Hello all … I´m sorry I´ve been so MIA - I wish I had a decent excuse, but alas… none is forthcoming so I won´t try to make one up.
I would however like to update you ALL on the Rules of the Road here in Bolivia should you choose to brave the thousands of miles, chaotic plane schedules, and various altitude adjustments to visit your dear friend south of the border.
Please, do not be alarmed - this is all perfectly normal.
There are generally 4 forms of public transportation in this beautiful but rather physically harsh host country of mine. There are ¨flotas¨… or Greyhound like bus vehicles which can vary from relatively nice and odorless to… well… let´s just say it´s not that rare to find yourself sitting next to chickens, pigs, goats, flea infested dogs or possibly folks who aren´t quite as obsessive about personal hygiene as we Americans might deem normal (yes this is where all you 2-a-day shower takers must fess up !). These flotas are the main form of transportation for locals all over the country.
Indeed trains exist here, though I have yet to see one… kind of like Puff the Magic Dragon- you hear rumors of existance but you´re not really sure whether you want to see the truth. A flota from Tarija in the South to La Paz in the north would cost about 80 Bs (roughly $10 USD) and take about 24 hrs; the trip would be similar heading Northeast from Tarija to Santa Cruz. Possibly the local devaluation of time and schedules is partially based in the reality that it takes literally days to travel from one part of the country to another(this can´t possibly be the whole reason, but who knows).
The next smallest travel excitement can be found in the form of ¨Trufis¨- these are pretty small mini buses which travel specific routes - just read the slightly vision imparing stickers all over the front windshield to see where the trufi is heading and feel free to jump on or jump off at any time - just make sure to get good handholds becuase you have a window of just over 4 seconds to embark or disembark before the lumbering 1972 machine starts it´s whiplash like acceleration to it´s next patron. Leave your fear of claustrophobia at the door please. Legal capacity (if there were such a thing here), is only about 20 people for 15 seats or so, but worry not, surely travelling in this shaking machine, often held together with various exposed wires and paper clips (I kid you not), with a little over 30 people inside and huge bags of potatoes and live chickens on the roof is not only a comforting way to travel but relatively secure as well.
My personal favorite form of transportation are the taxi trufis or taxis. Taxi trufis run the same routes that trufis run but are just ´normal´cars - usually they´re a lot faster (and just as cheap as regular trufis 2 Bs. 50 Centavos) but the same oralfactory and physical delights await the trusting traveller here as well. A huge number of said taxis are tossed off cars from Japan… they land in Bolivia and their steering wheels are ripped out and put on the left hand side … no need to reconnect the wires to the speed or gas guages… when you run out of gas… literally propane off your bbq grill, the driver just pops to the trunk to reconnect his spare propane tank. Oh and don´t be alarmed if your confident taxi driver chooses to pass an overladden trufi going up hill around a sharp bend crossing the double yellow lines we seem to take so for granted up North - it´s all in a day´s drive.
Have you ever noticed the relative feeling of safety that´s created when we all follow the same driving rules¿ I´ve come to think of it as a certain peace of mind, un tranquilidad if you will, it´s the feeling that let´s me honk my horn on 495 when someone cuts me off without using a turning signal, or allows me a few unladylike comments about that person´s origins who didn´t give me the right of way at that stop sign… oh, and you know the list goes on.
Driving … or rather being driven here in Bolivia, is somewhat akin to the crazy and seemingly irrational society created by William Golding in his classic The Lord of the Flies. You see, certain elemental facts govern the rights to the road here.
Pedestrians walk the roads at their own risk (i´ve only been swiped once so far), when approaching a cross street - whether there´s a stop sign, traffic light, or often nothing at all - the driver with the faster reflexes has the right of way for he´s honked his horn BEFORE you and accelerated into the cross street before you could beat him to it. Bolivians aren´t ´into´ the straffing traffic practices often found in Rome or other parts of Italy, Red and Yellow lights aren´t EVEN suggestions here… they just add to the color of the streets. All the better, one might argue, to get used to driving without such guidance, as the traffic lights are turned off at dark in order to save on the electicity bill. Much like I imagine traffic arguements are avoided in the Jungle amongst panthers, snakes, monkeys, elephants, gorillas and the like - the most basic rule of the road here is the biggest get to go first - no matter what - pedestrians, dogs, small children, grandmothers - pregnant women suddenly in labor - all must accept that the right of way goes to whosever vehicle is more likely to do the greatest dammage.
We PCVs tend to take the C´est la vie approach to transportation here. If the wheels aren´t shaking loose of the wheel wells, all the doors close most of the way, and there´s a full steering wheel in place somewhere in the front of the transportation´device´ (we´ll call it)… we get in and laugh about which wheel might come off first if we hurtle downhill too fast.
Not to worry, if you DO manage to visit, we know a few reliable taxi drivers whose cars only harken back to the late ´90s !!
Don´t forget - you´re ALL Cordially invited !! (Besides, a Bolivian trufi ride will be much more culturally satisfying than your fall trip to Six Flags Great Adventures!!)
I promise to write more soon !
Besos,
SC, Sarah, Sarita de la Jungla
