PHOTOS TO COME...still having trouble with uploading them here
After my flight I arrived in La Paz and had to navigate through the visa on arrival process. There was lots of conflicting information on line as far as what was needed and how the process worked. I thankfully had everything in order (copies of my passport, return flight info, hotel location and name, who I would be meeting, yellow fever vaccination, bank statement and work information and of course $160…the true reason for the visa). I met up with the guide and we started the drive through the horrible traffic that is La Paz. Eventually we made it out of the city and started up into the mountains with a dinner break on the way that produced a few species downslope from the restaurant. We then continued the drive and arrived not long before the sun went down. Now for the lodging, a place called Casa Cunyii. It was rustic to say the least and despite my reaching out to the owner of the trip company before hand to make sure I had a private room when we arrived all three of us would be in one room. I mentioned this to the guide and he thought the original intention was that they would stay at a cabin just downhill from me but the cabin has a leaking roof. The guide then generously offered to move two mattresses into a small kitchen area next door so I did indeed end up with a private room. I’m sure they appreciated it too as my cold symptoms got worse at night and they would have dealt with me blowing my nose all night. There was no WiFi and no regular power to the place with the only power available coming from a battery pack that once it ran out we were out of power.
After another restless night due to my cold I was up around five to a cloud free sky and we were able to enjoy a breakfast outside before taking a walk along the infamous ‘road of death’ which ran right past our cabin. It is a seldom used road now as a new and much safer road replaced it about twenty years ago. It is a narrow dirt road that was the main transport route before the new road was built and it got its name from the large number of people killed in traffic accidents over the years. Now it is a great birding spot as there is little traffic and the road is easily walked. As we stated our walk one of the first species we saw and heard were a few Yungas Warblers, one of my two targets. The birds were quite active and vocalizing a lot so I got some good recordings and a few decent photos…I got better photos of them on the return trip up the road later in the morning. We ran across other species along the way with a lot of activity with 44 species tallied over approximately three hours along the road. Among them were several species new to me (and even a new one for the guide).
Once we finished up along the road of death we drive up the mountain to several different locations in search of Brown capped Redstart. We did a lot of walking and had to dodge on and off rain showers and we mainly succeeded in that endeavor before getting caught in a downpour at the end of the day and getting soaked. The various stops produced a variety of species with some areas being fairly active and others being quiet.
After getting soaked we started the drive back down the road of death to our cabin and that is when more adventures ensued. After a stop along the way the guide could not get his truck started. As we wee still several kilometers from our cabin it was not a good situation. Everything he tried failed and we ended up coasting down the road with stops along the way to try to figure out the vehicle issue. All was not lost as one of our stops had a nice mixed species flock that provided more species for the trip. We finally made it to the cabin and after I had a hot shower we had a late dinner outside. The guide arranged for a backup ride and a mechanic to arrive the following morning. With no truck available until around 10AM, the next morning of birding would have to be done around the area of the cabin only.
After waking up early at 3:40 I could not get back to sleep so tossed and turned until it was light enough out to see as our battery power ran out overnight so no lights beyond flashlights would work. I got packed up and prepared for the morning of birding before leaving for the airport. We enjoyed another breakfast outside and the guide was actually able to get his truck running again so we quickly packed up and started the final drive up the road of death. We added a few species along the way before arriving near the top and birding a side road that we tried multiple times before but always got rained out on (it was the spot we got soaked at the day before). This time the rain held off and we enjoyed a few mixed flocks over the course of a couple hours as well as great views of the mountains. Around ten the spare truck arrived with a mechanic and at this point the clouds moved in and cut visibility down but the rain mainly held off for us. With the mechanic looking at the truck the extra guide and the new driver took me to a few other spots further up the road before we would have to head to our lunch spot or a final meal before the long journey home. The main guide would meet us for lunch and at that point determine who would bring me to the airport. Although the visibility was poor at times one of the side roads turned up my last main target of the trip with a way to brief view of a Brown capped Redstart. It was with a mixed flock and showed only for a few seconds and was silent so no photo or recording, which bummed me out but I was happy to finally get it after so much effort. We then stopped for lunch and met back up with the main guide and decided the back up truck would be more dependable to get me to the airport. We made the drive without too much incident besides fighting traffic in La Paz and I even added a couple more species along the way. I had a ticket with BOA airlines, which is a Bolivian based carrier and my flight got delayed multiple times so the entire trip back became a chore to say the least with days spent in various airports before finally arriving home exhausted. I’ll spare you the details but I was never happier to finally be home.
The political situation in Bolivia looks to be headed down the same path that Venezuela followed years ago with politicians squandering the riches of the country and being so corrupt they sink the economy leading to rampant inflation. The lines just to get fuel were incredible. The poverty of the place was obvious and the political situation is not improving the lives of the citizens any time soon. There have been protests and other political unrest and I sadly think it will only get worse. It is really a shame as it is a beautiful country with a lot of biodiversity that will suffer for years without some major change. I was certainly nervous about going but figured if the political situation gets worse it would no longer be possible to get down there.
Overall for the trip I had 106 species in Bolivia with 29 of those being life birds. With these I now have a total count of 2156 species ever.
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