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    Bolivia.  I traveled to Bolivia on my first trip to South America 1984. Crossing by train from São Paulo, I was among many international"viajeros" . Many of us "gringos" were using the South American Handbook to find our way around. At the end of the Brazilian train line in Corumba, we got our visas and vaccinations and crossed the border into Bolivia. In the nearby town of Porto Suárez, we boarded the train which crossed the plains to Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The tracks were so rough and irregular that made picture taking almost impossible. The train cars were filled with farmers, villagers, and soldiers . There was no drinking water and only warm sodas and beer on board. In a kitchen car, like a cookhouse on a ranch, food was prepared and delivered to your seat in a bowl with a spoon. Burlap sacks, containing foodstuffs and other things, blocked the aisles almost everywhere making it difficult to walk. A small bicycle was stuffed vertically, in the bathroom. The train stopped several times during the night, for hours at a time. In the small towns along the tracks, villagers sold food and drinks at the stations. Some travelers rode on top of the coaches. Apparently the name "tren del la meurte", death train, came from people falling off to their deaths. When we finally arrived in Santa Cruz, there was a transport strike, so we hired a jeep to take us into town. After a few days we decided to board the plane to La Paz. With the buses still on strike, we walked to the airport early in the morning and boarded a plane to La Paz , the worlds highest capital city. (5,000 meters) I had "soroche", altitude sickness, for a week. Taking medicine and chewing cocoa leaves from the market, my body finally adjusted to the altitude. After 10 days exploring La Paz and and the snow capped mountains, we boarded a bus, to continue our voyage to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titikaka, and then continued on to Peru.

Photographs and text by John O'Heron  ©2012