"One of the stations where we stopped for a few hours.
 
I had one more night in La Paz before taking the bus down through the mountains to Cochabamba, and on again the following day to Santa Cruz. A long bumpy ride on unserviced roads for much of the way and little of real interest, making me realise just how off the beaten track this part of the country was.
 
At Santa Cruz it had been my plan to take a once a week train east through the jungle to Brazil, but on arriving at the station was told the train had not run for months. One of the things I concluded on my trip to this area, was that people would often tell you what they thought you would like to hear, rather than what you really wanted to know, such as the information in this case. As luck would have it I found that there was a freight train leaving next afternoon going south to Argentina, and decided to catch it. I arrived at the station half an hour before the train was due to leave, only to be told the train left from another station 2 miles down the track. I ran all the way with my heavy rucksack, in the midday heat, and arrived nearly dead! I am glad to say the train was still there and did not leave for another hour! 
 
It was an interesting train journey which I will always remember. I was the only passenger so I made myself at home in the guards van and passed time sitting on back of the van watching the jungle go by at about 15 miles an hour, and brewing tea on my small meths stove. At the small stations where we would stop in the middle of nowhere, I joined the driver and his mate as guests of the station master and his family for a meal. The arrival of the train must have been the highlight of their week, I think. Sometimes we would stop for an hour, at others it was 3 to 4 hours so I was able to have a walk round while trucks were being changed." - MH