Bolivia, my precious birth place...
I finally had the opportunity to visit bolivia with Elliott. I was really excited to have Elliott meet my family and share in some of my customs (and ofcourse try his luck with the food and spanish). Here is a brief account of our time there:
Since I arrived to Bolivia 2 days prior to Elliott, my family and I went to pick him up from the Airport. He was so happy to see us...or maybe he was happy to have real food.
The day after Elliott arrived we headed to Cochabamba, to meet my grandmother, and other aunts and uncles. There Elliott tried cow toungue otherwise known as "Lengua"... (thank goodness I am a vegetarian!). We spent new years there...and Elliott tried one of the typical dances of the region known as Cueca. You usually use a handkerchief to dance cueca. You wave the handkerchief in various movements as you try to Woo your dance partner..unfortunately we had no handkerchief, so we used doiliey.
The next day we tried grinding meat by hand and making traditional pasteles...which are marvelous. I think this may be one of the first times Elliott made pastries.
After visiting the "Cancha" or the market place (which all foreigners Must visit, it's just a different place than your neighborhood supermarket) and viewing part of the city we headed to Uyuni,
UyuniUyuni is a little town in the department of Potosi where one of the world's biggest salt planes are located. We were very excited to visit Uyuni, because we had heard so many wonderful things about it. My mom told us it was supposed to be freezing, since the last trip she took there was in winter, however we were going in summer, and we tought perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. We took a 3 hour cab ride from cochabamba to Oruro (somthing we were not originally planning on doing,,,however we had missed the bus that was supposed to take us there). Surprisingly, the bus ride was not bad (neither expensive nor physically painful).
From Oruro we took a train to Uyuni...The train ride was approximately 8-10 hour ride but it was MARVELOUS, not only was it very scenic, but also very comfortable.
Once in Uyuni we stayed at a great hostal...Majia de Uyuni, definately one of the best places in the region...for 35 dollars we stayed at a suite and had a great breakfast the next morning.
After a great night of sleep we headed to find a tour guide for our trip ( you see, in Bolivia, there is not much planning ahead...you kinda fly by the seat of your pants, you just have to be ready for anything...which is part of the fun). Going to Uyuni is an adventure trip...for all of you considering going...please keep in mind showers are luxuries and bathrooms are great if you don't mind going outside.
Within an hour we found a tour agency and for 65 dollars/person we booked a 3 day tour to Uyuni (hotel, food and transportation included). While in Uyuni we saw amazing salt planes, which looked just like snow...we even stayed in a hotel made completely of salt...which was one of my favorite parts. I think that one of the most surprising parts for me was to see flamingos in the middle of a lake in the middle of the Andes mountains (remember, I am also a Florida girl, where Flamingos roam in the middle of our hot summers). These tiny birds were firmly planted on the ground as very strong wind tried to knock me over... THe tour also included a guisers, rocks carved by wind, thermal waters, and numerous other lakes.
Me and Elliott in a Salt hotel (walls and all made of salt)Leaving Uyuni was nowhere as great as arriving...we had booked a bus (or "flota) back from Uyuni to La Paz...This was by far the WORST bust ride of my life...I cannot possibly compare it to anything I have been through before...perhaps a precipitious ride would have been worse...Let's just say that I felt as though I was in a blender with giant rocks...Mind you this was a night ride in which I suppose we were supposed to sleep...which was absolutely impossible!
After a very painful ride of 8 + hours we finally arrived to La Paz...We definately felt stinky, hungry, and tired. Nonetheless we immediately boarded another bus to Copacabana...city of the highest lake in the world...Lago Titicaca (white cat in Aymara).
CopacabanaCopacabana is a quaint little town which has a TON of tourism... The lake was the founding place of the Inca empire. The most interesting place in the town is the Island of the sun, about an 1hour boat ride from the city. Once we arrived we climbed to the top of the island and saw the sacrificial shrines used (human sacrificial stone). At the top of the island there was an Aymara priest waiting for turists. There my mom asked him to bless our upcomming marriage. The Aymara priest took us to the edge of the island overlooking the water and blessed us in aymara (a native language). It was really neat...The view of the lake is just breathtaking (and believe me...I know I lived on Lake Michigan...and loved that lake as well).
Leaving Copacabana was another transportation fiasco. We boarded a bus in the afternoon but were unable to buy dinner. My mom purchased fish at our first stop. Trucha (trout...Copacabana's specialty), was marvelous...at least when you are able to eat it with a fork and a knife...however eating out in bolivia does not include utensils, it merely includes using smaller bags as food holders or pseudo utensils...so we were now in the bus, without any lights, eating bony fish out of a bag...it was actually fun...we found Elliott's flashlight and ate very slowly...
After Copacabana we finally rested and traveled throughout La paz.
It was a marvelous trip...I am so happy that Elliott had the opportunity to come....He really made the trip unforgettable. I can't wait for future trips....
Till next time...I hope the flotas treat us better.
Posted at 11:15 pm by tiga1981
Thoughts?
Tiga
