It was yesterday that I was planning on leaving Tarija. Today I am still here. I missed my bus by only 10 minutes. But that may have been a very good thing.
Buses block the road and the bus terminal so that nobody can provide a service while they are on strike.
You see, in Bolivia right now, there is a lot of turbulence and problems. The border crossing that I used to enter Bolivia is now closed and will probably remain that way for a while as the people fight to turn their region into the 10th province of Bolivia. Fortunately I do not have to worry about leaving the country just yet, and there are other ways I can get out, so I am not concerned with these problems.
Also, only a handful of days ago the national airline company was grounded and is unlikely to ever fly again. It handled over 80% of national flights and has left many thousands of people stranded. Andreas, my friend from Entre Rios is one of them. He has been waiting for almost 2 weeks to get another flight back from La Paz.
Tarija is also suffering from the recent rains which have caused land slips and ruptured three of the four gas pipes that bring natural gas into the city. As a result the entire city is experiencing power cuts as a rationing system is used to try and avoid a complete loss of gas. With cars, heating, cooking, and electricity all run off gas in this gas rich country, the complete loss of natural gas would be a serious disaster for the city.
The other major problem that has had an affect on me right now is striking transport drivers. The strikes here are as much an emotional event as they are a political one. The people gather together and if anybody tries to stop them they often get violent. I have been warned that their violence can be even stronger towards foreigners so I need to be careful. You don't need to hear a warning like that one twice.
At the end of the day the blockades were virtually over and cars were able to get through without too many problems.
Yesterday, I raced over to the bus station in the afternoon in a taxi to discover that I had missed most of the buses that go to Potosi. There was one remaining bus leaving at 6pm but I had only 10 minutes to get to the YWAM base and return with my bag. It was unlikely, but then the buses here have never ever left on time before, so that meant I would have a realistic 20 minutes.
We headed in the direction of the YWAM base only to be cut off by protesters blockading the road with cars, buses, burning tyres, and lots of sticks and anger. All of the traffic was being diverted and we joined them. This meant that our journey would take even longer as we negotiated the thickness of the diverted traffic.
Racing past cars on the wrong lane, ducking between trucks and other moving vehicles and bouncing along the rough road that leads to the mission, we finally get there right on 6pm. I race in and grab my bag, throwing it into the boot of the taxi and giving a rushed goodbye to my hosts.
Once again we race down the roads back toward the bus terminal. We come into sight of it about 7 minutes past six and by the time we have turned around and parked, it is 6.10pm. There is no sign of the bus.
Asking at the ticket counter, where candles were burning because the electricity rationing had arrived here, we discover that the bus had left right on the dot of 6.00pm. This was extraordinary behaviour for a bus in this country. The lady explained that they were concerned for the bus that it would be stopped along the way or outside of Potosi because national transit strikes were organised to start at midnight until midnight the next day (today).
These blockades were placed all over the city and at every main city entrance, strangling public and private transport.
As we returned to the YWAM base once again, at a much more relaxing pace, both the taxi driver and I contemplated the situation. We decided that it was probably a much better thing that I had not caught the bus, since if there was a road blockade along the main route - something that the news is saying will happen - then the bus would have been stranded in the middle of the journey with nowhere to go for the entire 24hrs.
Furthermore was that Potosi experiences temperatures well below zero most of the time, and I have not got any warm clothes yet (about to go shopping shortly). This may have meant that the situation would have been even worse for me, if I had been trapped on that bus.
Instead, I have food and a bed and friends around me. One more day won't cause too many problems with my schedule... I hope.