Humble apologizes blog followers. Our three weeks here in Bolivia have been ‘technology challenged’! We’ve rarely found proficient Internet services and when we have our time has usually been spent reconnecting with Mom+Dad, Ma, and Gram via Skype – which has been a godsend really – leaving little time to post! Many pictures taken of this amazing place but trying to upload to the blog is nigh impossible. We hear things are better in Peru and hope to share them then. In the meanwhile some random thoughts about this amazing country…
Bolivia is Latin America’s version of Tibet. Landlocked with dramatic high altitude landscapes, its relative isolation from the outside world leaves it clinging to it’s traditional past is so many ways.
With much of the country high on the Andean antiplano – a highland plateau covering ½ the country at an elevation of more than 4000m – the bleak expanses, cold temperatures, and lack of vegetation make it a place for only the strong and hearty to exist. We often saw Sheppard tending to their herds of llamas, lambs, and cattle far, far away from civilization leaving us scratching our heads at their pluckiness.
We were blown away by the Salar de Uyuni, the greatest nothing imaginable. A vast salt plain of over 12000 sqkm - covered in two inches of water during our visit – containing one of the world’s largest salt reserves. We wandered dumbfounded across the endless flat trying to surmise where the horizon meets the ground. We posed for incredibly beautiful photos amazed but the tricks we could play with depth perception.
Bolivia’s capital of La Paz was a surprise gem. We were warned often for our safety in the world’s highest city but with life revolving more closely to daylight hours we comfortably wandered up and down the hillsides drawn in by markets and street side vendors selling juices and tasty saltenas – giant meat and vegetable filled pastries – to fuel our walking.
The city itself is set in a giant bowl with countless red brick buildings seemingly clinging to the hillside. All roads lead to the ‘Prado’ – a singular street of many names that snakes its way along the valley floor. Thankfully, it made easy navigation as in typical Latin American fashion the tourist information were none too helpful. All activity pours into the streets from the early morning till dusk. Need your shoes shined? Find a black balaclavaed boy every fifty steps ready to clean them up for a whopping forty cents. Need a fresh pig for Easter dinner. The elderly lady sitting beside the ice cream stand will butcher and prepare one in twenty minutes. The smells, chaos, color were overwhelming but we found we couldn’t get enough it!
After surviving the streets of La Paz we found the bicycle of ‘The World’s Most Deadliest Road’ a cakewalk. 70km of downhill riding on the only road leading north from La Paz. 3400m of descent, two landslides to negiotiate, numerous waterfalls cascading across the gravelly path, and a lot of ear-to-ear grins during the four hours. The hair-raising return to La Paz by minivan was certainly the death-defying element of the day.
Our first combi (long distance taxi van) ride to the beautiful village of Sorata provided some local flavor. Tiny Bolivian women carrying their goods to and from the local town markets jumped on and off the van at regular intervals. We passed villages squarely still in the 19th century, plowing still done with animals, endless mud and brick building haphazardly erectly and certainly not to ‘code’. All the while the magnificent Bolivian cordillera and its numerous 6000m peaks popped out of the high cumulous cloud to the east.
A careless slip at dinner brought Bolivian beef to the table and our (my) first food poisoning of the trip. Wretching over the toilet bowl for a few days expelled the demons and helped reshape the body.
Our final stop in Copacabana on the shore of Lake Titicaca was a pleasant one. We drank in the sunshine, admired the deep blue waters of the 9000sqkm lake. Devoid of pleasure or work boats, the lake possesses a mystical quality, impossibly tranquil morning, day, and night.
An exploration of Isla del Sol further emphasized Titicaca’s magical qualities. We walked the length of the island, which is devoid of both vehicles and the feral dogs that plague all of South America. We enjoyed possibly the most scenic lunch stop in our entire travels in Yumani along with one the most peaceful sleeps.
Tomorrow we head off to Peru to explore the land of the Incas. The impressions made in Bolivia however will last a lifetime.
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