Breathing in Bolivia

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Trip Start Feb 25, 2008 Previous
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  Uyuni, Uyuni, Bolivia
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

After paying for our $100 ¨reciprocity¨ visa (US citizens really shouldn´t complain about having to jump through hoops that other travelers don´t have to deal with, especially once they understand what foreigners go through just to enter our mother-country), we were free to enter Bolivia, the poorest country in South America.  A culturally-rich yet financially impoverished indigenous population, new campesino president, new constitution, conflicting views from wealthier provinces, heavy participation in the cocaine trade, and recently discovered oil all play into the volitile politics of the country.  We consider ourselves lucky to have not experienced any protests or blockades during our time here, but in reality, we were probably just in the right places at the right times.

Our biggest challenge in Bolivia has been trying to catch a full breath of air.  In Copacaba on Lake Titicaca, it was the altitude; in La Paz it was the pollution (and altitude), and in the Salar de Uyuni it´s been the dust (and the altitude).  Pilots that fly into La Paz require special training to navigate through the Andes Mountains and the planes require special equipment to land in the highest airport in the world!  Check out the prices to fly into La Paz and you´ll see that the cost of tickets cover these extra precautions.

Our plan was to save money by traveling through such an inexpensive country, but we´ve splurged by spending the same amount (roughly $10 a person) to stay in some exceptionally nice accommodations.  Our hostel on Lake Titicaca was more of a hotel up on the hill with a perfect view overlooking the lake from any the garden´s many colorful hammocks.  Copacabana is a somewhat sacred town and people used to flock here on pilgrimage because of its proximity to Isla del Sol where, believed among pre-Inca cultures, the sun was born.  Most interesting to us, were the flocks of newly purchased vehicles that arrived in Copacabana, covered in flowers and doused in champagne, to be blessed by the priest for safe travels and longevity.  With some of the most dangerous roads in the world being in Bolivia, it certainly doesn´t hurt to go through such a ceremony.

From there we had an adventurous bus ride to La Paz.  At one point we had to stop and cross the lake, except the passengers went in small boats while we watched our bus (and luggage) lean to one side as it crossed alone on a barge.  La Paz is a crush of a city but is interesting in its own right.  We didn´t do much other than walk its streets, exploring the artesenal alley, coca and musical instrument museums, and black market where you can find anything from bootlegged DVDs, to very expensive mountain bikes, to futbol jerseys, to yarn - each category with its own street devoted to it.  We stayed in another exceptionally nice hostel called Adventure Brew that had private bathrooms, an all you can eat pancake breakfast, and a free beer each night upstairs in the brewery´s rooftop bar!  The beer was no competition for our Oregon brews, but we enjoyed our evenings hanging out with other backpackers and playing trivia games to win free drinks.  Kyle lent a hand one night and helped carry a keg up four flights of stairs (the keg had no handles) and was reminded once again how hard it is to breathe in La Paz.

There are a few big attractions in La Paz that we skipped out on.  For an adrenaline rush, you can bike down the most dangerous road in the world.  We hear that it´s gorgeous and incredible and probably should have done it, but there´s a reason for its namesake.  In the past few weeks, several bikers met their fate on this trip.  They closed the road for a while after two car accidents killed six bikers in one day!  We like adventure, but we like our lives too, and being so close to our homecoming, we decided it would be a bad time to take superfulous risks.  Another big hit in La Paz that we´re not so much in to is the cocaine trade.  We turned down invitations to head out to the nomadic club where you can order varying qualities of charlie off the menu, if you can find its current address.  Also, with just a phone call to the prison, you can tour the foreign inmate´s luxurious section (that they pay for out of their own pockets) and purchase any number of treats from them.  Small bribes will take you a long way in Bolivia, and as I´m sure it´s the same throughout the world, incarceration doesn´t stop a drug trafficker.  The real problems in the prison, however, are on the locals unguarded side, where children live with their prisoner fathers and witness far too often the horrendous violence that occurs among the inmates.

A train took us to Uyuni where we are now, awaiting another connection this evening after spending 3 days in the Salar de Uyuni, the massive salt flats in the surrounding area.  This trip could have been a Toyota commercial, as countless Land Cruisers headed off into the salar for some rough riding in the altiplano.  It´s impossible to describe the austere beauty of being on what looks and feels like a glacier staring off for miles and miles a the mountains far in the distance and believing that everything you see is SALT!  We stayed in some basic accommodations and bundled up for the freezing nights at high altitudes!  Once we got off the salt flats, we passed several lakes, colored by the algae and borax that is found in the ground, dotted with pink flamingoes, and surrounded by geisers and thermal baths to warm us up in the morning after freezing our toes off during the night!  We returned to Uyuni, safe and sound last night to pizza and hot showers. 

We hop on the train tonight and if all goes as planned, we´ll grab our backpacks in the massive frenzy of ¨baggage claim¨ and walk across the border and be back in Argentina bright and early tomorrow morning.

P + K

P.S. Next time we have you over for dinner, ask us to make quinoa soup, one of our favorite Bolivian dishes! 

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