How To Live Like a Rockstar When You are Not One...
Nov 18 Baja California Roadtrip, San Ignacio to Todos Santos. It can be scary, riding shotgun across Baja, Mexico, with a girl who nearly runs a stop-sign in a town and then nearly rear-ends a truck slowing down for a speed-bump…all within about 30 minutes. But, you make due, try not to pay attention, and you seem to get through it. I ended up behind the wheel for our Baja California Roadtrip from about 15:00 and drove for the next...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 25, 2014 · Last modified January 4, 2017
La Paz to Copacabana: Train Wreck of a Day. May 25. Neither of us could sleep at all. It was 10am and though my body was tired, and my brain was not racing, but it would not let me rest. And my stomach is still wonky. So, we decided to try to start our day which was actually just a continuation of the previous day. I felt terrible and there was no energy at all in my body, but we...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 24, 2014 · Last modified December 11, 2016
La Paz: Route 36 Cocaine Bar. May 24. I hit the free city walking tour of La Paz and it was awesome. – We started in front of minimum security San Pedro Prison, most famous for its place in the book ‘Marching Powder.’ There are only 15 guards at a time for 2,500 inmates, and the guards do not even enter the prison. The prison is totally policed by the inmates who establish rules and a hierarchy. All inmates pay...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 23, 2014 · Last modified January 5, 2017
La Paz: Israeli Manners. May 23. Two Israeli girls were sitting behind me on the bus. One of them kept on putting her feet up on the back of the seat so that they overhung where I was sitting to show her Israeli manners. It was driving me nuts, but I was tolerant. It was muddy outside and when a chunk of mud fell on my seat, I slapped her on the foot and told her to keep her...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 22, 2014 · Last modified January 5, 2017
Rurrenabaque to La Paz: Mucking Through the Muck. May 22. Yesterday we were on the incredibly rough road on the way from Santa Ana to Rurrenabaque. We were driving in a Toyoto mini-van. That road is one of the worst I have ever been on in my life and it destroys vehicles. I am not sure how tour operators can make money. Those mini-vans drive 3.5 hour into the Pampas every day and 3.5 hours back again on an unimaginable...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 13, 2014 · Last modified December 11, 2016
La Paz to Rurrenabaque: You Got to Get Out of Town and Get Filthy! May 13 and 14. The idea of moving out of my private room and into a dormitory in my hostel was so unappealing that I decided to just get out of town. I need to get to the Amazon anyhow, so I weighed my options. All the planes leaving from La Paz to Rurrenabaque were full today, tomorrow and there are only a few seats left...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 12, 2014 · Last modified December 4, 2016
La Paz: How Did it Get to This? May 12 Well, it got ugly last night in La Paz. I had altitude sickness all day after we got down from Huayna Potosi, but my night time I was feeling quite celebratory. The English boys and I got at the booze, and I decided to drink hard liquor, which never works out well for me. But it was my birthday at midnight. I blacked out most of the night, but I...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 11, 2014 · Last modified November 23, 2016
Huayna Potosi – Climbing a Mountain…Really…. 9-11 May. My friend Ben and I drove breakfast into ourselves and got into a van that took us to the mountain climbing supplies agency store. I have no idea why I actually signed up for this, but here I was. It was terrible to get the supplies. I guess there have been so many gringos to come through the agency that they do not care and were not much help at all to...
Bolivia 2014 / Extreme Adventure / Writing
by The Beave · Published May 11, 2014 · Last modified July 7, 2016
Mountain Climbing – Huayna Potosi, Bolivia. My friend Ben and I drove breakfast into ourselves and got into a van that took us to the mountain climbing supplies agency store. I have no idea why I actually signed up for this, but here I was. It was terrible to get the supplies. I guess there have been so many gringos to come through the agency that they do not care and were not much help at all to get me...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 8, 2014 · Last modified December 4, 2016
La Paz: Death Road. May 8. There was no way I was willing to hung over for today, so I was a very good boy last night. Not all of the boys were though, and there were some hangovers as we headed out of La Paz to Death Road. It cost us 450 Bolivianos for a downhill suspension bike, all equipment, two meals, and a van to follow us on the drive. It was cold at the summit where we...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 7, 2014 · Last modified December 4, 2016
Beautiful La Paz. May 7. If you are looking for a pretty city, go and check out Beautiful La Paz. It is sort of in a bowl of a mountain and the city climbs high with earth brown houses all around it. It is one of the prettiest cities that I have ever seen in my life. I was hanging out with the English boys and sort of talked myself into climbing a mountain with them. I am getting fat...
Big Beaver Diaries / Bolivia 2014
by The Beave · Published May 6, 2014 · Last modified November 30, 2016
Cochabamba to La Paz: Living on Buses. May 6. We arrived in Cochabamba at about 6am. I ran into an Israeli/Dutch girl in the bus station there that I knew from Potosi and Sucre. The Dusty Gringo Trail… We caught a taxi to a hostel that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, which also seemed to be in the richest area of the city, which we assumed was the part built with cocaine money. We stayed at the...
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