A country that holds 36 native tribes with each group communicating in their own language (Spanish based) and existing within their own culture and traditions, Bolivia proved to be one of the most fascinating countries I have ever been to. Mountain after mountain is all my eyes saw for three weeks, complimented by bodies of water such as Lake Titicaca and natural geysers that revealed themselves in Southern Bolivia. I never said it was easy, but it was an adventure and a completely different growing experience from Argentina. From the breathtaking landscapes to the spiritual indigenous culture of the people that walk those hills, my three weeks in Bolivia showed me the true heart of South America.
Let’s start from the beginning….
Of course, my automatic response is to grip my backpack even tighter….
He is not holding a pack, wearing travel clothes, possessing the expression of someone that is dreading the long bus-ride ahead of him or smiling with the knowledge that he is about to go see a new part of South America….So I don’t know why he takes a seat next to me at Retiro Bus Station in Buenos Aires, Argentina. But still, he sits as I wait for my bus to take me thirty hours up to a part of the world I have never been to. “….donde sos?”, he says, the common question I hear about five times a day and have mastered my response to this in Spanish.
“From the United States….but I live here in Buenos Aires….teaching English….I have been here for 3 ½ months….yes, I came alone….yes, I love it”, I respond.
He then asks, “Where are you going?”.
The grip on my pack starts to loosen as I gain trust in this curious 40-something year old man. I tell him I was waiting for a bus up to Bolivia where I would be doing some traveling and volunteer work. I then search the line of about 80 buses wondering where mine was, but still totally sure I was in the correct spot.
“Let me see your ticket”, he says reaching for the piece of paper that I was fumbling with in my hand.
A pause, a look at his watch, and I knew it…. Of course there is a different section of the bus station for International Departures!!
“Vamos”, he said as he stood up and started sprinting through the bus station. I started running behind this random man who was trying his hardest to get this young women to a part of the world that I am sure he didn’t understand why I wanted to travel alone in. But nonetheless, he was running me across the station in hopes of getting me there. I saw my bus loading on the last passengers and all I had time to say was,
“Muchas gracias!”
In which, he responded with one of my favorite phrases….
“No, por nada!”.
Which means “no, for nothing”. I flew onto the bus and immediately entered a different world. There was no longer European styled, Argentines around me. I had entered Bolivia from the first moment I stepped on that bus. All eyes were on this clean, traveling gringa, that wanted to see their country, because I have the privilege of thinking that it is fascinating. I sat down, and started catching my breath after my sprint through the station….and realized….I guess that is why he sat next to me.
From this point on, my trip took the same format. Challenging moments followed by realization. At the border between Bolivia and Argentina, after 25 hours on a bus, I was told that I am not allowed in because they just made the law that all people from the United States have to have a visa for their country. ONLY people from the United States. It is sad to say, but I have gotten used to this and will continue to acknowledge the fact that it is not easy to be from North America and travel in other countries right now. But that is a whole other story and soapbox that I don’t care to slip around on at this moment. Hopefully, and I have faith in this, things will start to change and some messes that were made will be cleaned up.
Luckily, I met a few guys from Bolivia on the bus that happened to have some US dollars on them (don’t ask me why) and offered to pay for my Visa into the country and I would pay them later when we arrived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Again, I am reminded at how in travel, there always seems to be someone willing to help you out. Well maybe not always, but enough to remind you that it will work out one way or another. I got into Bolivia, and after 30 hours on a bus, I caught another 8 hour bus to Cochabamba. By this point, I basically decided that I can’t believe the things I do for travel….and also acknowledged that fact that, to me, it’s always worth it.
The Rainforest/ Jungle- Bolivia
Observing nights such as this is why I am allowing my legs to be infested with bumps that may hold disease (not really…..I got my shots before the jungle), my clothes to smell like a used sock, sweat constantly explode from all pores on my body while mosquitos latch to their humidity, while other bugs desire to investigate parts of my skin. However, there are always balances in travel, and the struggles always even out. Tonight I sat around a wood table with 6 men from an indigenous tribe in a Rainforest of South America. Attempting to be part of their comfort, I still listened as they talked of things in their tribal Spanish that I did not understand. Eventually, It was realized that they were talking about indigenous politics. Who grows the best coca? Who buys the best coca? Etc. As we all passed around their homemade “cocktail”, I listened and thought about how no matter where I am in the world, politics reaches everyone. Rules and realizations of the United States have also traveled to the depths of the Rainforest and opinions have been formed….. I was a figure of those opinions, and that is all they knew of me. Regardless, this group was welcoming, curious, and in general…open to talk to me.
The women sat towards the fire while the men chewed coca leaves, drank, and talked. Once in a while you would hear the women giggle with one-another and other times, they just sat and listened.
This is the Yuracare tribe, and even before the Spanish conquest, this tribe lived at the foot of the Bolivian Amazon and some still remain today….but not all. The number of families in this tribe are reducing and now only 150-200 Yuracare families exist.
“During the Spanish conquest, the Yuracaré region was hardly affected by lootings and expeditions. This was on the one hand because the region didn`t have the wealth/resources (gold, spices) the Spanish were looking for; on the other hand the region was little accessible. It wasn`t until the middle of the 18th century that the first Jesuit missionaries arrived in the region and tried to christianize the Yuracaré systematically. Not even 50 years later the Jesuits were followed by the Franciscans. With the missions, the Yuracaré started to settle down and to dedicate more time to agriculture. New products like chocolate and cotton were introduced in the region and the production of coca for the first time became important. Other consequences were that the Yuracaré didn`t dress in the traditional way anymore, started to give themselves European names and changed their nutrition. Little changed for the Yuracaré after Bolivia became a Republic in 1825. Bigger was the influence of the rubber boom at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the Yuracaré men were forced to work in the rubber plantations and production. Many Yuracaré fled from this forced labour and settled deeper in the forest.
This retreat deeper into the forest increased after the revolution of 1952. As a result of the revolution, free migration and settlement became possible and many peasants migrated and settled in rainforest areas. The consequence of this process, which still is ongoing, is not only the retreat into areas deeper in the forest, but also the cultural and social assimilation of those that stay closer to the peasants´ settlements. This process of colonization has generated serious conflicts about landrights. The encounter of the Andean cultures and the Indigenous cultures of the rainforest demonstrate the two completely different perspectives on property: Whilst the Aymara and Quechua have the expectation that land belongs to a family, for the Yuracaré land belongs to a whole community. Thus, fixed land titles were neither necessary nor available. Only a few years after the revolution evangelical groups arrived and started again missionizing the Yuracaré. In the seventies, the trading of exotic skins peaked. The deforestation taking place in this period also contributed to a reduced territory of the Yuracaré. In the nineties, the indigenous movement in Bolivia reached its zenith. The Yuracaré population also participated in the “Indigenous Marches” demanding the autonomous management of their territories. In 1996, the Yuracaré’s territory in the Isiboro Securé National Park was named TCO (Tierras Comunitarias de Origen=communal indigenous territory).”
Observations, Food, Traditions
Food:
“Yuca”. This comes from the root of trees in this part of Bolivia and is actually delicious! It is usually boiled and has a similar texture and taste as potatoes. I enjoyed it greatly.
Hecho, was another type of food I ate. Except this time it was an animal. The men hunt for their food in the morning, and Hecho is considered one of the better meats…..especially the heart. I watched the mother of the family that I was spending time with, take the heart out, cook it, and offer it to me….and of course, I ate it.
Plantanos, were also very popular amongst meals. Plantains are basically large bananas prepared in whatever fashion you desire.
Tea. I drank the most interesting teas from all different types of leaves and fruits from all over the rainforest. Some of the tea had a thicker consistency and they were probably my favorite food discovery in the rainforest.
Needless to say, five days in the rainforest of South America was a fascinating experience. Being one of few volunteers to walk through this part of the world, and spend time with these indigenous people put me in the middle of a curiosity I have always wanted to touch and observe in person. Never in my life, had I seen such primitive existence and authentic indigenous culture. Amazing.
After the rainforest, I headed up to La Paz Bolivia which was another interesting town. This town exists at almost 12,000 feet and holds a chaos that makes Buenos Aires look calm. From La Paz, I ventured to Lago Titicaca for three days. A beautiful lake with a history of spiritual and indigenous stories. A part of the lake called, “isle del sol”, is a monumental spot for many due to the fact that the first two Incas migrated from this spot up to Peru. After three days, I set back to La Paz to arrange my trip down to southern Bolivia, Uyuni.
On my bus from La Paz to Uyuni I met a guy from Australia by the name of Anthony. We ended up traveling together for a week, and proved to be great travel companions. Both of us had similar interests, goals, and views about traveling. We both wanted to seek out new food constantly, be as good to our bodies as Bolivia would allow us, get rest, and make sure we covered as much ground as possible. We ended up doing the three day tour of the salt deserts from southern Bolivia into Chile. Let me say a little about that….
UYUNI- Southern Bolivia
The more time I spend in South America the more I realize that this continent is an endless tunnel of beauty…and right when you get to the end of one landscape, you hear about another path that must be traveled. The salt deserts of Bolivia, contained some of the most amazing landscapes I have ever seen. I had no idea that the earth held these colors, vastness, and contrasting land formations. The tour leaves from Uyuni Bolivia, and travels through the middle of nowhere weaving on road-less earth through these landscapes….Hopefully my pictures can tell the story.
Chile
At the end of my three weeks of adventure, dirt, constant outdoor activity, hostels, a few showers, bumpy bus rides through the night on some of the most dangerous roads in the world….I got to see my dad in Santiago. He happened to have business down there and it was great hanging out with Renny Barnes in South America, where I have heard so many stories from his mouth about this continent.
There is more to see, and I haven’t even scratched the surface of this part of the world. I am now back in Buenos Aires, in a new apartment living with a Brazilian economist….rather interesting experience. At the moment, I am setting up things for the school year to start, and true to form, have taken on numerous random projects. I still love Buenos Aires, and am starting to form another home.
Non-Stop Buses
Let me tell you about my bus journey these three weeks.
Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz Bolivia- 30 hours
Santa Crus to Cochabamba- 8 hours
Cochabamba to the jungle- 7 hours
The jungle back to Cochabamba- 7 hours
Cochabamba to La Paz- 8 hours
La Paz to Lago Titicaca- 3 hours
Lago Titcaca to La Paz- 3 hours
La Paz to Uyuni- 10 hours
Uyuni tour into Chile- 3 days
San Pedro Chile to Santiago- 24 hours
Santiago to Valparaiso- 3 hours
Valparaiso back to Santiago- 3 hours
The experience.....timeless
Ok, by the end of it, I decided to dodge another
25 hour bus ride back to Buenos Aires, and I hopped
on a cheap 2 hour flight.
There will be a link to pictures....I took over a thousand.
If you are on Facebook, a bunch are there. At this moment, I am working
on a website, but for now.....good ole' Picassa albums will have to do.
Much love friends.
