Whilst the road to hell may well be paved with good intentions the road to Santa Cruz (and ultimately Brazil) is paved with nothing more than dirt, misery and frustration. According to the bus company's timetables the journey takes 16 hours, but that is on a good day, a very good day, with a sober driver and a strong tail wind – I believe the last good day happened in 1958 when they first bought the bus they are still using.
Stories abound about the journey taking over 30 hours, with passengers having to help dig the bus out from the mud as during the rainy season (and guess what season we are in?) the road takes on all the qualities and appeal of the Somme – with the added aggravation of having to fend off millions of hungry mosquitos. Give me murderous Germans over mosquitos any day – at least we could play football. The cost is just over $15.
On the other hand, a ticket to fly to Santa Cruz is just $40. A simple flight over the Andes – what is the worst that could happen? Of course anyone who has seen the movie Alive will know the answer to that one, and I made sure to steer well clear of the Argentinian steak that was on the menu.
I touched down in Santa Cruz having smugly looked down on the road, and the cheapskate backpackers that were on it, the entire length of the way. Santa Cruz is over 4000m lower in altitude than Sucre, so being back to (almost) sea level the heat that we have been experiencing for the last few days has increased dramatically. It is seriously hot and humid here.
1 comment:
Just spent an hour catching up on the excellent blog!! you should be a writer forget the creative b*****x!!!
love to both Matt C x
ps. need you both to workwhen back!! hurrah you cry!!!
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