Getting to Riberalta, Bolivia

well my arrival was as choppy as this dust caked keyboard

I´ve been systematically eliminating each internet cafe due to extremely sticky keyboards.. I don´t think they´ve ever been typed on. The only three keys that are loose are the ones used to play the first person shooter games that are taking over the world.

So the plan seemed simple. Chinese turboprop from Cochabamba to Riberalta over 800+ miles of forests. The flight stopped in Trinidad, as planned, and I hung my head out the door to feel warm rain. There was an ancient DC-3 on the side of the tarmac and the rusting skeleton of a crashed Boeing 727 flashed by beneath us about a half mile from the runway.

The next place we landed looked like Riberalta. There was a large river, small town and lots of jungle, so I got of the plane, watched my bag being taken off the plane, and then stood on the side of the grass field waiting to be allowed to go pick my bag up after the drug dogs went through it. In the mean time, the plane I had arrived on, one of only two flights per week, took off. Finally we were waved over to pick up our bags. Mine was gone! I showed them my baggage tag and everyone started laughing. My baggage tag said Riberalta, and this was Guameryn, they explained. Not too bad, I thought, because I had everything essential in my carry on, but I sure don´t want to loose my backpack. I started to ask about a place to stay while waiting the 3 days for the next flight, but they laughed again and explained that Riberalta was only 60km from Guameryn. So I went to the autostop (where people go to fill their cars with passengers), and completed the last part of my trip by car. Cost an extra 70Bolivianos which is about $10. A tax for not asking the most simple question I guess. It was especially funny to my host family when I retold the story later that night. Good practice laughing at myself anyway.