After landing in La Paz, Bolivia, my plan was to head straight to Inti Wara Yassi, an organisation that we had heard about through other travellers that look after wild animals that have been taken and sold on the black market. In many cases they try to rehabilitate the animals and re-release them into the wild, however with many of the large cats it is very difficult so the focus is turned to simply giving the animals the most normal and enjoyable life possible while in captivity.
Parque Ambue Ari, where I planned to volunteer, is located in the lowlands of the Bolivian jungle, about 6 hrs drive from Santa Cruz, so after landing in La Paz, I headed straight to the bus station (after a couple of quick photos of the city from El Alto) and got immediately on an overnight bus to Santa Cruz. I spent 1 night in Santa Cruz and jumped on a bus to Ascencion de Guarayos, about 45mins from the park and then took a taxi from there.
One thing I noted in Bolivia, unlike many other countries, is that almost the entire population is made up of indigenous people. There are very few Spanish looking people. In fact the only other ¨white¨ people I saw were Mennonites at the Santa Cruz bus station. The Mennonites are a religious group originally from Germany (I think) and were very conspicuous in that the men apparently have a choice of clothing that consists of a large cowboy style hat, a shirt and either green or blue overalls and the women look wear very old fashioned clothing. Some of the men reminded me of some stereotypical Southern hick farmer from the USA. Apparently they are somewhat similar to the Amish in the US, generally shunning technology and living and farming the land in small communities.
Anyway, I reached the park to find that they were fairly low on volunteers. This was lucky for me as people who only stay 2 weeks generally don´t get to work with the big cats, but I was charged with looking after the quarantine area in the morning and the 3 pumas that are the namesakes of the park, Inti, Wara and Yassi, in the afternoon with 2 other guys.
The first week was tougher than I expected. When I first arrived it was stiflingly hot and the mosquitoes were worse than anything I could ever have imagined. Then towards the end of the week it rained solidly for about 3 days. This meant there were less mosquitoes, but I was constantly wet and often cold. The low point was a few days into my time when I caught a fever, but luckily it cleared up the next day and considering another guy had scored himself some serious puncture wounds from being jumped by one of the pumas, I counted myself lucky.
Despite the difficulties, I was loving working with the animals. Working in quarantine involved taking care of some parrots, tortoises, a small cat (a Geoffrey´s cat I think) named Mariano and a Cappucin monkey named Martina. Martina in particular was a lot of fun once she had begun to trust me and she would happily sit on my shoulder or lap and groom me or catch the mosquitoes that were always hanging around.
The highlight of my days was definitely looking after ¨Las Chicas,¨ Inti, Wara and Yassi in the afternoon. Most days we´d take 1 cat each and take them for a walk through the jungle. I had a few surreal moment when I realised that I was wading through waste deep brown water in the middle of the Bolivian jungle and tethered to a Puma with no other person in sight or within earshot (we would call to each other regularly to check were the others were)... certainly an experience I´ll never forget.
Las Chicas themselves were very affectionate as far as wild cats go. Yassi in particular would constantly be rubbing her head against yours and demanding love & attention. Wara was more stand-offish while in the cage, but was very affectionate when out on her walks. She was also the best looking of the cats as far as I was concerned with amazing blue eyes and a lovely orange coloured coat. Inti was definitely the most independant of the 3 and socialised less with both the other 2 cats and with us, but was still lovely to work with. Despite all of this there were still several times when 1 of them would get in a bad mood and scare the crap out of you with a nasty hiss in your direction... it was good to be reminded every now and again that these are wild cats and not your household tabby.
The second week at the park the conditions seemed to be a lot milder and the mosquitoes not quite as bad (or maybe I just got more used to them) and I really enjoyed my time there. Despite that, I was ready to leave after the 2 weeks. It was a fantastic experience, but not something I feel that I could do for a long time. You have to have SO much love and respect for these animals to work here as so often they can be really difficult to work with and you just have to be so patient with them. I have a great respect for those that volunteer at the park for a long time. I certainly don´t have it in me to do that.
I met some fantastic people and some amazing animals at Ambue Ari and had some great times. It´s definitely an experience I will not forget in a hurry!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Farewell Sarsie! and on to Lima
After returning to Santiago, we rode once more to Valparaiso. This time with the sad task of packing up Doug for his trip home. So we cleaned, and packed and with the help of Martina and Enzo (who arranged the shipping and owned the hostel at which we stayed) we sent Doug on his way back home. The only really standout moment was when 3 youths tried to steal the pouch containing our passports that Sara had hung around her neck... this was the first time anything like this had happened to us here, so it took a few seconds for what was happening to sink in, but we weren´t going to take it lying down, and after I tackled one of the guys and Sara punched another on the nose, they gave up and ran for it... I don´t think they were expecting any resistance.
We then returned to Santiago and I farewelled Sara as she had to return to Aus and to work... from then on I was on my own... so far tavelling solo is a different experience, but I honestly still wish you were here with me Sars!
So, after a few days contemplating what I was going to do with my last 2 months, I decided, after LAN released some incredibly cheap flights, that I would fly to Bolivia and Colombia. The available dates of the cheap flights meant that I would start my solo adventure with a week in Lima, the capital of Peru though.
Lima was an interesting city. Not quite what I had expected. The cliffs and ocean below were quite beautiful, especially when covered in a thick mist that had been kicked up by the ocean. And there were many surfers in the water below. I contemplated a few times hiring a board and joining them, but never got round to it.
The hostel that I stayed in was new and didn´t even have signage yet, which was good as it was clean and tidy, but bad because there were very few people staying there. As a result I spent much of my time eploring the city solo. I visited some of the most amazing museums I have been to, with some incredible displays of Incan and pre-Incan artwork. The gold masks and headdresses were particularly amazing, but perhaps the most bizzare and interesting was the collection of ¨errotic artwork¨ at the Museo Larco (see pics of Lima). There were porcelin figurines and vases with people, gods, and the dead in practically every position you can think of... seriously wierd.
I also visited some pre-Incan ruins that are located right in the centre of town and spent much time just wandering the streets and watching the people. There was an interesting shopping centre actually built into the cliffs overlooking the Ocean and I spent a couple of nights working on my dance moves in a Colombian Salsa club with some local friends.
I certainly enjoyed my time in Lima much more than I had expected and found it to be a more multicultural andexciting city than I had originally envisioned.
We then returned to Santiago and I farewelled Sara as she had to return to Aus and to work... from then on I was on my own... so far tavelling solo is a different experience, but I honestly still wish you were here with me Sars!
So, after a few days contemplating what I was going to do with my last 2 months, I decided, after LAN released some incredibly cheap flights, that I would fly to Bolivia and Colombia. The available dates of the cheap flights meant that I would start my solo adventure with a week in Lima, the capital of Peru though.
Lima was an interesting city. Not quite what I had expected. The cliffs and ocean below were quite beautiful, especially when covered in a thick mist that had been kicked up by the ocean. And there were many surfers in the water below. I contemplated a few times hiring a board and joining them, but never got round to it.
The hostel that I stayed in was new and didn´t even have signage yet, which was good as it was clean and tidy, but bad because there were very few people staying there. As a result I spent much of my time eploring the city solo. I visited some of the most amazing museums I have been to, with some incredible displays of Incan and pre-Incan artwork. The gold masks and headdresses were particularly amazing, but perhaps the most bizzare and interesting was the collection of ¨errotic artwork¨ at the Museo Larco (see pics of Lima). There were porcelin figurines and vases with people, gods, and the dead in practically every position you can think of... seriously wierd.
I also visited some pre-Incan ruins that are located right in the centre of town and spent much time just wandering the streets and watching the people. There was an interesting shopping centre actually built into the cliffs overlooking the Ocean and I spent a couple of nights working on my dance moves in a Colombian Salsa club with some local friends.
I certainly enjoyed my time in Lima much more than I had expected and found it to be a more multicultural andexciting city than I had originally envisioned.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires... what a place. We had a total of 4 days to explore the city, but we could have spent much longer!
One of the highlights of our stay was a walking tour in which the guide explained to us much of the incredibly turmultuous (is that a word) political history of the city and of Argentina and took us to many relevant sites including the presidential palace, Eva Peron´s office (now a museum) and a site of an old police station where many people were tortured to death as recently as 15 yrs ago. One of the most incredible things was the constant protests that, as was explained to us, are practically a daily occurence in Buenos Aires. Indeed, on the day we did the tour, the police were setting up the fencing around the main square (the fencing stays there to be set up & pulled down whenever there is a protest) and we passed a group of protesters with several men whereing scarves over their faces and carrying battons... still none of the locals seemed to even batt an eyelid as the protesters passed... it was just another day for them.
We also went to an obligatory Tango Show. We chose a very intimate one as opposed to the big theatre based productions that many people go to. Ours was in a small bar that had about 12 tables and the smallest area for the dancers. It was really quite impressive with all the high kicks and everything that no tables were sent flying. It was a fantastic night, with several professional couples dancing as well as traditional singing and a couple of 3 or 4 piece bands playing traditional music. Sara and I even got up and attempted a some dancing with the professionals... not a chance!! haha. What did strike me was that the tango is actually a very beautiful and sensuous dance when done well. The difference between the professionals here and those that dance in the many plazas and streets for money was very obvious.
No visit to South America would be complete without a trip to a soccer match, and no team is more famous than Marradona´s old club in Argentina, the Boca Juniors. So we joined a group and off we went to the match. We got to see a little of La Boca, the famous area near the soccer stadium where the brightly coloured houses that you see in most BA related articles are. We then had to wait as our path was blocked by riot police while all of the opposing team´s supporters entered the stadium (they also kept us inside for 40 mins after the match until all of the opposing team´s supporters had left).
Inside the stadium was quite incredible. We stood in the heat, shoulder to shoulder with thousand of other supporters. On the other side of the stadium were the real Boca supporters and it was amazing to hear them play music and chant non-stop for the ENTIRE match. Ultimately the game itself was not particularly good and Boca lost 2-0, but it was quite the experience.
Our final days in BA were spent wandering the local parks, rowing on the lakes and wondering the miles and miles and miles of markets that were tucked into the narrow streets with European style buildings lining them. The best part of the markets were the constant sting of musicians playing for a few coins... just as one was fading into the background as you walked you could start to hear the next one up ahead. We even recognised some of the musicians from the Tango show we had been to.
So, all in all we had a fantastic time in BA and we would both have been happy to spend more time exploring the city.
One of the highlights of our stay was a walking tour in which the guide explained to us much of the incredibly turmultuous (is that a word) political history of the city and of Argentina and took us to many relevant sites including the presidential palace, Eva Peron´s office (now a museum) and a site of an old police station where many people were tortured to death as recently as 15 yrs ago. One of the most incredible things was the constant protests that, as was explained to us, are practically a daily occurence in Buenos Aires. Indeed, on the day we did the tour, the police were setting up the fencing around the main square (the fencing stays there to be set up & pulled down whenever there is a protest) and we passed a group of protesters with several men whereing scarves over their faces and carrying battons... still none of the locals seemed to even batt an eyelid as the protesters passed... it was just another day for them.
We also went to an obligatory Tango Show. We chose a very intimate one as opposed to the big theatre based productions that many people go to. Ours was in a small bar that had about 12 tables and the smallest area for the dancers. It was really quite impressive with all the high kicks and everything that no tables were sent flying. It was a fantastic night, with several professional couples dancing as well as traditional singing and a couple of 3 or 4 piece bands playing traditional music. Sara and I even got up and attempted a some dancing with the professionals... not a chance!! haha. What did strike me was that the tango is actually a very beautiful and sensuous dance when done well. The difference between the professionals here and those that dance in the many plazas and streets for money was very obvious.
No visit to South America would be complete without a trip to a soccer match, and no team is more famous than Marradona´s old club in Argentina, the Boca Juniors. So we joined a group and off we went to the match. We got to see a little of La Boca, the famous area near the soccer stadium where the brightly coloured houses that you see in most BA related articles are. We then had to wait as our path was blocked by riot police while all of the opposing team´s supporters entered the stadium (they also kept us inside for 40 mins after the match until all of the opposing team´s supporters had left).
Inside the stadium was quite incredible. We stood in the heat, shoulder to shoulder with thousand of other supporters. On the other side of the stadium were the real Boca supporters and it was amazing to hear them play music and chant non-stop for the ENTIRE match. Ultimately the game itself was not particularly good and Boca lost 2-0, but it was quite the experience.
Our final days in BA were spent wandering the local parks, rowing on the lakes and wondering the miles and miles and miles of markets that were tucked into the narrow streets with European style buildings lining them. The best part of the markets were the constant sting of musicians playing for a few coins... just as one was fading into the background as you walked you could start to hear the next one up ahead. We even recognised some of the musicians from the Tango show we had been to.
So, all in all we had a fantastic time in BA and we would both have been happy to spend more time exploring the city.
Iguazu Falls
Iguazu falls had been high on our list of places to visit, but unfortunately for us Sara´s time in Sth America was quickly coming to an end. There was no way we could ride there and get back to Santiago for her flight, so we bit the bullet and decided to leave the bikes in Santiago and fly to Iguazu falls and then Buenos Aires.
When we arrived at Iguazu, it was nothing like we had experienced for the last 3-4 months... Suddenly we had gone from the dry desert like landscapes of Western Argentina and Patagonia and stepped out of the plane into a tropical rainforest. The houses in Puerto Iguazu, the small town that acts as a tourist service town to the falls, were all made from the red mud that coated the ground everywhere and made a stark contrast to the dark green of the rainforest.
We stayed 1 night, then headed to the falls early the next day... WOW!!! WOW!!! and WOW!!! There´s not much more that I can say to describe these falls, except that you should look at the pics I´ve already posted. People that have been to Niagara and here say that Niagara is not nearly as beautiful. The falls themselves are 2 km long and consist of several sections, some with multiple small falls and then the ¨Gargantua del Diablo¨ the most amazing single waterfall I have ever seen, which sometimes creates a plume of mist that can be seen from more than 2 km away.
It was grey and rainy the day we were there, so we missed out on the thousands of butterflies that usually inhabit the area as well as the rainbows created by the mist from the falls. But the rain could not dampen our spirits and although it did dampen us a little, we had enough spray from the waterfalls and particularly when we took a jet boat ride which ran right up underneath one of the falls that we had excepted being absolutely drenched and the fact that it wasn´t cold just made it part of the experience. We even went for a swim off a small island that sits in the middle of the falls.
All in all it was an incredible day and we were both very happy we had forked out the money to make it there.
When we arrived at Iguazu, it was nothing like we had experienced for the last 3-4 months... Suddenly we had gone from the dry desert like landscapes of Western Argentina and Patagonia and stepped out of the plane into a tropical rainforest. The houses in Puerto Iguazu, the small town that acts as a tourist service town to the falls, were all made from the red mud that coated the ground everywhere and made a stark contrast to the dark green of the rainforest.
We stayed 1 night, then headed to the falls early the next day... WOW!!! WOW!!! and WOW!!! There´s not much more that I can say to describe these falls, except that you should look at the pics I´ve already posted. People that have been to Niagara and here say that Niagara is not nearly as beautiful. The falls themselves are 2 km long and consist of several sections, some with multiple small falls and then the ¨Gargantua del Diablo¨ the most amazing single waterfall I have ever seen, which sometimes creates a plume of mist that can be seen from more than 2 km away.
It was grey and rainy the day we were there, so we missed out on the thousands of butterflies that usually inhabit the area as well as the rainbows created by the mist from the falls. But the rain could not dampen our spirits and although it did dampen us a little, we had enough spray from the waterfalls and particularly when we took a jet boat ride which ran right up underneath one of the falls that we had excepted being absolutely drenched and the fact that it wasn´t cold just made it part of the experience. We even went for a swim off a small island that sits in the middle of the falls.
All in all it was an incredible day and we were both very happy we had forked out the money to make it there.
Mendoza
From Bariloche we spent a couple of uneventful days riding North to Mendoza. After the few days, Sara was also getting her confidence back in riding after the continuous string of problems we had had with he bike in the recent past. Her strength and determination to keep riding despite what she had been through impressed me more than I could have ever expressed to her. I think many people would have given in, particularly after her first crash outside of Perito Moreno.
We reached Mendoza and (after considerable effort) found ourselves a decent hostel with a small pool and some hammocks for chilling out and doing some reading. They were also kind enough to let us wheel our bikes through the reception and into the courtyard to keep them safe.
Our first night there, we joined those in the hostel for a traditional Argentinean Asado (BBQ). Wow! They really know how to cook there meat over there. Ínstead of the normal Australian style of using an incredibly hot bbq and cooking the meat for a short time, they cook slowly over ashes. The actual cooking took around 3 hours and I think they used about a 1:1 weight ratio of salt to meat... still it made for some incredibly tasty meat.
While in Mendoza, we did the typical tourist thing and did a ¨bikes and wines¨ tour. Basically, you rent a push bike and they give you a map of the local wineries and off you go. We visited a couple of wineries and tasted a lot of Malbec, which is a red that is typical of this region and is only grown in Argentina. Unfortunately it wasn´t my favourite variety, but we bought a couple of bottles of nice blends that we had tried. We also visited a small place that made handmade chocolates and liquors and purchased a green pepper liquor which was very spicy as well as a pomello liquor (the chocolates weren´t much to rave about).
Otherwise, Mendoza offered us the opportunity to enjoy some good food and do some relaxing. It was then back over the border to Santiago to catch our flights to Iguazu falls and BA.
We reached Mendoza and (after considerable effort) found ourselves a decent hostel with a small pool and some hammocks for chilling out and doing some reading. They were also kind enough to let us wheel our bikes through the reception and into the courtyard to keep them safe.
Our first night there, we joined those in the hostel for a traditional Argentinean Asado (BBQ). Wow! They really know how to cook there meat over there. Ínstead of the normal Australian style of using an incredibly hot bbq and cooking the meat for a short time, they cook slowly over ashes. The actual cooking took around 3 hours and I think they used about a 1:1 weight ratio of salt to meat... still it made for some incredibly tasty meat.
While in Mendoza, we did the typical tourist thing and did a ¨bikes and wines¨ tour. Basically, you rent a push bike and they give you a map of the local wineries and off you go. We visited a couple of wineries and tasted a lot of Malbec, which is a red that is typical of this region and is only grown in Argentina. Unfortunately it wasn´t my favourite variety, but we bought a couple of bottles of nice blends that we had tried. We also visited a small place that made handmade chocolates and liquors and purchased a green pepper liquor which was very spicy as well as a pomello liquor (the chocolates weren´t much to rave about).
Otherwise, Mendoza offered us the opportunity to enjoy some good food and do some relaxing. It was then back over the border to Santiago to catch our flights to Iguazu falls and BA.
San Carlos de Bariloche
After our great time at Futaleufu, we pumped up Sara´s flat tyre again, crossed our fingers and headed over the border and on toward the Tourist mecca and one of the largest towns of the region, San Carlos de Bariloche (also just known as Bariloche). What struck me originally on this ride was the difference between the Chilean side of the Andes and the Argentinean... It was almost immediate as we crossed the border that the scenery turned from wet rainforest type terrain to much dryer, open plains there was even a hawk or eagle circling overhead just as we reached this first plain... as if to add to the stereotype.
We were very happy to reach Bariloche on that same day without incident. Bariloche shocked me a little as we arrived and rode though miles and miles of slums that reminded me of those in countries like Peru. I hadn´t expected this from all the banter from other tourists about how beautiful the town was. It wasn´t until we reached the central tourist areas that I realised that most tourists obviously only get a small glimpse of this (much larger than I expected) town.
We found ourselves a hostel and settled in for a few days. We knew we had to be there a couple of days as I had a package that was supposed to be delivered there, but was now stuck in Buenos Aires.
While there we tried our had at Canyoning. Something Sara and I had talked about doing for a long time. It wasn´t exactly what I expected. More like following a small creek down a mountain, but we did have a great time jumping into rock pools, sliding down rocks and abseiling down beside beautiful waterfalls with a view of the lake in the background.
We also rode round a popular tourist circuit and spent a fair bit of time just relaxing and wandering around the town and sampling some of the locally made chocolate. It was a little too touristy for our liking, but a comfortable place to stop nonetheless. There also may have been a small cheese & salami related incident which has still to this day soured my taste for those foods and also delayed our departure from the town by a day.
We were very happy to reach Bariloche on that same day without incident. Bariloche shocked me a little as we arrived and rode though miles and miles of slums that reminded me of those in countries like Peru. I hadn´t expected this from all the banter from other tourists about how beautiful the town was. It wasn´t until we reached the central tourist areas that I realised that most tourists obviously only get a small glimpse of this (much larger than I expected) town.
We found ourselves a hostel and settled in for a few days. We knew we had to be there a couple of days as I had a package that was supposed to be delivered there, but was now stuck in Buenos Aires.
While there we tried our had at Canyoning. Something Sara and I had talked about doing for a long time. It wasn´t exactly what I expected. More like following a small creek down a mountain, but we did have a great time jumping into rock pools, sliding down rocks and abseiling down beside beautiful waterfalls with a view of the lake in the background.
We also rode round a popular tourist circuit and spent a fair bit of time just relaxing and wandering around the town and sampling some of the locally made chocolate. It was a little too touristy for our liking, but a comfortable place to stop nonetheless. There also may have been a small cheese & salami related incident which has still to this day soured my taste for those foods and also delayed our departure from the town by a day.
Futaleufu
ok... digging a long way back here, but hopefully I´ll get the blog up to date soon. After Chaiten, we limped our way to Futaleufu (see previous blogs for details) where we happened upon a fantastic and cheap hostel. We had decided to stay a couple of days since the Futaleufu river is classed as one of the top 3 in the world for white water rafting and Kayaking.
After our first night, we rocked up to a tour agency the next day and got straight on board for a kayaking trip. It was on the Rio Espolon rather than the Futaleufu, but given our practically non-existant kayaking experience, the class 2 & 3 rapids of the Espolon were the perfect level for us.
We had an absolutely fantastic day paddling around on the stunning blue/green river. It was even hot enough that we jumped into the icy water a couple of times... we probably needn´t have though as both of us managed to tip over in the (relatively) tame rapids we were negotiating. All in all, it was fantastic to forget our recent bike problems and have some serious fun!
That night we had been informed that there was a free concert by a famous Chilean Folkloric band Las Jaivas (The Crabs) at the soccer field. So along we went and were greeted by an intro more bizzare than I have ever seen... strange horns coupled with synthesiser and bizarre images of the Spanish Conquistadors abusing and attacking the indigenous people... That lasted for about 10 mins until the sound crackled and died... They tried a second time, but the same thing happened and they announced that they needed time to fix the ¨technical difficulties¨. After about 20 mins we left as we were exhausted from our big day. It was only on the way home that we noticed that they had blacked out half the town in order to supply enough power for the concert.... lol!
The next day we hit the real rapids of the Futaleufu for some white water rafting... again it was absolutely fantastic fun and on such a beautiful river! We were also very proud of the fact that we made it through the class 4 & 5 rapids without loosing a single person from the boat, despite having a couple of young children in our crew. We had watched while the 2 rafts after us both flipped on the 1 particularly difficult rapid of the course!
So that was Futaleufu, after which we crossed the border back to Argentina and headed up to San Carlos de Bariloche.
After our first night, we rocked up to a tour agency the next day and got straight on board for a kayaking trip. It was on the Rio Espolon rather than the Futaleufu, but given our practically non-existant kayaking experience, the class 2 & 3 rapids of the Espolon were the perfect level for us.
We had an absolutely fantastic day paddling around on the stunning blue/green river. It was even hot enough that we jumped into the icy water a couple of times... we probably needn´t have though as both of us managed to tip over in the (relatively) tame rapids we were negotiating. All in all, it was fantastic to forget our recent bike problems and have some serious fun!
That night we had been informed that there was a free concert by a famous Chilean Folkloric band Las Jaivas (The Crabs) at the soccer field. So along we went and were greeted by an intro more bizzare than I have ever seen... strange horns coupled with synthesiser and bizarre images of the Spanish Conquistadors abusing and attacking the indigenous people... That lasted for about 10 mins until the sound crackled and died... They tried a second time, but the same thing happened and they announced that they needed time to fix the ¨technical difficulties¨. After about 20 mins we left as we were exhausted from our big day. It was only on the way home that we noticed that they had blacked out half the town in order to supply enough power for the concert.... lol!
The next day we hit the real rapids of the Futaleufu for some white water rafting... again it was absolutely fantastic fun and on such a beautiful river! We were also very proud of the fact that we made it through the class 4 & 5 rapids without loosing a single person from the boat, despite having a couple of young children in our crew. We had watched while the 2 rafts after us both flipped on the 1 particularly difficult rapid of the course!
So that was Futaleufu, after which we crossed the border back to Argentina and headed up to San Carlos de Bariloche.
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