Santa Cruz, Day 1 (a clean slate)

For many reasons that I will get into later, perhaps not in this session, I decided not to stay the full 3 weeks at the park. Overall I had a good experience there, but I was ready to leave so yesterday I got a ride with Juan Carlos, the founder, back to Santa Cruz, and MAN was it a crazy ride. Here is what I wrote along the way:

¨6.37pm - Tuesday 07 November 2006

¨What a country! When you come to Bolivia, you have to get used to Bolivian time: SLOW. I delayed leaving the park a bit today because Juan Carlos and the 2 film guys offered me a ride to Santa Cruz after lunch. (A couple Argentine media guys came to film the animals for 2 days to help with fundraising and advertising.)

¨Lunch came late of course, at 1.30pm or so, and we didn`t end up leaving until 3pm. A little way down the road we fell behind a big transport truckt hat hit a loro (type of bird), so we stopped on the side of the street to rescue it. It was an injured wing so we have it with us now, with plans to take it to a temporary home in Santa Cruz.

¨Then maybe an hour or two into the drive -- Oh wait. Before the bird incident we were in Guarayos looking for gasolina. We didn`t find any at the first 4 places we stopped, but were successful at the fifth place, an out-of-the-way little store with no pump so Juan Carlos had to use a tube to suck the gas from the container to the tank.

¨So after we picked up the bird we stopped at another gas station (they had no gas) with a small cafe. We had tea, coffee, some bread, and ice cream.

¨Twenty minutes after leaving the cafe we found another gas pump on the road and could finally fill up all the way, but when we tried to start the truck again it stalled, and stalled again.

¨We are only now heading on the road again after a mechanic looked at the engine and gave us some oil. I`m writing in the dark now so I have to stop. Vamos once again!¨

¨8.28pm

¨After taking a test run with the truck the smell was too bad and burning and we kept stalling so we returned to the mechanic... or maybe it`s a different mechanic. I`m beginning to lose track.

¨Two of my companions and I are now waiting at another gas station/restaurant while Juan Carlos and the other dude drive to yet another mechanic to try to get it fixed. If my big backpack weren`t in the truck still I`d consider hitching a ride from one of the big trucks passing through here.

¨As it stands though, it doesn`t look like we`ll make it to Santa Cruz tonight and will probably have to find a hostel somewhere nearby.

¨Bolivia is all about delays, it seems; they are something one must expect and accept to enjoy travelling here. It`s kind of amusing how disfunctional this country is.¨

That`s all I had light for, but there is definitely more. We waited at that station for about an hour, but eventually the truck came back with the mechanic`s assurance that it would get us the extra 3 hours or so to Santa Cruz. So we headed off again, trying not to stall the vehicle. It didn`t sound or smell very good the whole time, and the floor behind the driver`s seat got pretty freakin hot, so we had to stop for coffee again to give it a chance to cool down. Before we left Juan Carlos pointed out a monkey kept in a small cage in the backyard (illegal but not enforced) and convinced the woman behind the counter to let the park come and rescue it, give it a better life. A day`s work is never done! That done though, I was mighty tired and grumbly so I was glad to get on the road again, and this time we made it all the way to Santa Cruz.

Once we were downtown Santa Cruz, there was a pop and a sputter and the engine gave way again. So we were stuck in the middle of the street with no more battery power (and other problems I´m sure) and had to clamber out and push it into a car park for the night. At this point it was about 2.30am so we grabbed our bags, walked slowly to a hostel, and crashed for the night, glad to be there safely even if the truck wasn`t sound. Melissa and I shared a room together and looked after the bird, and Juan Carlos and the film guys took another room to sort some other stuff out.

So now that it`s morning I`m doing my own thing but I know Juan Carlos and the others are dealing with the truck. By the end of the whole thing I had no patience left, but I know I`ll look back on it as an adventure.

More to come later. Reflections on the park etc.