I'm not in Bolivian Jail and its my birthday! – day 22

My birthday started at stupid o’clock – and for those of you who don’t know what stupid o’clock is – its anytime before 5am in the morning! 

I was picked up in a minibus with 2 japanese ladies and one Korean lady already on board and we headed off to Copacabana in Bolivia – I hadn’t really thought too much about crossing the Bolivian border until I got onto that minibus and it was at that point I started to get a little nervous – I am carrying a self-faked Yellow Fever Exemption certificate.  Now I faked it so it’s the best fake ever but you just don’t know who you are going to get at the border – if I get a jobs worth like the chinese guard in Tibet who insisted on waiting till my ipad recharged so he could see “all my media” then I might have been in trouble but the good news is they didn’t even ask for it!!! Can you believe I spend £16 on a special stamp set to help create my lies.

Now before you judge me and think I am some master forger this is the first time I have EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS! But my health is very important to me – I carefully manage my own immune system with Olive Leaf Extract, Vitamin C and Vitamin B and whilst on this trip I have been taking Neem leaf extract as its good for making sure I don’t get Malaria so was good for the jungle although the mozzy bastards in the jungle I was in don’t carry yellow fever or malaria.  Olive Leaf is a miracle nutritional supplement that I have been taking on and off for the last 3 years but I have been taking in the last five months every day to push my immune system to 100% so it doesn’t matter what virus is thrown at me my body will eject it thanks to Olive Leaf Extract.  Most of you will know I always bang on about Olive Leaf Extract but I have not been sick AT ALL for the last five months – everyone else on Case Histories were going down with colds and flu and with the help of my olive leaf capsules and vitamin C and B I didn’t get any of the sickness so if you want to have a healthy immune system go and get some olive leaf extract from www.comvita.co.uk - its expensive £29 for a month supply but given the option wouldn’t you pay £1 a day to never be ill?!

So anyway back to why I had to forge my Yellow Fever Exemption Certificate!  The Bolivian Government state on their website that it is a requirement of entry into the country that you have a Yellow Fever Vaccination – now I am only in the country for 3 days and I never go to the jungle here which is where Yellow Fever is at its worst so why have a LIVE VIRUS INJECTED INTO ME if I don’t need it?  Also they use EGG to make the virus – that’s disgusting!  Now I do eat organic free range eggs but what are the chances of the virus being made of organic free range eggs – eh I don’t think so….  I never have any of these injections that are ‘recommended’ when going into foreign countries, I am not interested in having live viruses injected into my immune system.  

So knowing that it was a requirement of entry into Bolivia I started my research into how I get round it – I thought that one of the private doctors that we work with for films would write me a letter of exemption but because he is not my regular doctor he refused so I made an appointment at my doctor surgery – I never get the same doctor at my surgery, which is a horrible unfriendly pit of a place in Kilbirnie so I went in with an open mind willing the doctor to help me – after all is a GP’s job not to help you manage your health?  Injecting me with a live virus that has battery farmed egg in it is NOT MANAGING MY HEALTH!!!  

Anyway she was a new doctor to the surgery and was obviously a rule follower and when I gave her the paperwork saying that she could give me a Medical Exemption Certificate without it necessarily having to be a medical reason for me being exempt but she still wanted to check with the other doctors because she was new.  I knew there was no way I would get it but you live in hope.  Anyway she called me the next day to say because there wasn’t a medical reason she couldn’t write the exemption certificate.  I thanked her for not helping me or helping me to manage my own health and told her that I will be changing surgeries.  How useless these rule followers are!!!

So I googled (isn’t google AMAZING!) what an Exemption Certificate looks like and off I went to Staples to get my supplies and I created my own Exemption Certificate and it gave me great pleasure to put this doctors name to the certificate and then forged her signature – that’s what she gets for being a rule follower! 

Anyway as it turns out no one at the border even cared about yellow fever – I was coming across the border at 4000m above sea level – yellow fever can’t survive at this level.  So no Bolivian Forgerers Jail for me – well not this time anyway…

Still changing my doctors surgery though!

So on with the day, we cross the border and met our Bolivian guide Guedo who is from La Paz.  He took us on a walking tour around Copacabana where there were big protests going on in the streets and main square because the people are not happy with the decisions the Mayor is making.  Another interesting event was also happening was the ‘blessing of the cars’ – yes the priest blesses your car – brilliant!! It’s better than taking it for a service.  They pour champagne over the cars and everything – what great fun to watch, although what a waste of Champagne!

After watching the blessing of the cars we went into the Cathedral to watch people light candles and then ask the Virgin Mary for a Favour...

People use the wax to draw pictures of cars or houses they want!  And once the Virgin grants their favour and they get their car or house then they have a special placard made and stick it to the wall!  Strange place with strange energy – I think because people are asking for possessions that ultimately we all want but we don’t need to live.  Surely people should be asking for good health for themselves and their families?!

Guedo took us to the popcorn market - there were about 20 stalls all selling different kinds of popcorn!  Its a big thing in bolivia to eat popcorn - they will buy big bags of it and share it around their family and friends.

After that we headed to the big boat – a huge catamaran just for me and my Korean friend for the next two days and our guide – how amazing! Here is the view from my bedroom...

I had my sick bands on but I really didn’t need them as the journey to the Sun Island was smooth and when we arrived we docked and were served lunch – how civilized is that?!  We then had a siesta for an hour before heading on a rowing boat to the other side of the island and then walked up hill to the Sun Temple.  This island reminds me of the energy of Macchu Piccu – it’s a different energy but the same affect – it makes you gape in wonder and want to just lie down and cuddle the ground.  Again its not about the ruins and this Sun Temple is pre Inca so it was first build 1500 BC so its REALLY old but its not the stones and rocks that give the energy, the energy is coming from under your feet but also from all around your body and over your head, its something that is hard to explain but it is an amazing feeling.  What a beautiful place to spend my 43^rd birthday!  We walked for 3 hours back to the beach where we had got the rowing boat from.

On top of the world!  amazing what 2 glasses of Bolivian Sauv Blanc at lunchtime will do!!

The big stone below is a big sacred one - can you see the V shape above my head? that is supposed to be the big tall, white Inca God that had a big long white beard that appeared from Lake Titicaca - hard to see but the guide kept banging on about it so I had to agree I could see it and the big stone is supposed to be the shape of a Puma which is a sacred beast - definitely don't see the puma!!!

This really is such a beautiful place

Here are the pre inca ruins of the Sacred Temple of the Sun, this would have been built around 1500bc but was rebuilt after earthquakes destroyed parts of it.

What an amazing place to spend time.  We slowly walked down the hill to the beach.

We arrived back on the beach at 5pm so with two and a half hours before dinner I left our guide and my Korean friend and went and sat on the beach and watch the piglets digging in the sand – yes piglets!  This was like a scene out of babe!  8 of the cutest piglets ever digging about in the sand trying to find food.   Then a little girl passed with 2 sheep and a llama – and the big eared donkey was just behind me on the beach.  What a wonderful way to spend my birthday!

I then sat on the boat and read my Fuck It book and watched the sun set whilst drinking Bolivian Sauv Blanc – just perfect.

Dinner was at 7.30pm and they had the locals come in and play some music and do some dancing – it was really good fun, thankfully I had had a couple of glasses of wine before I had to get up and dance.  The picture is all blurry because me and my dance partner are moving sooooo fast!!!

Here are the band - they were a bit duff but hey it was birthday entertainment so it had to be enjoyed!

So a really long day for my birthday but loved every minute of it.  Tomorrow we sail around to a different part of the island and walk up to the top again and explore a bit more and I find the place where I can get eternal youth – looking forward to that!!!!

suzxxx