... that's what I thought on arrival in the provincial capital of Trinidad. The workshop in Sapecho would only start in four days. And as, in my calculation, the trip to Sapecho wouldn't take much more than a day, there was enough time to take a break, eat well, wash clothes and have my hair cut.
The next stop would be San Ignacio de Moxos, the main town of the Moxos region, a huge and mysterious wetland that I'd been looking forward to crossing since hearing about theories that this had been home to a little known but highly developed civilization. It wasn't until quite recently that traces of this civilization were discovered. In fact, I was so looking forward to travelling through the Moxos that I wasn't too bothered when I heard about a bloqueo that inhabitants of San Ignacio had begun the same day, especially as several people in Trinidad assured me that the bloqueistas were just closing the road for vehicles. Once there, one could pass the roadblock on foot before finding onward transport on the other side, I was told.
A few pictures of the Moxos ...
... where even in the dry season, several rivers have to be crossed by ferry.
And pictures of two of my fellow travellers.
The region is inhabited by people from very different backgrounds, including settlers from other parts of the country and indígenas whose ancestors have been living in this region for ages. As in other parts of the world, such a mix of people often brings with it conflicts of interest. Driving towards San Ignacio de Moxos, I wasn't aware that I was just a few kilometres away from a manifestation of such a conflict. It includes a march of hundreds of people (mostly indigenas) to La Paz to demonstrate against government plans to build a highway through their territory and a road blockade of highway supporters (mostly settlers).
The first surprise for me was that the first roadblock, consisting of two big trees, was put up at about 3 kilometres' distance of San Ignacio. We thus took our luggage and walked...
... to the next roadblock, this time a manned one.
The second surprise for me was that the people at the roadblock were not at all willing to let us pass. In the course of the next hours, all but one of my fellow passengers (who most probably knew some of the bloqueistas) sneaked through the roadblock. The atmosphere was a bit tense so I did not want to take a risk and waited for the permission to pass. The beautiful sunrise was the nicest thing during the next, surprisingly cold, hours that I spent sitting on my backpack.
In the morning, representatives of the press arrived and after a meeting, a bloqueista leader declared that we were allowed to pass ...
... and enter the town which was still rather sleepy in the early morning.
The third suprise for me was the third roadblock at the other side of town. Here, the guys did not at all seem in the mood for compromise but declared unequivocally: "Nadie pasa!"
After about two hours of constantly increasing heat, I had gained a few metres towards the lorries that constituted this roadblock. A man whom I had taken to be one of the bloqueistas signalled me to join him and, without turning to look at the other people there, I followed him through the blockade. José turned out to be another passenger who had got stuck in the bloqueo. At a safe distance and out of sight from the bloqueo, we had a rest and waited for a vehicle to the city of San Borja (a few hours' drive from San Ignacio).
After an hour in which not a single vehicle passed, we decided to walk in the hope of finding a village with possibility of onward transport.
Two hours later, we were lucky. Jorge, a man with a pickup, gave us a lift to San Borja. We were really happy and relieved.
From San Borja, Jorge intended to continue straight to La Paz and agreed to take me to Sapecho, which was on his way. There had been rainfall in some places and the road was partly in a bad condition.
After many hours of driving we got stuck in the mud and could only continue after 10 people helped us to push and pull the car out. We arrived in Sapecho around midnight.
The next stop would be San Ignacio de Moxos, the main town of the Moxos region, a huge and mysterious wetland that I'd been looking forward to crossing since hearing about theories that this had been home to a little known but highly developed civilization. It wasn't until quite recently that traces of this civilization were discovered. In fact, I was so looking forward to travelling through the Moxos that I wasn't too bothered when I heard about a bloqueo that inhabitants of San Ignacio had begun the same day, especially as several people in Trinidad assured me that the bloqueistas were just closing the road for vehicles. Once there, one could pass the roadblock on foot before finding onward transport on the other side, I was told.
A few pictures of the Moxos ...
... where even in the dry season, several rivers have to be crossed by ferry.
And pictures of two of my fellow travellers.
The region is inhabited by people from very different backgrounds, including settlers from other parts of the country and indígenas whose ancestors have been living in this region for ages. As in other parts of the world, such a mix of people often brings with it conflicts of interest. Driving towards San Ignacio de Moxos, I wasn't aware that I was just a few kilometres away from a manifestation of such a conflict. It includes a march of hundreds of people (mostly indigenas) to La Paz to demonstrate against government plans to build a highway through their territory and a road blockade of highway supporters (mostly settlers).
The first surprise for me was that the first roadblock, consisting of two big trees, was put up at about 3 kilometres' distance of San Ignacio. We thus took our luggage and walked...
... to the next roadblock, this time a manned one.
The second surprise for me was that the people at the roadblock were not at all willing to let us pass. In the course of the next hours, all but one of my fellow passengers (who most probably knew some of the bloqueistas) sneaked through the roadblock. The atmosphere was a bit tense so I did not want to take a risk and waited for the permission to pass. The beautiful sunrise was the nicest thing during the next, surprisingly cold, hours that I spent sitting on my backpack.
In the morning, representatives of the press arrived and after a meeting, a bloqueista leader declared that we were allowed to pass ...
... and enter the town which was still rather sleepy in the early morning.
The third suprise for me was the third roadblock at the other side of town. Here, the guys did not at all seem in the mood for compromise but declared unequivocally: "Nadie pasa!"
After about two hours of constantly increasing heat, I had gained a few metres towards the lorries that constituted this roadblock. A man whom I had taken to be one of the bloqueistas signalled me to join him and, without turning to look at the other people there, I followed him through the blockade. José turned out to be another passenger who had got stuck in the bloqueo. At a safe distance and out of sight from the bloqueo, we had a rest and waited for a vehicle to the city of San Borja (a few hours' drive from San Ignacio).
After an hour in which not a single vehicle passed, we decided to walk in the hope of finding a village with possibility of onward transport.
Two hours later, we were lucky. Jorge, a man with a pickup, gave us a lift to San Borja. We were really happy and relieved.
From San Borja, Jorge intended to continue straight to La Paz and agreed to take me to Sapecho, which was on his way. There had been rainfall in some places and the road was partly in a bad condition.
After many hours of driving we got stuck in the mud and could only continue after 10 people helped us to push and pull the car out. We arrived in Sapecho around midnight.
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