And in case youre wondering, I chickened out of the 30 hour bus journey followe dby 15 hours on the train, charmingly called the `train of death.`
The first thing I thought about Bolivia , after hearing my first Gracias, was `thank fuck to be in a Spanish speaking country!` My Spanish is far from great, but compared to my Portugese Im absolutely fluent. No longer is every comment and quesiton a complete mystery, now theyre just mildly confusing, jigsaw puzzles with odd pieces, waiting to be moulded into some kind of sense.
The second thing I noticed is that, for being the most mountainous country in South America, so far its incredibly flat. Gone are the consistent cotours of Brazil and Colombia that I had become accustomed to. I already miss it, and dont know hwo Im going to deal with the monotony of the English landscape again.
Nexst, I notice the people: much more indiginous looking than Brazil or Colombia, broader builds, flatter faces and noses. I havent stuck out this badly since Guatemala.
Theres more and more reasons for deja vu: after the westernization of Brazil and Colombia, decrepid buses and dirty streets had almost faded from my memory.
Another welcome return is cheaper prices: from nine quid for a bed in a 10 person dorm in Rio, Im paying four quid for a five person dorm here, and Santa Cruz is supposedly one of the pricisest places in Bolivia.
And although Id been told food in Bolivia wasnt great, and food in Brazil was awesome, there was no western breakfast. As good as it was, man cannot live on steak alone: sometimes bacon and eggs is a necessity. Of course, with that comes familar poor service.... Id forgotten that breakfast could sometimes take up half your day. And finally, good old reggaeton.... I dont particularly like reggaton, but after so many months of it incentral america, I find it strangely comforting.
Our hostel also has the Spanish style courtyard with plants and hammocks, and a pair of Tucans. At first I thought it was kinda cruel to have their wings clipped, but they seem happy enough, hopping around from floor to trees. They also like to give u a cheeky nibble, especially on your toes: when you open the door to the shower and that big beak is pointing at you, you do feel a bit vulnerable.
And when theyre hosing down the floors, they tel the birds to get out of the way: their nickname seems to be pookey tookey. ¨Hey, Pookey tookey... Pookey tookey!!!¨
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