Stepping into Bolivia is much like walking into a different world. A world filled with bowler hat, floor lenghth skirt, colorful woven shawl wearing Aymara women; the indecipherable Aymara language, and more diverse landscapes than you can count. At every turn there seems to be a new natural wonder to watch, or a procession of colorfully draped troup of locals to attempt to communicate with. Even the altitude here is different, and my family and I were left gasping for air at the some of the greater heights.
We started our journey in Sucre, a mountain town that left us breathless. Not only with it's charm and with the friendly people we met there, but also with altitude. We quickly learned that running up stairs and lifting heavy bags becomes a much larger challenge when your oxygen is limited. Here we were able to explore old churches and cultural museums, and even stumbled upon a chorizo sausage festival. The friendly people and a smiling host made for the most wonderful introduction to Bolivia, and it was with mixed sadness and excitement that we moved on.
Our next stop was Potosi, a mining town found amidst the many mountains that make up the Country. On a tour of the mines, given to us by a man who had spent 15 years mining, we were able to see how most of the men in the city worked nearly every day. Bumbling our way down tunnels so low you needed to kneel to get through, sloshing through ankle deep water, and passing from one level of cavern to the next using ladders often missing rungs we found ourselves exposed to a very different lifestyle than what we are used to. Here we learned about and visited a statue of Tio, the Andean God that resembles our version of the devil. The belief of the miners is that upon entering the mines, you enter into Tio's underground realm, and it is him who must be appeased to ensure your safety. That being said, the ground was littered with coca leaves and small bottles of alcohol, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke from burning cigarettes left in the statue's mouth. Strangely enough, we were also told that most of the miners also consider themselves to be devote catholics, and this introduced us into a the world of mixed religion that became prominent to us in Bolivia. One where both the Inca Gods, and the catholic one were to be respected.
The next stop on our Bolivian adventure was Uyuni, a town known for its beautiful natural surroundings, and not much more. Here we spent 4 days driving in a rented Toyota four by four, passing through one of the most quickly changing landscapes I have seen. Where we started was salt flats, massive expanses of flat land, made up of blindingly bright white salt and cracked to resemble honeycomb as far as the eye could see. This quickly changed to cactus ridden desert, where dust devils blew past so often even my 10 year old brother stopped pointing them out; and herds of vicunya sprinted by. Even the desert didn't last, and suddenly we were driving through canyons between towering volcanoes and mountains. I still find myself in awe of nature's ability to adapt and change. Even the mountains here were drastically different from those back home, their sides seemed to be painted in a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from bright orange, to burgundy, to steel blue and gray green. Even the water here picked up the trend of the mountains colorful garb, and we passed lakes where the waters were red, or green, or white as snow. Even those that remained clear were filled with bright flamingoes.
The constant changes meant hours of driving could be passed looking out a window, captivating by geysers, bubbling mud pits, hot springs, abandoned trains, and families of chinchillas.
Leaving Uyuni had us heading towards a very different experience: La Paz, the capital and largest city in Bolivia. La Paz is a city that seems to hit you all at once, settled between mountains, it remains hidden entirely until you are very suddenly, already inside it. It is a sprawling place, filled with red brick buildings that run packed together up the mountains on every side of the center and precariously steep and winding roads. It was a city alive, filled with traffic and people, shopping centers and witches markets (where you could buy everything from herbs to llama fetuses). Unfortunately, our experience in La Paz was somewhat limited as we all seemed to fall sick at the same time, only recovering just in time to move on.
Our final stop in Bolivia was in Copacabana, a town bordering the world's largest high altitude lake. And once again, we were left speechless at our surroundings. A crystal clear lake dotted with small ferries and reed boats, a cute town with an abundance of hammocks, and a sunset to die for. Copacabana was gorgeous, the kind of place you could easily find yourself getting lost in for more days than you meant to, and not minding at all. Even more beautiful than Copacabana was a small island about 2 hours boat ride from it. Isla Del Sol was small, about a 6 hour hike from one end to the other, and one of the most gorgeous 6 hours of my life. The northern end was filled with Inca ruins, resembling a maze in complexity.
Our next stop was Potosi, a mining town found amidst the many mountains that make up the Country. On a tour of the mines, given to us by a man who had spent 15 years mining, we were able to see how most of the men in the city worked nearly every day. Bumbling our way down tunnels so low you needed to kneel to get through, sloshing through ankle deep water, and passing from one level of cavern to the next using ladders often missing rungs we found ourselves exposed to a very different lifestyle than what we are used to. Here we learned about and visited a statue of Tio, the Andean God that resembles our version of the devil. The belief of the miners is that upon entering the mines, you enter into Tio's underground realm, and it is him who must be appeased to ensure your safety. That being said, the ground was littered with coca leaves and small bottles of alcohol, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke from burning cigarettes left in the statue's mouth. Strangely enough, we were also told that most of the miners also consider themselves to be devote catholics, and this introduced us into a the world of mixed religion that became prominent to us in Bolivia. One where both the Inca Gods, and the catholic one were to be respected.
The next stop on our Bolivian adventure was Uyuni, a town known for its beautiful natural surroundings, and not much more. Here we spent 4 days driving in a rented Toyota four by four, passing through one of the most quickly changing landscapes I have seen. Where we started was salt flats, massive expanses of flat land, made up of blindingly bright white salt and cracked to resemble honeycomb as far as the eye could see. This quickly changed to cactus ridden desert, where dust devils blew past so often even my 10 year old brother stopped pointing them out; and herds of vicunya sprinted by. Even the desert didn't last, and suddenly we were driving through canyons between towering volcanoes and mountains. I still find myself in awe of nature's ability to adapt and change. Even the mountains here were drastically different from those back home, their sides seemed to be painted in a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from bright orange, to burgundy, to steel blue and gray green. Even the water here picked up the trend of the mountains colorful garb, and we passed lakes where the waters were red, or green, or white as snow. Even those that remained clear were filled with bright flamingoes.
The constant changes meant hours of driving could be passed looking out a window, captivating by geysers, bubbling mud pits, hot springs, abandoned trains, and families of chinchillas.
Leaving Uyuni had us heading towards a very different experience: La Paz, the capital and largest city in Bolivia. La Paz is a city that seems to hit you all at once, settled between mountains, it remains hidden entirely until you are very suddenly, already inside it. It is a sprawling place, filled with red brick buildings that run packed together up the mountains on every side of the center and precariously steep and winding roads. It was a city alive, filled with traffic and people, shopping centers and witches markets (where you could buy everything from herbs to llama fetuses). Unfortunately, our experience in La Paz was somewhat limited as we all seemed to fall sick at the same time, only recovering just in time to move on.
Our final stop in Bolivia was in Copacabana, a town bordering the world's largest high altitude lake. And once again, we were left speechless at our surroundings. A crystal clear lake dotted with small ferries and reed boats, a cute town with an abundance of hammocks, and a sunset to die for. Copacabana was gorgeous, the kind of place you could easily find yourself getting lost in for more days than you meant to, and not minding at all. Even more beautiful than Copacabana was a small island about 2 hours boat ride from it. Isla Del Sol was small, about a 6 hour hike from one end to the other, and one of the most gorgeous 6 hours of my life. The northern end was filled with Inca ruins, resembling a maze in complexity.
The southern end hosted a village, where you could find delicious soups for sale amongst unpaved streets where donkeys carted hay and sheep were led by barefoot old women. All around and in between the two were Inca terraces, flourishing vegetable and quinoa gardens, Eucalyptus trees, and views of beaches and blue water. Living up to its name, Isla Del Sol (the island of the sun) left us all sun burnt and thirsty, but without complaints.
Bolivia has captured a piece of my heart, its rich culture and beautiful setting has left me sad to leave, but determined to return. So on to Peru, we say goodbye for now, to beautiful Bolivia.
Bolivia has captured a piece of my heart, its rich culture and beautiful setting has left me sad to leave, but determined to return. So on to Peru, we say goodbye for now, to beautiful Bolivia.
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