Bolivia

Visited: July 1997

Duration of visit: 63 days

Capital city: Sucre (constitutional capital), La Paz (executive capital)

Population: 7.8 million (1997)

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

• Exploring the infinite expanses of the Altiplano at an average altitude of around 3,700 meters above sea level.
• Jungle adventure in Rurrenabaque: navigating calm rivers, spotting pink dolphins, crocodiles, numerous birds, capybaras and snakes.
• Being without breath, while climbing steep streets of the highest (de facto) capital city in the world (La Paz) at almost 4,000 meters above sea level.
• Driving on the salty layer at the top of Salar de Uyuni to reach the scenic island covered with soaring cactus trees.
• Crawling the mine tunnels of Potosí El Cerro Rico – world’s largest silver deposit that has been mined since the sixteenth century
• Negotiating bribery with police officers after overstaying my visa permit.

Named after the famous leader for the independence of South American countries, Simon Bolivar, the country is a kind of hidden treasure of the American continent. Most travel agencies take tourists to the world’s highest capital La Paz, Lake Titicaca, the ancient Inca city of Tiahuanacu, sometimes to Potosí or Salar de Uyuni.

As an excited backpacker and a great adventurer, I was far from being satisfied without visiting other fascinating areas that Bolivia has to offer. Even though Salar de Uyuni, silver mines in Potosí and the Bolivian pampas marked the highlights of my two-month wanderings around Bolivia, there were many other informal situations that set Bolivia as one of the top Latin-American countries to visit for me.

Bolivia was part of my American Big Tour, which started in New York City and finished in Buenos Aires 15 months later, in 1997. After a year of travelling, I was already an expert in Latin America and fluent in Spanish by the time I crossed the border in a jeep through the Altiplano from Chile.

Bolivia boasts the highest percentage of indigenous people with over 30 spoken languages, but Spanish is officially spoken everywhere.

The political, administrative and economic capital, La Paz, is located at approximately 4,000 meters above sea level. Together with the adjacent city of El Alto, it forms the highest major city in the world.

If average daytime temperatures at around 15°C are still manageable, the cold night below zero degrees can be a challenge without proper heating. The big majority of houses or basic hotels have only an improvised stove to warm up; I don’t know if central heating has been introduced at all around the country.

A unique mixture of colonial architecture, extremely steep, narrow streets that lead uphill from the central avenue, street sellers and descendants of famous Incas, created a distinctive mixture that I enjoyed for more than a week. Eating on food stands, wandering around markets and observing descendants of the Incas in traditional dresses with hats on their heads, were the main activities.

A cultural highlight was a dance festival with participants dressed up in traditional folk costumes in el Alto, while the final match of Copa America of football at La Paz central stadium was the most exciting event I attended. Brazil with Ronaldo defeated underdog Bolivia, which was in a big advantage due to the high altitude.

Two of the most memorable attractions are El Mercado de las Brujas – The Witch market and hiking through Valle de la Luna – the Valley of the Moon.

The Witch market is a colorful display of various alternative medicines offered by local witchdoctors Yatiris, who offer solution for any health problems with the most outrageous resources. Objects for Aymara rituals, Andean fabrics, amulets, llama fetuses, dried frogs, exotic concoctions and ancient plants for natural medicine treatments are supposed to bring good fortune.

Llama fetuses hung on strings are one of the most striking items, which are used for rituals such as burning them for good luck or they are usually buried under the foundations of new houses as an offering to Pachamama.

A unique outcropping of rocks, approximately 10 km from the center of La Paz, was formed through the erosion of nearby mountains. This erosion created tall spires made of mostly clay and sandstone, which are still eroding to this day.

The name, the Valley of the Moon, was given by Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, who was visiting the Bolivian government headquarters in 1969. Apparently, it reminded him on the surface of Earth’s only natural satellite.

In surreal fashion, the Valley of the Moon is being encroached upon by neighborhoods. I didn’t meet any other people around when exploring the area, so the feeling was really special.

The unique feature of the village of Rurrenabaque is not only being the starting point for trips to the pampas and the rainforest, but also its difficult accessibility. It is possible to fly in by military airplane on a more or less regular route, but in times of bad weather this transport option becomes questionable.

The other alternative is driving on the Road of Death – El Camino de la muerte. Particularly dangerous is the first part, from La Paz to the village of Coroico. Only wide enough for one vehicle on most of the parts, the road borders the rocky wall of the mountain on one side and precipices that extend a kilometer downhill into the valley on the other side. According to some researches, El Camino de la muerte had been declared the most dangerous in the world many times.

Statistics doesn’t lie: in 1994, 26 vehicles had slipped into the abyss; which means in average 1 vehicle every 2 weeks. The worst accident occurred on July 24^th 1983, when a truck with more than 100 people crashed over the edge.

It was also the biggest accident in history on Bolivian roads. In the second half of the 1990s, the road was slightly widened so that it is safer today and accidents happen more rarely.

In principle, the risk can also be slightly reduced by choosing the right mean of transport.

Large buses are the most comfortable, but, on the other hand they are also the clumsiest. Trucks give you the opportunity to bounce out at the last minute, if you carefully observe circumstances around you. I opted for a small, more flexible bus, which turned out to be a good choice. An experienced driver successfully passed all the critical sections. Especially scary are the meeting points, when one of the vehicles must move backwards to open the way to an oncoming vehicle.

The most part of northern Bolivia is covered by the Amazon rainforest. While the Brazilian area of ​​the Amazon is subject to rapid deforestation, the Bolivian side still remains rather untouched.

It is not a fully correct assumption that the jungle is an ideal place to observe animals in the natural environment. Due to large trees, visibility in dense forest is usually low. The animals get scared even before you see them, since they can here or feel human presence through dense vegetation. Much more suitable is the South American version of savannah, called pampas, with random scattered trees, smaller rivers or streams, a somewhat swampy landscape and numerous animal species.

The village of Rurrenabaque on Beni River, a small settlement 400 kilometers north of La Paz, was the starting point for my trip to the pampas. Joined by two friends, we hired a local guide, a cook and a motorized canoe. Food, water, petrol, a sleeping bag, some basic necessities, a lot of courage and nice weather were all we needed for a few days of real adventure.

Even before we pushed the canoe into the water, I spotted three large crocodiles sunbathing on the river bank in the midday sun. The guide was still in a very happy mood due to the late-night drinking and he wanted to get over the unsuspecting giants with his bare hands. Luckily, the crocodile got scared and ran away, but that incident let me know that I had chosen the right guide.

During the first hour of navigating on the Yucumo River, the impatience increased as no animals were spotted anywhere. Then it started; here and there some crocodiles, an interesting bird or monkey, until we were soon surrounded by crocodiles. I felt quite uncomfortable in the unstable canoe until I found out that crocodiles are more afraid of us than we are of them. As soon as they sensed our presence they retreated deep into the water.

The night trip on the river was especially captivating. We directed torches to the river banks, where dozens of crocodiles slept in the water. The only visible part above the water were upper-side of the head and eyes, which were strikingly shining as New Year’s lights at Disneyland. Crocodiles sleep with their eyes open.

In order to study them more into details, we caught a crocodile – a giant weighing over a hundred kilograms, approximately 3.5 meters long. We tied it firmly to the side of the canoe and dragged it to the shore. The crocodile calmed down completely, not showing any signs of activity when tided-up.

Most of the crocodile skin is very hard, quite reminiscent of plastic and is completely useless for making decorative items, boots, handbags or similar items.

The only part of the body that can be used, is the lateral part, which represents about 10% of the total surface area. The tail, torso and head are also of no usage.

Of course, we returned it unharmed to the river, where it belongs. It makes no sense to kill such a beautiful animal because of those few purses that could be made out of its skin. Until recently crocodile hunters in Bolivia had no restrictions to operate, either being for skin usage or food. Some areas are protected these days, thus preserving the beautiful animals from extinction.

The next morning, we continued our activities, exploring the land, trying to find snakes. Three hours of walking were behind us, when we finally came across a small anaconda hiding in tall grass.

The first touch with a snake was very exciting as I had considerable resistance to these dangerous reptiles before. Its soft skin quickly astonished me. It feels smooth, dry, and cool, with muscles moving beneath the skin, trying to adjust the position.

Our adventurous force was a little more calmed only half an hour later, when we found a two-meter long so-called water cobra. The guide said it wasn’t very dangerous at all; if it bites you, a two-day rest and drinking sweetened water helps to full recovery. I hold it tied and forgot about all the possible consequences if it would accidentally wriggle out of my arms and pinched her tooth into my skin. In principle, larger snakes are less poisonous than small ones.

A few weeks later, I came across a half-meter-long, finger-thick snake in Brazil, one of the most venomous of its kind in the area. After a poisonous bite, it only gives a victim an hour to say goodbye to this world.

In the following days, I also spotted freshwater pink dolphins.

In the area where dolphins were swimming, we were finally able to jump in the water as it is supposed to be safe: crocodiles avoid dolphins, while piranhas are eaten by dolphins.

In other areas piranhas were quite numerous. As soon as I threw a hook with a small piece of meat on it into the water, one of them hung on it, but only for a short time. Piranhas are indeed very bloodthirsty fishes, especially when they feel blood. Rather small in size, with many small bones that don’t make them very tasteful for eating.

In addition to various species of birds, many pig-like animals called capybaras run around us all the time. They look quite clumsy walking on land, but when they descend into a river, you can only follow them with your gaze until on the other side of the river they come out of the water again. They usually move around in groups of 10 or more among which there are always many pups.

The southwestern part of Bolivia along the border with Chile is one of the most picturesque landscapes I have seen in Latin America.

In principle, the landscape is similar to a large desert with some exceptional natural beauties in the form of lakes, geysers and diverse stone structures. The highlight is definitely Salar de Uyuni – the Uyuni Salt Flat.

Once upon a time, this part of the highlands in southwestern Bolivia was covered by the prehistoric lakes Minchin and Tauca. When they evaporated 10,000 years ago, they left behind a barren landscape with sparse vegetation, sand and a salty desert that was not attractive for living.

Due to very difficult living conditions, harsh weather and limited resources, this area is almost uninhabited, with only sporadic small settlements of mud houses, where most of the inhabitants live very modestly. The largest city in the area is Uyuni, where people nowadays make a living mainly by working in the surrounding mines, extracting salt and, more recently, tourism activities.

At an altitude of 4,000 meters, the temperature was still well below 0°C when we left Uyuni early in the morning in an off-road vehicle. The white surface of Salar de Uyuni, which stretches over 12,106 square kilometers, looked even brighter than usual in the first morning rays of the sun.

The upper part is covered by a layer of solid salt of at least 60 cm. It’s about as hard as ice, but it looks like snow, so driving on it is completely safe. In a question of minutes, we had already driven on the surface of the lake.

We first stopped at a place where salt is being mined and industrially packaged. Five workers were grabbing salt with rudimentary tools to load it onto old, rusty trucks. In the area of Colchani, almost 20,000 tons of salt are accumulated annually to cover demand of the whole country. Lake Uyuni possess reserves of 10 billion tons of salt, which will be enough for many generations to come.

After a good hour drive towards the middle of the lake, we stopped at one of two hotels made of pure salt. The roof, walls, tables, bed structure and other details are made of salt. A cup of hot coca tea warmed me up and we continue driving towards 40 km distant Isla Incahuasi.

In the past, the locals used the island called House of Inca as a refuge, when crossing the enormous salt lake.

Salar de Uyuni is probably one of the very few lakes where you can actually drive to the island in the middle of the lake.

To make the scenery even more unique, giant 10-meter cactuses of beautiful green-brown-white colors have grown on the island. These native species, which grow only a centimeter per year and are hundreds of years old, look magic with the peculiar white background of salty lake.

In the following days, I explored more natural wonders in this south eastern part of Bolivia. As we were descending a curved dirt road late in the afternoon, a view of a large Laguna Colorada suddenly opened up in front of us. The specific red color of the lake is caused by algae and plankton that thrive in mineral-rich water. The waterfront is full of glistening residues of sodium, magnesium and borax.

I found the presence of thousands of red flamingos inhabiting the area surrounding the lake to be particularly remarkable. Their specialized system for filtering food from alkaline waters permits them to drink the water directly without suffering any harm.

Three types of flamingos live around Colorado Lagoon: Chilean, James and Andean flamingos. The latest are the largest, with pink feathers and a yellow-black beak.

After driving uphill for a few hundred meters in we spotted the Laguna Verde at 5,000 meters above sea level. During a short walk around the vivid turquoise lagoon, the wind was blowing so strong that I had difficulties holding my position. The air temperature here drops to -20°C quite often, but the lake does not freeze due to the high concentration of lead, sulfur and calcium carbonate.

Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world at 4,090 meters above sea level. The history of this mining urban area, its splendor and misery are associated with silver. It all began in 1544 when a local boy, Diego Huallpa, was looking for his lost llamas on a nearby hill. It was already late in the evening, so he had to light a fire to avoid freezing in the cold. The heat of the fire caused the earth to begin thawing and he noticed traces of molten metal, which later turned out to be silver.

The Incas never had a special interest in mining silver, because the mountain was sacred to them. When the Spaniards heard about the fabulous treasures near Potosí, they started intensive excavations in the nearby hill (later renamed El Cerro Rico de Potosí – The Rich Hill). Labor force was found among the native Incas, however, African slaves turned out to be more productive.

Working conditions implemented by greedy Spaniard rulers were extremely difficult. Workers were forced to stay in the mine up to four months, shifts lasting over 12 hours a day, eating and sleeping without contact with daylight. According to some estimates, 8 million miners lost their lives in Potosí during three centuries of exploiting. Mostly due to accidents and disease.

In the second half of the 17^th century, Potosí, thanks to its wealth, became the largest city in Latin America, with more than 200,000 inhabitants.

Today, very little wealth remains; silver is practically gone, only some lead and zinc remain here and there. Once the richest city in South America, it is now a pale shadow of itself; majority of mines are closed. The most painful fact for the locals is that, except for 80 churches, the Spaniards left them almost nothing of the wealth from El Cerro Rico.

One of the largest silver mines worldwide has yielded an estimated 60,000 tons of silver, while deposits are thought to still contain estimated reserves of 50,000 tons of silver and 540 million tons of ore. The mining town tradition of Potosí still remains, but on a much smaller scale.

Various agencies offer a guided tour to Potosí mines, which are still the main attraction of the city. During three-hours of walking, crawling, ascending and descending through the mine shafts in El Cerro Rico, I was able to imagine daily life of miners at the end of the 20^th century.

Working conditions almost haven’t changed in the last 500 years: a hammer, chisel and dynamite are still infallible, practically the only pieces of equipment. Of course, it doesn’t go without coca leaves, which give strength, reduce the feeling of hunger and fatigue, pushing miners to withstand superhuman efforts.

El Tio (The Uncle) is a small statue, around whom miners gather to pray for avoiding accidents, finding a vein rich with lead or zinc and good health. The sculpture, which represents a deity of local miners is covered with a helmet. Abundance of coca leaves are stacked inside his mouth from where a cigarette is hanging. El Tio will always protect miners, in good and bad times.

Before visiting the mines, I bought a package of coca leaves, cigarettes and dynamite at Potosí market. At least for a moment, signs of goodwill appeared in the serious faces of miners when I donated them the highly appreciated gifts.

Most of miners are young, strong guys. Everyone knows they won’t be able to work for more than ten, maybe fifteen years in the cave.

But, what else can they do?

The miners don’t have many alternatives!

It is necessary to eat and drink, to have a roof over their heads, to take care of their children. There is no other or better way. With developing tourist industry and more visitors of mines their standard of living has been improving in recent years. Many people who want to see this global phenomenon come every day, pay for the visit and bring gifts or food for the miners.

Tradition remains, Potosí is and will remain a mining town as long as El Cerro Rico hides any precious metals or minerals for exploiting.

I travelled around Bolivia for more than two months, so I exceeded my visa validity by three days. I was successfully avoiding all inconveniences and passport controls until I was stopped up by two migration officials on a train from Santa Cruz to the Brazilian border.

As soon as they found out that my visa expired, they separated me from other passengers, took me to the area between the two wagons and started threatening me:

“Give me 50.00US$, or we’ll stop the train, take you off, and interrogate at the police station. You will be in big troubles! …”

Clearly, I had no viable choice, because if I got off at that point, I would have to wait a whole week until the next train arrived.  I could only imagine the troubles or penalties that might await me.

The primary concern was determining the most effective strategy to secure the lowest possible bribe from the corrupt officials representing Bolivar’s nation. One of the officers was trying to be nice telling me that his father was Croatian. I was pissed enough to send him somewhere with curses in his father’s language and offered him 10.00US$.

Finally, they accepted my offer, assuring that nobody would bother me when we get off the train to complete border formalities in the immigration office. When returning to my seat, most of local passengers comforted me that all Bolivian officials ask for bribes. So, I was just part of the game, far from being the only victim.

There are many more stories, adventures and highlights to share. From Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake, to the capital city of Sucre or Tarabuco market, where Yamparas Indians dressed in woven ponchos wear decorative leather hats, called monteras, modeled on the helmet of the Spanish Conquistadors.

Bolivia is simply a unique mixture of traditions, history, natural wonders, breathtaking landscapes and lifestyle which, combined with Peru, forms top destination in South America.

The question is how the country leaders will manage to balance the enormous differences between the traditionally poor, uneducated indigenous groups and Western orientated elites that have gathered enormous wealth and hold the most powerful positions.

How is the increased popularity as a tourist destination going to impact Bolivia? What about the natural resources that haven’t been exploited by international corporations yet?

The country future is bright, if they manage to find the right solution to progress as a nation. On the other side the modernity will slowly, but surely transform the authentic lifestyle, habits and traditions …. either for good or bad … the time will show.