Villamontes, Bolivia
The Chaco and my Bolivian Visa
May 25, 2008
Life's a journey, not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings
- Aerosmith
Unfortunately the journey to Bolivia did not start off so smoothly. I arrived at the Asuncion bus terminal in the morning and found that the buses to Bolivia did not leave until about 8pm at night. After figuring out that I could take a bus to Bolivia in Mariscal Estigarribia I decided to take a bus there at 2:30pm, the earliest one I could find, and then I would have a break after that 8 hour ride and also I would get to see some of the countryside by leaving during the day. It turned out that the bus had aging tinted windows and I could see hardly anything. When the bus finally arrived at 11pm at night in Mariscal Estigarribia the town was spread out over several miles of the road with nothing open. I talked to some of the people who were waiting where our bus stopped and they told me that I needed to wait for the Bolivia buses at the immigration office, all the way on the south end of town. A man offered to take me there on his motorcycle for 15,000 guaranis and I managed to bargain him down to 10,000, figuring that at this time of night it could well be my only option. I arrived at the immigration office at almost midnight to see a bunch of guys hanging out drinking beer and some form of small caliber rifle propped up against the wall. The immigration officer said it was fine for me to wait there until the buses to Bolivia started to arrive around 2-3am. Soon after, the guys seemed to finish all their beer and departed, leaving me to wait outside in the most uncomfortable wooden chair.
Finally at around 2:30am a Rio Paraguay bus pulled up and after talking with the driver I arranged for him to take me to Villamontes, the first real city in Bolivia, since there was room on the bus. All the passengers went through immigration and boarded the bus. The bus slowly pulled out then stopped after it had barely moved 50 meters. A man, who I think was a customs officer, came on the bus and asked for everyone´s ticket, then a Paraguayan police officer came on the bus to talk to one passenger. From outside the bus we could hear the customs officer, the bus driver, and bus attendant arguing. This went on for about 20 minutes and they were on their cellphones and no one could really hear what they were saying but it was perhaps related to the fact that they weren´t allowed to pick up passengers en route. I wasn´t the only passenger they had picked up en route, there were two others, but I really didn´t want to have to get out and wait for the next bus to come by. Without any notification or explanation they resolved the situation somehow and our bus continued towards Bolivia.
I managed to sleep a little and just after dawn I awoke to the bus traveling through the heart of the Chaco, a dry thorny medium-density scrub forest with few, if any, signs of civilization. At least the road was paved, contrary to the information in my guidebook. There were all these tracks running off the road, old routes that people probably use for smuggling. At around 8am we reached the official border between Paraguay and Bolivia. The soldiers seemed to check the luggage inside the bus but never actually boarded the bus. Then once we crossed into Bolivia the pavement ended. A few kilometers in we reached a Bolivian military post, complete with an absurd and ridiculous mock castle facade, something resembling a giant version of what you would find at a mini-golf course. Here a military officer boarded our bus and checked everyone´s documents. I showed him my passport and he seemed to check it off on his list, I had no idea what he checked off since I wouldn´t have been on any list but I didn´t ask any questions. We continued onward and after what seemed to be an hour we arrived at the Bolivian immigration post at Ibibobo (great name) where everyone was asked to get off the bus. I showed the military officer my passport and he asked if I had a visa, I played dumb and said no, asking if I needed one. He said yes and I asked if I could get the visa here at the border. He said that I could if I had all the proper documents. He said I needed more or less the same things that the embassy in Asuncion had asked for. I told him I had all of the documents so he gave me the form to fill out and was really friendly about everything.
After filling out the form I came back in to talk with him and show him my documents. He asked if I had a ticket into Bolivia, and I said well I´m already in Bolivia and am taking this bus to Bolivia so yes I do. He asked to see a ticket out of Bolivia, I showed him my e-ticket back to the US, but not from Bolivia, and this was good enough. I showed him my Yellow fever vaccination. As for the hotel reservation, which I did not have, he said it was not a problem. For proof of financial security, I showed him credit cards, some guaranis, reais, and dollars. I then paid him the $100 visa fee. He started pasting the visa into my passport and signed all the appropriate documents. When he finished he told me that the visa was good for five years, and then he told me that he had one last question, as he was about to hand my passport back he said, "Do you prefer Obama or McCain?" I answered Obama and so he smiled and put out his hand and said, "Excellent, welcome to Bolivia!"