A swing through South America

[RooFlyer]

Fabulous pics and landscapes!

There was apparently a joint Russian/Bolivian company up there with a geothermal power plant, but the site is quite some way from major population centres, so I do wonder about the utility.

Coming from the geothermal energy industry, I can say that its a ridiculous proposition!

 

[Scarlett]

Loving the photos and your report. It looks like an amazing part of the world and we're definitely putting it on our list of places to see.

The Viscacha reminds me of the rabbit in Monty Python's Holy Grail.

Highly recommend tour! And for about AUD160 per day, cheap too. Stunning landscapes.

Fortunately for us, these viscacha weren’t related to the terrifying Rabbit of Caerbannog as we had no weapons of any sort, certainly not a Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

 

[Scarlett]

To wrap up the tour we had a solid five hours of travel to get back to Uyuni, but it was broken up into sensible chunks.

The first was to a village for lunch, where we caught back up to the other car. A couple of llamas were grazing the grass near a mountain fed stream.




Then another rock stop. These formations were about 4-5 stories tall.








The final stop was the town of San Cristobal, a community that supports a nearby silver mine.


The church in the background, along with other elements of the town, was moved about 20Km due to the mine expanding. It was rebuilt in its current location brick by brick to replicate the original.





We got back into Uyuni about 1715 and were dropped at the tour company office. Most others had stored their larger luggage at the office. Some were on night buses to La Paz that evening. I headed back to the Casa de Sal hotel where I’d left my luggage and enjoyed a little more luxurious shower and bed.

No altitude sickness concerns at all during the tour; certainly helped by having already spent a few days in both Cusco and then La Paz. Further aided by having had Diamox tablets available from before proceeding to altitude from Lima.

Final thoughts: I guess the extra USD50 for the full tour was justified, as the 2-day tour offered as a replacement wouldn’t have taken in the full Andes experience. I have seen some pretty significant lines (stretching maybe a kilometre or two) for petrol so I guess there was enough in it for the tour company to suggest what they did.

The other thing to note is that until the middle of this year we were getting ~5 BOB to the AUD. As they’ve removed some currency controls we’re now getting 8-8.5 to the AUD so Bolivia is quite cheap to visit at the moment.

Next was to head down to the tropical Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

 

[Scarlett]

UYU-LPB-VVI OB305/OB668
B737-700
CP-2923
Both flights on time

The same aircraft that had delivered me to Uyuni a few days earlier was operating the return this day and then it continued on from La Paz to Santa Cruz.

An airline finally caught up with my golf bag here and demanded extra payment as I was exceeding my allowed 23Kg. (not sure why I was allowed 30Kg for LPB-UYU?) The cost for the extra bag for the two sectors: BOB115, or about AUD14.50 That is what I call reasonable extra charges!


UYU really is just a small room for a terminal.


We departed over the salt flats.


Quick 50 minute flight to LPB and no long or extended approach. Instead a turn from base at a closer distance.


It’s sad what you see slowly rusting away at some less common airfields.


Still going strong however.
(one for @jase05)


When I was first looking at how to get to UYU, this operator, Ecojet, were flying down there once daily in the morning. At some point they’ve stopped flying it so I guess lucky I stuck with BoA.

There was only a 50 minute transit at LPB and with boarding starting early I only had enough time to fill up my brew mug with a decent latte and head straight to the gate and board. Next leg I was in an aisle seat again and it was an unremarkable 50 minute sector.

Some notes on BoA:
- they consolidated two flights each morning to UYU into one aircraft and therefore it was full.
- luggage was offloaded from the B737-700 on both legs to and from UYU. As I had a window seat when departing UYU, it looked like one full standard airport luggage cart was either not loaded or actively unloaded before we departed. I suspect because I was connecting in LPB that my bags were loaded.
- no seats were available for last minute purchase to/from UYU. One of the other members on the tour had tried to book late and had to spend an extra night in Uyuni due to no seats available on the day I flew out. Yet, I had a vacant middle beside me as did a number of other rows toward the rear of the aircraft. Weight and balance needs I guess.
- BoA have no service on short domestic flights. No water or anything.
- BoA only sent notification of my changed flights (due to the consolidation of two flights into one) 24 hours before the flight, even though they had made the change likely weeks earlier.

 

[Scarlett]

Arrival at VVI: 35 deg C and humid. Quite the shock to the system. At least Uber works well in this, Bolivias largest city (bigger than La Paz). Booked a UberXL as it seemed cheap and the driver was already waiting in the car park area.

After setting off he asked me to cancel the ride. As I wanted to pay with the card in the app I noted that and he confirmed he had a machine and could take card. So I cancelled. Guess he makes more money that way as Uber aren’t taking their cut. On reflection probably shouldn’t have as I guess that means I’m no longer covered by any insurance (I guess generic travel insurance???).

I had booked an apartment at a hotel in the upmarket area of Equipetrol. Fine area to walk around and lento of restaurants and other services. Lots of high rise and apartments in the area.


One downside was that my apartment faced this construction site and they worked 07-1900.

On arrival at VVI airport I thought they must be hosting a Nigerian soccer team or something. Lots of green and white balloons, as well as green and white flags everywhere. Turns out it’s the local regional flag (but horizontal divisions on the flag, not vertical like Nigeria has). I reckon there were ten local flags to every Bolivian national flag I saw.

 

[Scarlett]

One of the main reasons for coming to Santa Cruz was of course the warmer weather, but also because the preponderance of Bolivian golf courses are located around this city.

First game was at Mapaizo GC back out near the airport.


Lovely and tropical but with no one really around (it took the assistance of a random gentleman I found in that clubhouse and about 10 minutes to find the secretary, so I could pay for the game - about AUD45 with a pull buggy) and a course in pretty mediocre shape. At least I was allowed to walk and by myself with no mandatory caddies here.


It was HOT.
Damn HOT.
Real HOT.

It felt like going up and playing in Cairns when you’re acclimatised to southern winter.

Also, mosquitoes that made Hexham Greys look like gnats. Natures cruel trick that if you seek the shade of the trees that’s where the main squadrons of mozzies are waiting: cook in the sun or itch and catch diseases? The main thing I hate is that I’m wearing white UV protection sleeves on my arms and every time I hit a mozzie on them it leaves a black splodge, or worse a a black and blood filled splodge.



Some interesting wildlife.
First was a family of capybaras (the world’s largest rodent). Unfortunately these were very timid and as I approached they made a small barking kind of sound and scurried for the pond.


Plovers that were more black and brown than our Australian white. They still made the same shill sound and had a go swooping, so unmistakable what they were.

Then these things that looked like little owls, but had built burrows in various places around the course. One of the pair ran for the hole if I went near, whilst the other stayed guard and flew away if I got closer.


Played okay but an entirely forgettable course. Uber was fine for the 25 minute journey to and from the course and cost about $8.

 

[Scarlett]

I’d then moved my next game of golf back a day due to the weather forecast for storms and 35mm of rain.

Good decision.




For a city in the tropics they really seem to have a lack of drainage. I’d scoped out a laundry place and took a bag of washing over (all the clothes from the Salar tour), but then it poured down for 10 minutes and most roads were flooded with about 10cm of water. Made my walk back to the hotel 1.5Km longer as I tried to find a path that didn’t involve walking through the water and getting my shoes soaked.

Then also went and found a barber for a haircut and beard trim. Happy with the results given my very limited Spanish and the staff having virtually no English.

 

[Scarlett]

The following day was overcast but no rain. Still plenty of puddles about but a much more pleasant 27 degrees maximum forecast.

Urubo is a newer suburb across the river from the main part of Santa Cruz city. It’s been (being) built as an integrated suburb with security guards at the main access roads and then schools, shops and sporting facilities contained within. The golf course is a couple of KM past the streets of larger and newer houses. Plenty of new development and construction going on around the course too. Although the golf course has been open for less than ten years it is already showing significant signs of deterioration. Upkeep of a large site in a tropical environment is difficult and costly and I’ve seen similar in plenty of places, especially though Asia. So, it was nicer than Mapaizo, but just felt, rundown.



Annoyingly, I was allowed to walk, but they had no pull buggies, so it was either walk and carry my bag (not a stand bag, so not designed to be carried around the course) or rent one of their overpriced electric golf carts and ride. I chose the latter.

I let some locals play though on the third hole as I was taking photos and as they cleared out ahead of me, decided to play two balls for the remainder of the round. May as well make use of the cart zipping around to different parts of the holes. When doing this I generally play one white ball and one coloured ball to better keep separate scores.



Long water carry par 3, 7th. This hole required a committed 4-iron as it was about 150m carry to the green. First ball into the heart of the green and sunk the three metre putt for birdie. Pulled the second ball right and long into the bunker and couldn't get up and down.


The back nine was more flatter and open, being set around some large lakes. Plenty of wildlife around again, including hundreds of capybaras, and these were like kangaroos on Australian golf courses; fairly content to just watch golfers go by unless you got within a couple of metres of them.




This was the 17th hole, an island green. Not particularly long even from the blue tees I was playing so a couple of solid 8 irons had both my balls safely on the putting surface.

 

[Scarlett]

VVI-GRU G3 7639
B737-800 Y+
PR-GUK
On time

As my Paranair flights had been cancelled, the new routing I booked to get to Montevideo was via GOL Airlines and their hub in GRU, Sao Paulo. I'd booked their Premium Economy fare which is the highest class for short haul Brazil and intra-South America. This came with one checked bag, a meal and eurobusiness style seating with a blocked middle seat. It also allowed access to the GOL Smiles lounge at GRU; important as I had a 7-hour connection. Bags were checked through to MVD.

The staff at Santa Cruz didn't know what a golf bag was and there was a bit of confusion until they connected that with the extra 'sport' baggage I'd purchased (damn expensive at USD100) with the ticket.


VVI has a couple of gates dedicated to international flights and this is where I waited. You can tell they're an LCC as they'd started calling for boarding whilst the aircraft was still taxiing in to the terminal on its arrival flight. Y+ gives group 1 boarding, and they do have dedicated boarding lanes (Smiles exec plus Group 1; then Group 2/3 lane; then a Group 4/5 sign - it seemed to be enforced and worked well - very few in Group 1)

You can see the regional green and white displays at this shop. Most flags didn't have any crest in the white band so this variant is likely an official regional government version.



GOL B737-800 at the gate.


No other international flights scheduled around the same time, so VVI looked very empty.

On taxiing the domestic gates could be seen. Here again was my old friend B737-700 CP-2923 who I'd taken three flights on. Next door is an old B737-300 (ex-Air NZ), and then a pair of BAe146s (or Avro RJ100 as FR24 calls them).




Another sad ending, with this B727 parked off in a field.


The GOL Y+ cabin is five rows and had about 9 of the available 20 seats occupied on this leg. There was a sad-looking VA-style shower curtain divider between the Y+ and Y cabins, but it remained fixed open the entire flight and pax moved freely in flight to use the forward toilet. In seat power in each row was two universal plug power sockets. No dedicated USB outlets.


Decent legroom, I guess 84 or 86cm pitch.


On both GOL flights I took, they made Ryanair-style announcements patting themselves on the back for closing the aircraft doors on time and then arriving on time. (with some added gaslighting by saying they were doing it because they understood how valuable our time was...) Schedule padding certainly helps!

Santa Cruz is a fairly well laid out and designed city. On departure could be seen some of the roads under construction for future proofing.


GOL indicates wifi and internet access on their planes. What they really mean is wifi accessed content, messaging for free and a cost in Brazilian Reals for one-hour or full-flight full internet access. There is a basic inflight map.


The meal served was a choice of a heated sandwich/roll: cheese and tomato; or turkey, cheese and tomato. There was also a dessert like a nut-topped creme caramel and drinks offered: beer, wine or soft drink. No sparkling water, so I chose grape juice. Drink refill was offered at some point.


Early arrival at a grey and dreary GRU. Strong *A presence noted on landing with 4 UA, 1 AC, 1 LH (747!), 1 TP and 1 TK aircraft all parked in the same area.


Arrival was at a bus bay. This guy was earning his pay, manoeuvring the stairs by himself.


The bus dropped us all at a grey concrete tunnel which seemed to be the connector walkway between terminals 2 and 3. Re-cleared security to enter and they took my water bottle from the previous flight, but let the German guy behind me keep his. Who knows why. A QR code scan indicated my onward flight would be departing from T3 so I started walking that way. Along the route I thought it best to check where the GOL Smiles lounge was and that was indicated as T2, so backtracked. Access granted based on Premium being indicated on my boarding pass. Note singular boarding pass; both flights were listed on the same flimsy thermal paper pass.

 

[Scarlett]

GRU-MVD G3 7482
B737-800 Y+
PR-GUE
On time

The GOL lounge is accessed by following the "Sala VIP" signs to a fairly well hidden access staircase. It's adjacent to the SkyTeam lounge which I guess is for the many LATAM departures. Enroute spotted this fellow Portuguese-speaking visitor.


Initially the lounge was quite busy so I found a bar-stool style seat along the windows. The view is of the tarmac but it's not what I'd call pleasant: GRU is a bit of a brutalist grey concrete jungle where LA aircraft outnumbered G3 by about five to one.



Whilst looking on FR24 for my connecting flight I noticed that Sao Paulo sits on the Tropic of Capricorn... (waves in the direction of the Pacific and the people in Rockhampton also sited similarly)


The lounge had a decent enough spread of various warm foods, drinks and snacks. It also had sparkling water on a tri-tap like the VA lounges, and some coffee machines which delivered something resembling an espresso coffee. Plenty of power outlets around the lounge but they were all Brazilian style sockets, which should normally take a europlug, but wouldn't accept my adapter because the pins were too thick.

A quick chat to the front desk staff and I had a borrowed adapter that worked fine.



It was a not unpleasant place to while away the hours.

Boarding was again called very early, and the gate for the flight had been updated to Terminal 2. It was in fact the first gate after exiting the lounge, so I got there and then waited for 20 minutes before boarding actually began. Again, very few in the Gp 1 line but we were boarded and then waited in the jet bridge for another 10 minutes. Next door was this 737Max from Dominican Republic LCC Arajet.


Departure was through the layer of cloud over GRU then fairly smooth flying.


Actually, the cloud disappeared quite quickly and we passed over what seemed like endless Brazilian towns: there was just no period where it was just a dark landscape outside.




Another uneventful flight. Catering was exactly the same as the previous flight, but with only four of the 20 Y+ seats filled, the front cabin crew had it pretty easy. Down back it seemed maybe 80% full and lights were off for almost the entire flight. No shower curtain between cabins on this aircraft. After two hours it was descent into MVD, but interestingly there was a what I assume was the "cabin crew, prepare the cabin for landing message", but only delivered in one language (assumed Portuguese - not in English). The cabin crew didn't really come through the cabin to do anything and I had kept working on my laptop, but got to the point of... 'I really thought they'd have asked me to put this away by now' so decided to pack up myself. Good thing I did as almost as soon as packing it and cables away, and putting shoes back on, I could see the lights of MVD and realised we were on finals.

Pulled up to our gate early again and then it was a pretty short walk to immigration with minimal waiting at 2am. No visa needed for Australians to enter Uruguay, so the only question I was asked was how long I'd be in the country then I was stamped in.

 

[Scarlett]

And with that:


100 countries visited for me.

Needed a bat to raise