Vive Che!

We found out late last week that there was a new public holiday in Bolivia to celebrate the Aymara new year, usually it is only in La Paz that this is a day off but this year it spread to the whole of Bolivia, this meant that we had Monday off work, so a 3 day weekend and I finally got to do the Che trail.

We set off on our full cama bus which was very comfortable indeed at just after 8 o clock on Friday night. The bus journey although comfortable was one of the worst I have endured during my time here, infact only topped by the return journey! The trip was filled with a bad western movie, a crying baby, a woman who had this disgusting hacking cough which sounded as if she was being sick, people smoking on the bus, and the most unbearably stuffy and humid conditions. All in all a very fun 12 hour ride, punctuated by a 2.30am toilet stop in the middle of nowhere, with some pretty grim toilets lit by candlelight, probably for the best that we couldn´t see very much to be honest!

We arrived in Santa Cruz at around 7.30ish, quickly grabbed some breakfast and took a taxi to the stop where the micros and trufis depart to Samaipata. We finally located a micro and set off not long after 9, the trip wasn´t a long one, maybe 2 and a half or 3 hours, but this bus was packed, some people actually stood for the entire trip, others just sat in the aisle! The road was pretty bad but we finally got there around lunchtime.

Samaipata was absolutely beautiful, probably my favourite place I have visited so far in Bolivia. It was clean, quiet, not polluted, had lovely restaurants and places to stay, the people were very warm. It felt very mediterranean, we only stayed a day but I could have stayed for weeks!

We grabbed some lunch in a nice little cafe called La Chakana, I had falafel for the first time in 2 months and it was so bloody good, I miss falafel and houmous so much! After lunch we headed off in search of some tour companys to get some quotes for the Che trail, we went to one which was pretty expensive and after this we stumbled upon a group called the road runners, they quoted us a much cheaper price and seemed like fun guys so we decided to go with them on the Saturday morning.

We sadly did not get a chance to go to El Fuente, the Inca ruins in Samaipata, because it was too late in the day, this was a shame because they are supposed to be pretty incredible and also everyone was descending on the town to celebrate the Aymara new year at the ruins. We went for a little hike up a hill and had a great view over the town. As everyone was apparently flocking to the town for the celebrations we were told it was going to be extremely difficult to find a bed for the night. The road runners suggested some places to us, and thankfully the first place we tried had room for us. We got a room for the 5 of us, four of us had beds, Jamie ended up on a mattress on the floor! in a hostel run by this really sweet old couple and it was only 25bs each (2.50!) very cheap, it was a marked improvement on the dive of a hostel we stayed in in Chapare.

We went to a restaurant in the evening and just chilled out, got an early night in preparation for the Ruta Del Che. We went back to La Chakana in the morning, for breakfast, I had an absolutely massive bowl of fruit with yoghurt was delicious! Maarten our Dutch tourguide picked us up just after 9 and we set off in our 4 x 4 truck for the trail. The 5 of us and our driver crammed into the truck during the first part of the trail but after that we spent the majority of the time in the back of the truck, which was incredibly fun, you got great views, although a totally numb bum was the price to pay!

The route to Vallegrande was a beatifully scenic one, surrounded my mountains as far as the eye could see. We arrived in Vallegrande at lunchtime and after having some mediocre Chinese we set off for the town of La Higuera the place where Che met his end. We got to the Churo, the mini canyon, where Che and his followers were captured at mid afternoon. We hiked around 45 minutes, most of it downhill, to the place where Che and his group were surrounded, many were killed and the rest taken to La Higuera. It was extremely surreal being in the place where all this took place. We even saw the rock under which Che was hiding when he was shot in the leg and the game became virtually all over. We then had a pretty tough hike to get back to the car, especially as we had to do it before nightfall, this meant walking far too quickly, up a very steep route! We finally made it back to the truck just before dark and then set off to the tiny village of La Higuera. It felt pretty creepy to be sleeping in the town where Che was murdered.

We stayed in this really nice hostel for the night (all included in our tour price) owned by a lovely couple who were vegetarians! The village only got electricity last year so the only places in the hostel that were lit were the kitchen and bathroom, the rest was lit by candlelight which was really pretty. They made us a delicious omelette for dinner, which must of contained at least 6 eggs it was absolutely huge! We chilled outside and then went to bed, the rooms were really nice. I then discovered that I had been bitten to shreds overnight in Samaipata, forgot to put my repellent on, oops! They did a pretty good job, in particular the one who bit me on my eyelid, which caused it to swell so that I looked like I had been attacked!

On Sunday morning we set off to the schoolhouse (now a museum) where Che was executed, it was unbelievable to be on the ground where he was killed, but at the same time incredibly sad. The museum had little artefacts and told the tale of Che and the guerillas, and there was a big wall with messages and photos of people who had visited. We went to try and speak to the lady who served Che his last meal but unfortunately she was not in, which was a shame.

After this we set off in our truck back to Vallegrande, the route was again incredibly beautiful, and we stopped along the way to have a picnic in the mountains, which was very scenic indeed. We got back to Vallegrande and went to the laundry room in the hospital where Che´s body was exhibited after his death, it was chilling to see the place well recognised from the famous photos after his death. The place has now been covered in graffiti and messages from people who have made the pilgramage to this spot. We paused and reflected here for a time.

We finally headed to the secret grave which was undiscovered for many years, the bodies no longer lie here, they were exhumed, and Che´s was returned to Cuba. The bodies were hidden for many years, and once they were located, the only reason they knew it was Che was because his hands had been cut off, something which was done so that he could not be identified infact worked in completely the opposite way

This marked the end of the Che trail, I am so glad that I got to do it and I can leave Bolivia and indeed South America content in the knowledge that I managed to fulfil one of my main aims of my trip. We took in beautiful landscape and scenery, stayed in picturesque towns but most importantly we followed the trail of the last moments of the revolutionary icon. I will never forget the trip, it was definitely my favourite I have undertaken in Bolivia.

We left Vallegrande on a "semi-cama" bus which infact was just a regular coach! Me and Rocio were stuck in the backrow so our seats did not recline at all, it was truly the most uncomfortable 12 hours ever! The road was the most awful I have been on in Bolivia, I could not see much of it, but it just felt truly horrendous, it was so bumpy. Add to this a woman next to me who was leaning on me and snoring, a couple of really loud obnoxious German girls, and the bus getting a flat tyre at 2.30 in the morning meaning we all had to get off and wait at the side of the road! and you have the bus journey from hell. Safe to say I got pretty much no sleep, but it was worth it for the weekend we had had.

The Che trail was amazing and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to visit all the different places we did over the weekend. Vive Che!