Day 103 - Are we going to be stuck in Bolivia forever?

February 26 - Santa Cruz, Bolivia

We woke and went for a run to a nearby park that the hostel worker recommended.  The park called Parque Urbana was urban alright.  It was full of trash!  In comparison to parks we had visited in the rest of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, this park was downright disgusting.  Nonetheless, we ran zig zag laps on the trails, passing local Bolivians doing the same.

We ate breakfast at the hostel then walked to a nearby local craft gallery. The items were from villages nearby and everything was so beautiful!  It is called Artecampo - a nonprofit fare trade store - Highly recommended!

Feeling mobile, we then took an uber to an Indian restaurant for lunch - we both had the buffet which was fresh and delicious.  From there we headed to a bioreserve on the edge of town, called Güembé Biocentro.  We started with a guided tour, which took us through the gardens, a butterfly garden, an aviary, a jungle full of giant turtles, and a beautiful orchid garden.

 Our guide was a young woman, and her choice of clothing made us laugh - Guia (guide) on one side and Sexy on the other!

 The aviary was surprisingly awesome!

Apparently they do yoga here when the sun comes through the opening.

There was kayaking on a little lake,

and mini golf.

There were several pools, and we swam enjoying the cool water and blaring reggaeton.

We caught an uber back to town, sharing with a German woman who lived in Paraguay, grabbed dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant, then went back to the hostel to kill a bit of time and get our bags.

Then the fun really started.

(warning - the following includes many details  - by Evan)

Our flight was at 2 AM (gotta love those redeyes!) and the airport was about 45 min away.  We decided to go early, rather than trying to find a ride at midnight.  At about 9:30 PM we got in our Uber and all was well.  Pretty strange that we can hail an Uber in Bolivia but hey it is better than a cab. Once we got in the car we were off to the airport.  Evan attempted to make some small talk with the driver- practice makes perfect!

Along the way, Evan was watching and listening to the driver’s cell phone GPS giving him directions to the airport (Chelsea was taking a snooze). When the exit to the airport approached, the driver got visibly nervous, started to take the exit, then jerked the wheel back to the highway. He missed the exit, for no apparent reason.  Oddly, Google Maps gave him a new route that was going to take another 50 minutes to get to the airport instead of 10 minutes more on the original route. No big deal we thought, we have plenty of time to get to the airport.

As the driver started rolling down an unlit dirt road, we started to ask ourselves why Google would choose this route.  Things really got interesting when we approached a large speed bump after we got back onto a paved road. The driver approached the bump cautiously, then as the two front wheels went up and over the bump we head and felt a huge SCREEEEAAAAAAAAACCHHHHHHH as the underside of the car ground its way over the concrete barrier.  Chelsea woke up to this noise, looked around the pitch black and started to wonder what the heck was going on.  Her normal instinct would be "OMG we are being kidnapped" but she quickly realized the look on the young driver's face was pure horror, and this back road was not his intent.

Other cars on the same road cleared the same bump apparently without incident. The driver audibly whimpered. His poor car. A short distance later, the same style bump appeared. No where to go for the car except up and over again. Sadly, the same fate. SCREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAACCCCHHHH! The driver now was definitely stressed out. What kind of a road is this? Two more speed bumps had the same result. We were thinking soon that the car might lose the muffler, or worse.

After clearing the giant speed bumps, we thought we were in the clear, until Google told us to turn onto what appeared to be a field approach style dirt road, complete with ruts in the road at least a foot deep. What the heck?!  How does Google Maps even consider this a road?? The driver was seriously contemplating taking this road when we both told him “NO!” in Spanish at the same time. 

We then told him to just turn around and go back to the highway. The driver was relieved.

Once we got back on the highway a few u-turns to get back to the exit we originally missed and we were finally at the airport. At this point it became brutally obvious that the poor driver had never driven to the airport before, because he ended up driving into a parking lot intended for emergency vehicles and airport staff. No big deal, we thought - we made it!

After apologizing to the driver for all the problems we got in the back of a very long line to check in for our flight. Still had plenty of time for our 2am flight.

But the fun was not over.

Once we got to the front of the line we handed our passports to the clerk at the counter. We told him where we were headed, and he quickly asked for our passports and proof of Yellow Fever vaccination. This caused Chelsea's heart to skip a beat, but she pulled up her vaccination record on the phone.  Evan handed the clerk his yellow card that is the record of the vaccine, and Chelsea explained that she had been vaccinated, she just didn’t have the card. The clerk quickly stated that without the card, we could not fly to Costa Rica. We both laughed and tried again to explain that Chelsea had the vaccine, just not the yellow slip of paper. We even explained, then showed the medical record showing the date she received the vaccine, and where the vaccine was administered, and that is was ok to get in to the county. Again, the clerk quickly stated that without the yellow slip of paper for Chelsea, we could not fly to Costa Rica.

At this point, we asked to speak with the leader of the airline team at the check-in counter. When she arrived we explained our situation. She nodded, then stated that Costa Rica requires that all passengers arriving from Bolivia have proof of vaccination for Yellow Fever, because parts of Bolivia are at risk for the disease. We again stated that we understood, and that Chelsea has the vaccine, just not the yellow slip of paper. The group leader then explained that without the yellow slip of paper we were not going to get on our 2am flight, and that we needed to speak with the doctor that is on staff with the airline at the airport in the morning. Evan then asked if because the problem is with entering Costa Rica, if we could have this same conversation about Chelsea’s vaccine with Costa Rican officials once we arrive in Costa Rica. No, the group leader explained, if we were to arrive in Costa Rica and be rejected entry then the airline would be responsible for shipping us back to Bolivia. She also explained to the original clerk that we needed to get put on the flight to Costa Rica for the following day at 12:00. We would be spending the night in the airport and wait for the doctor that is supposed to arrive at 9am.

 THE NEXT DAY....

After a not so great sleep in the airport, 9am arrived the following day and we asked a staff member to ask for the doctor on call. When the airline staff member looked puzzled, then explained the airline doesn’t have a doctor on call, we started to worry a little.  In Spanish, Chelsea explained the situation, then was pointed down the hall because some other ladies at a travel agency "knew the doctor".  Chelsea ventured to the travel agency - they too did not know the doctor, but after a bit more proding, gave her the name of a doctor and pointed to the staff security line.  Chelsea asked the person managing the security area.  After some explanation, she called back for the mystery doctor.  No one. 

We went back to the staff member from the airline, a bit more frantic, and asked to speak with the group leader for the morning shift, the leader explained that we needed to call the doctor and explain our situation. Chelsea then had to go find a phone and attempt to call a physician we have never met and explain that we need a yellow slip of paper within three hours to make our flight. Easy right?

Chelsea couldn’t get in touch with the doctor. We tracked down the original staff member that was busy helping people check-in for their flights and explained we couldn’t get in touch with the doctor. The very patient staff member then called the doctor on his personal cell phone and handed the phone to Chelsea. Chelsea then spoke with the doctor and explained that we needed to get a yellow slip of paper. After some explanation of where we were and the scenario, the doctor shockingly told her “No problem I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” After over an hour the doctor finally showed up and forged our papers, then explained she needed payment. We gave her every last cent of cash we had (only around 40 dollars), then sprinted to check into our flight. We were going to get to Costa Rica. We felt lucky when we entered Bolivia, and now we feel even more lucky to get to leave.