Two weeks ago we went to Coroico. It is about a three hour drive out of La Paz and it is a completely different world. It is literally the jungle with warm humid weather. Just the drive there is amazing. The climate changes and the landscape goes from rocky mountains to mountains covered in trees and vegetation. To get there you have to go UP then all the way down. We literally drove through the clouds.
I have to say my only complaint about Coroico are the 50+ mosquitos bites I still have. These were some killer mosquitos and for some reason they wanted to attack me. Thank goodness they left Sammy alone and Luka only got three-four big bites, but my legs and arms look as if I just had the chicken pox (which I know I don't have). I hope they clear up soon.
Well, Coroico was treat. It was great to getaway and see some of the real Bolivia. We live in the Zona Sur, it is sort of the Wysteria Lane of Bolivia, and it was very refreshing to be in a real town.
The five of us (Evelin the nanny came with us) rented a taxi so that we could have our own personal tour guide, but really it was because there was no way we were going to drive down some of these roads. I mean you felt as if you were literally going to fall off the mountain. Our taxi driver was great and he manuevered his Toyota really well.
Look at this photo...one more step and Luka and JJ would have slide right down. It was a little scary.
Our first stop were the three waterfalls. I left the hotel in flip flops that morning....NOT A GOOD IDEA. I nearly killed myself climbing the waterfalls like that. Next time I really need to wear shoes. Then we were headed to the river. Luka was impressed by the strength of the water.
All this excitement made Luka very tired.
Sam was very happy in the taxi reading his picture book about the jungle. And yes no car seat...I know, we didn't have a choice. What can I say...it was truly an adventure.
We headed back to downtown Coroico for lunch. We invited Jaime our taxi driver to join us. It was a small little restaurant in a backpacker hotel with a spectacular view. Here are JJ and Luka taking breather on a bench after lunch:
Typical Bolivian Cholita.
After lunch we were off to Tocaña - one of 5-6 small villages in Bolivia with Afro-Bolivianos. Luka was a star there. The black Bolivian folks could not get over that we had a black son and he was really from Africa...a real African in thier village. They are very proud of their African roots, but it is rare to have a visit from a Mozambican three year old. I have mentioned before on the blog the fact that there aren't many black people in La Paz. I can count on my hands the number of black people I have seen, so we are used to Luka being stared at in town, but I thought Afro-Bolivianos wouldn't even blink to see Luka. But they all wanted to talk to him and hear him speak Spanish and English...Luka was happy to entertain them.
Luka and JJ making friends...
This is the welcome center in Tocaña...I am serious. They invited us to come into this room and watch a video about Afro-Bolivianos and buy some souvenirs. It is also a place where grungy Argentinian Backpackers, mostly students, come and hang out. Really interesting, but I am soooooo over backpacking...ha ha ha.
To see all the photos from our jungle adventure click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment