Aaahh, it seems we have found the delay! After a half hour of driving from the toll booth back-up, we are now
stuck here in a major traffic jam. It appears a bridge has recently gone out. A dirt-road-detour-route has been built
across the river, which is now mud bound, causing several large trucks to be stuck. The locals are using a
tractor to try to pull them out. To the right of the bridge the road is a complete mud slide. One bus has gone
over the edge of the ditch and now sits abandoned, leaning against the side of the cliff.
We sit for another good hour waiting. The drivers are impatient. If they see a space on the road they pull ahead
hoping to get closer to the source of the problem, or to be ready for a head start when it clears. The only problem is...
on the other side of the blockage the same logic is applied, as you can see here (notice the truck nose to nose
with the bus in the right lane). The entire road space is packed with honking vehicles but no one can go anywhere.
Everyone has a loud and very vocal say in how they figure the mess should be cleared up, but no one really knows what to do.
Many people have gotten out of their vehicles to check out the problem, while others use this as a perfect
opportunity to sell their goods along the road to the waiting cars full of people. Pop, water, fruit, snacks, food... it's a
traveling fast food market. We chowed down on a fabulous piece of spicy chicken, rice and noodles...
fresh hot and delicious... certainly beats KFC!
Back on the road again the view has become a visual feast, a lush, bright green landscape punctuated with rich shades of paprika.
Our 2 hour trip has become a 4 hour escapade of crazy delays and traffic jams, but also an interesting experience of
Bolivian life. We have now arrived at 4 pm to our first destination, El Fuerte. This is one of the children we met at the site,
and Daniel, a young friend of our driver. Daniel is an exchange student from Texas. He is in Bolivia for one year and
works as a volunteer in the Amboro National Park. Amboro is one of the most pristine parks in Bolivia and covers more than
1.5 million acres. It encompasses four different biodiversity zones, including a part of the Amazon basin, subtropical forests,
temperate woodlands, and the cool mountain terrain of the Andes. Daniel is involved in teaching the local people, park
management and marketing skills. Their goal is to support the development of the park into a reliable, economic
resource while maintaining its natural beauty as a tourist attraction and homeland for a wide variety of tropical wildlife. The park
is home to approximately 700 species of wild birds, monkeys and other animals. Daniel was an excellent guide and
a good source of information as we toured the ancient ruins of El Fuerte.
The El Fuerte ruins are found near the small town of Samiapata. Excavations have revealed that the first men who inhabited
this site belonged to an Amazon tribe around 800 AD. While other tribes lived there as well, it is certain that the Incas inhabited
this place from the late 15th Century until 1530. The Spanish arrived around 1540 encountering an Inca fortress; they
deserted the site in 1629. Although much excavation work has been done, the site, which may be as
large as Machu Picchu in Peru, is now largely covered by dense vegetation.
This rock formed the ceremonial part of the complex. It consists of fragile red sandstone which enabled the various cultures
to sculpt the entire rock. On the top of the rock there are two parallel running canals, with a length of 26 metres. In between
are zigzag patterned engravings. It is believed that priests held rituals, pouring liquids like water, chicha (a fermented corn drink)
and even blood through the canals as an offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth). It is interesting to note that when
there is water running through the zigzag shaped canals, the appearance of a slithering rattlesnake is given.
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