It´s good to be in Iquique (Chile), I feel like I came here to breathe. But before I write about this cozy but fun beach city, I have to gather some thoughts, both good and bad, as a farewell post to Bolivia.
- One thing Bolivia is known for is its weaving, all sorts of beautiful colors into patterns. After travelling around, I understood a little more where the inspiration might come from: the intense magenta mountains, sea green phosphorous rocks, red lakes, blinding white and beige salt flats, the bluest skies ever. It´s like the landscape morphs into one of the vibrant blankets.
- Most of the roads in Bolivia are unpaved, which makes for some pretty rough rides, sometimes fording small rivers. However, most drivers seems to be fast, expert mechanics, and if they´re not the bus will usually have a mechanic ride with the driver. On the road from Uyuni to Potosi, we had to keep stopping every hour for someone to jump out and tighten the bolts on the wheel so it wouldn´t fall off.
- The food, of course I have to write about it. I love Bolivian soups, and can´t wait to start cooking with quinoa when I get back to the states. I also ate some llama, which is a red meat, and a little tough but not bad. The only cheese widely available was llama cheese, which was kind of good at first (though rather salty), but I tired of it rather quickly; oh what I would give for some good Stilton, or Brie. I loved the bars of pressed nuts that were sold on the street, and usually had a few in my bag in case I couldn´t have a real meal. My favorite drink was a submarino: a bar of chocolate melted into hot milk. Ridiculously rich, not something to drink every day, but so good.
- English isn´t widely spoken in Bolivia, and it was nice to practice my Spanish a little more. However, I noticed that most of the Bolivians I had random conversations with on the street, in restaurants, etc, were old men. The women basically ignored me.
- There are many stores in La Paz, but the easiest and cheapest way to buy stuff is from one of the thousands of small street stalls, or from people selling things spread out on a blanket on the ground. You can buy almost anything this way, which is kind of cool.
- The exchange rate in Bolivia is much better than any place else I have been so far. Most lunches can be had for under a dollar, and a really nice meal with lots of drinks might be five or six.
- Coca leaves are everywhere: at the hostal breakfast spreads to make tea in the morning, for sale in the street, in the cheeks of most men. The practice of chewing coca leaves is very traditional to the Bolivian people, and there is a big distinction between them and cocaine; I saw a lot of graffiti that said "Coca no es la cocaina" and t-shirts that said "Coca no es un droga." (Actually, they said more grammatically correct versions of those two statements, my SPanish isn´t good.) I tried chewing the leaves a few times, but didn´t really like it. I rather enjoyed the tea though, and might pick up a box of mate de coca as a more relaxed alternative to coffee.
- Most small towns didn´t seem to have garbage collection, or if they did, there wasn´t one specific place it was taken. Instead, the roads just outside of town were strewn with all kinds of garbage in various states of decomposition, which made me sad to see, especially when the land is so beautiful otherwise.
- I loved the little rock piles (cairns?) that were all over the countryside. I could never figure out if they were property markers (I suspect the painted ones were), or just a simple statement that in such a lonely desert, someone was here.
- There seems to be a set delineation between acceptable jobs for men (driving) and women (selling things). For example, I was told that if a woman were to take a job as a driver, people would assume she was a lesbian. This is when I have mixed feelings about cultural change. On one hand, I am sad when the women of La Paz start to lose their traditional dress, wearing jeans and tank tops instead. On the other hand, I am against homophobia and misoginy, and am happy to hear that set perceptions of gender roles are changing. But then I feel bad that the culture is losing its traditions...Part of me likes the way the world is getting smaller, and part of me laments it. What it comes down to though is that I´m not from Bolivia, so it´s not really my place to comment on how things should be.
- Overall, Bolivia seemed to me to be a very magical place. It´s the South America I dreamed about as a kid, and I am so happy that I had a chance to explore it now, because it is starting to change due to developing influences. Once I got over altitude adjustments (and sickness), it became one of my most favorite places I have ever been.