The enduring celebration of Che Guevara – There was a time when the bearded image of Che Guevara was every bit a fixture in student digs and on university campuses as The Beatles, Dylan and Jimi Hendrix.
Today, the same image (and the man) continues to enjoy celebrity status and the 50th anniversary of his death later this year (October 2017) is being commemorated by an anniversary tour.
The company behind the idea is RealWorld, offering private a four-day Che Guevara Anniversary Tour following the final chapter of Guevara’s revolutionary path in Bolivia.It will include visits to the La Higuera museum, the Ñancahuazu valley, Vallegrande and the Quebrada del Yuro.
The death of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, brought the career of arguably the world’s most famous revolutionary to an end. Best known for his role alongside Fidel Castro in Cuba, Che died in Bolivia, at the hands of CIA-trained Bolivian Special Forces, amid the jungles and ravines of the Quebrada del Yuro. This wild and remote part of Bolivia has always been difficult to reach, but South America specialists RealWorld will be running special anniversary tours to the area, and to all the sites associated with Che in Bolivia.
Following the success of the Cuban Revolution in 1964, Che Guevara became disenchanted with life in Cuba and in 1965, he left to try and apply the revolutionary and guerrilla warfare techniques which had been so successful there. His first destination was the Congo, where he tried to work alongside Kabila’s rebels, but after he was unsuccessful there, he decided to target Bolivia, arriving in the country on November 3, 1966, in the guise of a Uruguayan businessman.
He knew the south-eastern jungles of Bolivia had always been largely outside of government control, and planned to base himself in the remote Ñancahuazu valley, together with a band of around 50 guerillas: a mix of Cubans, Bolivians and a handful of other nationalities.
The CIA were actively involved in Bolivia at the time, and wanted Che to be taken to Panama, where they could interrogate him further but, late in the morning of the October 9, the decision was taken to execute him. He was shot several times to make it look like he had been killed in combat.
The tour promises to provide a fascinating insight into one of South America’s great modern figures, and a valuable counter-point to the near-deification of Guevara in Cuba.
It costs £1050pp based on two adults, includes all accommodation, internal transport, guides, entrance fees, and meals. International flights from the UK are available with avianca.com from £500 including taxes.
For more details see www.realworldholidays.
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