We returned to the wild rover to find out that two couples we had met in Ecuador were staying there so we went out with them for the weekend. On the Sunday all fears of a police inspection disappeared and the wild rover resumed its old ways. Oh . Dear. It was like waking up in a frat house but with less dignity. Loads of drunk lads with their muscles out shouting 'top off!' And forcing people to kiss each other and down drinks. Blerg.
so luckily we had booked to cycle down the Death road the next day . It used to be the main road from la Paz to the yungas, and at that time nearly 200 people died in traffic accidents every year. It took 17 years to build the alternative road that involves 19 bridges and opened in 2006. Nowadays the death road is the domain of foreign cyclists . It's actually pretty easy for a cyclist, but I can't imagine trying to manoeuvre the sharp corners and sudden drop offs in a bus or a car. Our guide, Noel, threw a rock off one edge and it took 5 seconds to hit anything. He had to do this because we spent the whole thing in a rain cloud! So we missed the supposedly stunning views, but the ride was so much fun I don't think either of us cared.
When we got to the bottom we checked in at the senda verde, an Eco lodge turned animal refuge. We spent two days hanging out with parrots, turtles, ducks and monkeys- all rescued from the black market. We even met a spectacled bear, one of the rarest bears in the world. The majority of the animals were free to roam wherever but stayed close to the human lodgings because they got food and were used to human contact.
In fact, we were the one who had our meals in a cage while they messed about outside. The monkeys could even get into your cabin if you didn't lock it properly. indeed, dermot had a bit of an altercation with one on our last day.
A few others, like the bear and some aggressive monkeys had to be kept in enclosures or cages. This was really sad as they could not be released because they were too tame, and would be vulnerable to attack by other animals or being captured again by humans. It seemed to be a bit of a circular problem. Like most animal refuges in Bolivia it runs on tourist volunteers who pay money to work there. I can't help thinking that this is not a good long term solution and that local people need to be trained up and given a proper wage to help educate the local communities. But Bolivia has a lot of other problems and very few resources, so animals are not top priority at the moment.
The spider monkeys were my favourites, so chilled out and happy to play with other monkeys. They were really affectionate and loved hugs; although it took time for them to trust you. We were taken into the cappuchin monkey area too. These are some of the most intelligent monkeys in the world and you could really tell. They were like human children and would go straight for your pockets, undoing zipps and trying to search up your sleeves for food. They can even do certain types of abstract thought, so that if you present them with a closed hand they can imagine that somethings in it.
On our last day we didn't want to leave. I would have loved to have been able to stay and volunteer there. then, As if she knew what we were all thinking, nina the spider monkey strolled up, plonked herself on dermots lap and fell asleep while we were waiting for the taxi.
The taxi back to la Paz was a slightly more abrupt introduction to bolivian transport. They have an unexplained habit of cobbling parts of their main roads. which doesnt make that much difference as only 10% are paved anyway. this is actually probably a good thing as when taxi or bus drivers catch a sniff of tarmac they put pedal to the floor with none of such western trivialities as checking mirrors or even changing gear. Suffice to say that it was a lot scarier than riding down the death road.
