have ever done, although the guides were great and I felt fine. We talked to the miners, gave them some coca, water, and cigarettes, and watched them work. I tried to help make a dynamite hole but was too weak. It makes you realize just how lucky you are when you see someone doing hard physical labour in a dark pit underground, with no air, hot as hell, and for very little money (by North American standards). Tree planting is a walk in the park in comparason. I have never been so happy to breath in a gulp of fresh air as I was when we left the mine a couple hours later. What an experience. We ended off the night with a delicious dinner and wine in Potosi, bought by our generous Italian friend Joseppi from the mine tour (who reminded me of the Italian version of Dad). The next morning, Simon and I were off to Sucre, the beautiful capital city, to relax in the parks and go to the 'biggest market in Bolivia'. It was actually small and not worth the effort, although we still bought lots of pretty and cheap things for ourselves. We watched a Bolivian movie called 'American Visa' and I only understood half of it, although that means my Spanish is much better than 5 months ago! I apologize that this blog is so long, I am really just writing this blog for myself and don't expect any of you in the real working world to read my ramblings.