So a few people have been asking lately what I need. And the short answer is that I don't really need anything. I can find pretty much all of the essentials down here and the "I just can't do PC without" things like Carmex SPF chap stick, Assie spray in conditioner, and Oil of Olay anti-aging cream have pretty much been taken care of till I leave here thanks to some awesome friends and family. But there are a few things that, while not per say "necessary", would be pretty amazing to receive...
red vines (twizzlers are not an acceptable substitute)
reeses pieces
chex mix
pesto sauce packets (and any other handy sauce mix like that)
Chinese rice crackers
one of those Hickory Farms sausage logs (I eat a lot of crackers down here)
new music, movies or tv shows (i-tunes cards!!) I now have a computer!
interesting "light" reading material (Rolling Stone, Nat. Geo., Jane, ect...)
perfume samples (anything citrus, floral or sweet smelling) or a body spray!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Carnaval Oruro Style!
Aftermath of a globo/espuma (water balloon/foam) war. During pauses in the parade we would either initiate globo wars with, or do the best to defend ourselves from, other spectators watching the parade. Actually the globo/espuma fighting can be really fun if you want to play. I never actually initiated any fights with anyone, but if somebody tried to get mess with me I had no qualms about going after them. I didn´t care if it was just a little kid! haha...I can´t tell you how good it felt to espuma some punk kid right in the face after all I went through last carnaval! And I should also mention that the spectators are much more respectful of the dancers in Oruro. If you tried to throw a water ballon at one of the dancers you would be publicly humiliated.
Los Diablos (the devils) getting ready to dance. 
Every group of dancers some a few hundred strong, has a band backing them up. A lot of the band members don´t look so good. A combination of exhaustion from walking the parade route with their heavy instruments and drunkenness (mostly drunkenness). But this band was pretty awesome. Sharply dressed and full of energy.
These dancers are performing the Tinku. My favorite Bolivian dance. It´s basically a reenactment of a fighting ritual that the Tinku people still do to this day (to the death!). Both the music and the dance is really high energy and really exciting to watch.
And last but not least... my favorite Carnaval character the Oso! It´s supposed to be a bear, not a deranged giant rat.
More to come...
New Years in Buenos Aires!
I didn´t get to do too much sightseeing since I was only in town for a few days, but we did manage to check out the Recoleta. A little city of mausoleums. Some sparkling new, obnoxiously huge and made of black polished granite (can not even begin to imagine how much something like that would cost) and others, like the the one above, hundreds of years old crumbling apart but full of character.
We celebrated New Years Eve with a rooftop BBQ. It was so hot and humid! We were wiping off sweat while watching the fireworks ring in the New Year. All the girls were looking cute in there dresses and heels while the boys were all shirtless a drinking beer...real classy guys. The girl in blue is my awesome site mate Julia and the shirtless man is her boyfriend Dan, another Tarija volunteer. Check out my cast. All that for a little broken finger!
A huge crowd was gathered in front of the Casa Rosada, the Argentinean equivalent of the White House, holding up pictures of loved ones (the majority of them very young) and banners with sayings like ¨Never Again¨. A tragic nightclub fire the year before had killed over a hundred people. Basically the place was ridiculously packed full of people and when a fire broke out they ran for the emergency exits only to find them chained shut, trapping them inside. The trial for the club owners was taking place that week and the people wanted to make sure their friends and family members were not forgotten.
Sippin´ on a McDonald´s soda on the Subte (subway). I felt like I had been teleported 20 years into the future. Bought the very hippy t-shirt in one of the many cutesy cheap little boutiques in Palermo. Argentineans are very stylish people.Saturday, February 16, 2008
Another blow to US/Bolivian relations
The following article was run by ABC news last week -
In an apparent violation of U.S. policy, Peace Corps volunteers and a Fulbright scholar were asked by a U.S. Embassy official in Bolivia "to basically spy" on Cubans and Venezuelans in the country, according to Peace Corps personnel and the Fulbright scholar involved.
"I was told to provide the names, addresses and activities of any Venezuelan or Cuban doctors or field workers I come across during my time here," Fulbright scholar John Alexander van Schaick told ABCNews.com in an interview in La Paz.
Van Schaick's account matches that of Peace Corps members and staff who claim that last July their entire group of new volunteers was instructed by the same U.S. Embassy official in Bolivia to report on Cuban and Venezuelan nationals.
The State Department says any such request was "in error" and a violation of long-standing U.S. policy which prohibits the use of Peace Corps personnel or Fulbright scholars for intelligence purposes. "We take this very seriously and want to stress this is not in any way our policy," a senior State Department official told ABCNews.com.
The Fulbright scholar van Schaick, a 2006 Rutgers University graduate, says the request came at a mandatory orientation and security briefing meeting with Assistant Regional Security Officer Vincent Cooper at the embassy on the morning of Nov. 5, 2007. According to van Schaick, the request for information gathering "surfaced casually" halfway through Cooper's 30-minute, one-on-one briefing, which initially dealt with helpful tips about life and security concerns in Bolivia.
"He said, 'We know the Venezuelans and Cubans are here, and we want to keep tabs on them,'" said van Schaick who recalls feeling "appalled" at the comment. "I was in shock," van Schaick said. "My immediate thought was 'oh my God! Somebody from the U.S. Embassy just asked me to basically spy for the U.S. Embassy.'"
A similar pattern emerges in the account of the three Peace Corps volunteers and their supervisor. On July 29, 2007, just before the new volunteers were sworn in, they say embassy security officer Vincent Cooper visited the 30-person group to give a talk on safety and made his request about the Cubans and Venezuelans. "He said it had to do with the fight against terrorism," said one, of the briefing from the embassy official. Others remember being told, "It's for your own safety."
Peace Corps Deputy Director Doreen Salazar remembers the incident vividly because she says it was the first time she had heard an embassy official make such a request to a Peace Corps group. Salazar says she and her fellow staff found the comment so out of line that they interrupted the briefing to clarify that volunteers did not have to follow the embassy's instructions, and she later complained directly to the embassy about the incident.
"Peace Corps is an a-political institution," Salazar says. "We made it clear to the embassy that this was an inappropriate request, and they agreed."
Indeed, the State Department admits having acknowledged the infraction and assuring Salazar that it would not happen again. Yet, it was just four months later that Fulbright scholar van Schaick says he was asked by the same embassy official, Cooper, to "spy" on the Cubans and Venezuelans. A U.S. Embassy official in La Paz, Bolivia said Cooper was referring all calls for comment to the State Department in Washington.
Van Schaick says he never considered complying with the request, fearful he would violate Bolivian espionage laws and that he would jeopardize the integrity of the Fulbright program, which yearly sends hundreds of American college graduates to countries around the world.
"I am supposed to be a cultural ambassador increasing mutual understanding between us and the Bolivian people," van Schaick explains. "This flies in face of everything Fulbright stands for."
The Fulbright program receives its funding from the U.S. State Department and the Peace Corps is a federal agency, but the State Department insists that neither group has the obligation to act in an intelligence capacity. In fact, both have strict regulations against members getting involved in politics in their host country.
The press director at the Peace Corps told ABC News in no uncertain terms that the corps is not involved in any intelligence gathering. "Since Peace Corps' inception in 1961, it has been the practice of the Peace Corps to keep volunteers separate from any official duties pertaining to U.S. foreign policy, including the reality or the appearance of involvement in intelligence-related activities," said Amanda Beck, press director of the Peace Corps. "Any connection between the Peace Corps and the intelligence community would seriously compromise the ability of the Peace Corps to develop and maintain the trust and confidence of the people in the host countries we serve." Read the Peace Corps' full statement.
Like many of the Peace Corps workers, van Schaick is carrying out his research in the Santa Cruz countryside, where a number of Cuban doctors are deployed providing free medical services as part of Cuba's solidarity with its socialist ally, Bolivia's President Evo Morales.
The accusations are likely to reverberate in Bolivia, especially given the already shaky relationship between the Bush administration and President Morales' two-year-old government.
"These are serious incidents that we will investigate thoroughly," says Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca in an interview. "Any U.S. government use of their students or volunteers to provide intelligence represents a grave threat to Bolivia's sovereignty." Bolivian law provides severe penalties in espionage cases. According to Article 111 of the country's penal code, "he who procures secretive documents, objects or information…concerning [Bolivia's] foreign relations in an espionage effort for other countries during times of peace, endangering the security of the State, will incur a penalty of 30 years in prison." In lay man's terms: if any U.S. citizen provides information of use in a spying effort, they would be subject to Bolivia's maximum prison sentence.
But the U.S. citizens who reported being approached in this way by the State Department official said no mention was made of any legal risks arising from complying with the request to keep tabs on foreign nationals in Bolivia. There is no indication that any of the volunteers made reports to the U.S. Embassy.
Van Schaick says he is keenly aware of the Pandora's box now knocked open. The Hoboken, N.J. native, however, was adamant that the incident be brought to light -- in the hopes for change. "I came forward because the Bolivian people have a right to know," former union activist van Schaick says. "Asking Fulbrighters to spy is just not OK."
Three of the other four Fulbright scholars currently in Bolivia say they were never asked about Cubans or Venezuelans in their briefings. A fourth Fulbright scholar declined repeated requests for an interview on the subject.
I can´t really say to much about such a politically controversial situation like this on my blog. But I´d like to personally thank Mr. Vincent Cooper for getting us into this mess. There about 130 PC volunteers here in Bolivia that are here for all the right reasons and you´re ¨slip up¨ puts all of our credibility into question. Thanks.
In an apparent violation of U.S. policy, Peace Corps volunteers and a Fulbright scholar were asked by a U.S. Embassy official in Bolivia "to basically spy" on Cubans and Venezuelans in the country, according to Peace Corps personnel and the Fulbright scholar involved.
"I was told to provide the names, addresses and activities of any Venezuelan or Cuban doctors or field workers I come across during my time here," Fulbright scholar John Alexander van Schaick told ABCNews.com in an interview in La Paz.
Van Schaick's account matches that of Peace Corps members and staff who claim that last July their entire group of new volunteers was instructed by the same U.S. Embassy official in Bolivia to report on Cuban and Venezuelan nationals.
The State Department says any such request was "in error" and a violation of long-standing U.S. policy which prohibits the use of Peace Corps personnel or Fulbright scholars for intelligence purposes. "We take this very seriously and want to stress this is not in any way our policy," a senior State Department official told ABCNews.com.
The Fulbright scholar van Schaick, a 2006 Rutgers University graduate, says the request came at a mandatory orientation and security briefing meeting with Assistant Regional Security Officer Vincent Cooper at the embassy on the morning of Nov. 5, 2007. According to van Schaick, the request for information gathering "surfaced casually" halfway through Cooper's 30-minute, one-on-one briefing, which initially dealt with helpful tips about life and security concerns in Bolivia.
"He said, 'We know the Venezuelans and Cubans are here, and we want to keep tabs on them,'" said van Schaick who recalls feeling "appalled" at the comment. "I was in shock," van Schaick said. "My immediate thought was 'oh my God! Somebody from the U.S. Embassy just asked me to basically spy for the U.S. Embassy.'"
A similar pattern emerges in the account of the three Peace Corps volunteers and their supervisor. On July 29, 2007, just before the new volunteers were sworn in, they say embassy security officer Vincent Cooper visited the 30-person group to give a talk on safety and made his request about the Cubans and Venezuelans. "He said it had to do with the fight against terrorism," said one, of the briefing from the embassy official. Others remember being told, "It's for your own safety."
Peace Corps Deputy Director Doreen Salazar remembers the incident vividly because she says it was the first time she had heard an embassy official make such a request to a Peace Corps group. Salazar says she and her fellow staff found the comment so out of line that they interrupted the briefing to clarify that volunteers did not have to follow the embassy's instructions, and she later complained directly to the embassy about the incident.
"Peace Corps is an a-political institution," Salazar says. "We made it clear to the embassy that this was an inappropriate request, and they agreed."
Indeed, the State Department admits having acknowledged the infraction and assuring Salazar that it would not happen again. Yet, it was just four months later that Fulbright scholar van Schaick says he was asked by the same embassy official, Cooper, to "spy" on the Cubans and Venezuelans. A U.S. Embassy official in La Paz, Bolivia said Cooper was referring all calls for comment to the State Department in Washington.
Van Schaick says he never considered complying with the request, fearful he would violate Bolivian espionage laws and that he would jeopardize the integrity of the Fulbright program, which yearly sends hundreds of American college graduates to countries around the world.
"I am supposed to be a cultural ambassador increasing mutual understanding between us and the Bolivian people," van Schaick explains. "This flies in face of everything Fulbright stands for."
The Fulbright program receives its funding from the U.S. State Department and the Peace Corps is a federal agency, but the State Department insists that neither group has the obligation to act in an intelligence capacity. In fact, both have strict regulations against members getting involved in politics in their host country.
The press director at the Peace Corps told ABC News in no uncertain terms that the corps is not involved in any intelligence gathering. "Since Peace Corps' inception in 1961, it has been the practice of the Peace Corps to keep volunteers separate from any official duties pertaining to U.S. foreign policy, including the reality or the appearance of involvement in intelligence-related activities," said Amanda Beck, press director of the Peace Corps. "Any connection between the Peace Corps and the intelligence community would seriously compromise the ability of the Peace Corps to develop and maintain the trust and confidence of the people in the host countries we serve." Read the Peace Corps' full statement.
Like many of the Peace Corps workers, van Schaick is carrying out his research in the Santa Cruz countryside, where a number of Cuban doctors are deployed providing free medical services as part of Cuba's solidarity with its socialist ally, Bolivia's President Evo Morales.
The accusations are likely to reverberate in Bolivia, especially given the already shaky relationship between the Bush administration and President Morales' two-year-old government.
"These are serious incidents that we will investigate thoroughly," says Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca in an interview. "Any U.S. government use of their students or volunteers to provide intelligence represents a grave threat to Bolivia's sovereignty." Bolivian law provides severe penalties in espionage cases. According to Article 111 of the country's penal code, "he who procures secretive documents, objects or information…concerning [Bolivia's] foreign relations in an espionage effort for other countries during times of peace, endangering the security of the State, will incur a penalty of 30 years in prison." In lay man's terms: if any U.S. citizen provides information of use in a spying effort, they would be subject to Bolivia's maximum prison sentence.
But the U.S. citizens who reported being approached in this way by the State Department official said no mention was made of any legal risks arising from complying with the request to keep tabs on foreign nationals in Bolivia. There is no indication that any of the volunteers made reports to the U.S. Embassy.
Van Schaick says he is keenly aware of the Pandora's box now knocked open. The Hoboken, N.J. native, however, was adamant that the incident be brought to light -- in the hopes for change. "I came forward because the Bolivian people have a right to know," former union activist van Schaick says. "Asking Fulbrighters to spy is just not OK."
Three of the other four Fulbright scholars currently in Bolivia say they were never asked about Cubans or Venezuelans in their briefings. A fourth Fulbright scholar declined repeated requests for an interview on the subject.
I can´t really say to much about such a politically controversial situation like this on my blog. But I´d like to personally thank Mr. Vincent Cooper for getting us into this mess. There about 130 PC volunteers here in Bolivia that are here for all the right reasons and you´re ¨slip up¨ puts all of our credibility into question. Thanks.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
More Pics...
Some pictures that I really like for one reason or another...
This is just a pretty flower on a giant cactus on the Isla del Peces in the Salar.
"I'm too beautiful to be a volunteer"...haha! What is with that look?! This is my buddy Kilo at Rodeo right before the most amazing parrillada of my life. Relax folks... parrillada is a BBQ!
This is my buddy Loro. I made the mistake of being nice to him and ever since he's managed to crawl up my huge flight of stairs (well... huge for a little loro) every morning and squawk and shriek to wake me up at six in the morning. That was until his mysterious disappearance... I swear I had nothing to do with it! I actually kind of miss that little guy.
These are kids from the first class I ever worked with. After about five minutes of watching me and wondering what I was doing... I managed to convince them that picking up trash was way cool! These kids were sooo adorable. When I waved goodbye to them a group of girls all looked at each other and said something between themselves. Then the next second they all come running to me and each give me a goodbye kiss. I was too sweet! (It looks like the boy on the right is trying to make the moves on the cutie in pink)
This is just a pretty flower on a giant cactus on the Isla del Peces in the Salar.
"I'm too beautiful to be a volunteer"...haha! What is with that look?! This is my buddy Kilo at Rodeo right before the most amazing parrillada of my life. Relax folks... parrillada is a BBQ!
This is my buddy Loro. I made the mistake of being nice to him and ever since he's managed to crawl up my huge flight of stairs (well... huge for a little loro) every morning and squawk and shriek to wake me up at six in the morning. That was until his mysterious disappearance... I swear I had nothing to do with it! I actually kind of miss that little guy.
These are kids from the first class I ever worked with. After about five minutes of watching me and wondering what I was doing... I managed to convince them that picking up trash was way cool! These kids were sooo adorable. When I waved goodbye to them a group of girls all looked at each other and said something between themselves. Then the next second they all come running to me and each give me a goodbye kiss. I was too sweet! (It looks like the boy on the right is trying to make the moves on the cutie in pink)
One of the things I really like about Bolivia is the frequency of band music and parades. This was a parade in Tarija after Dia de Santos. Can't wait to see the "mack daddy" of all parades in Oruro for carnaval this Feb!!!
These are Julia's Kids. A group of kids from the local orphanage in Bermejo. We took the kids out of the city and to the campo for an afternoon of soccer and raiding oranges form a nearby orchard. I know it's wrong to have favorites.... but these two are mine! The kid in pink is probably 8 years old and not even four feet tall, but he is the most bas ass futbolero you've ever seen! He's like waist tall but dribbles straight for you like he's going to run right over you. It's hilarious! Me and Dan tried not to laugh every time this kid got the ball. The other one is just so cute. He's always holding your hand and asking about some plant, your earrings, why your in a cast. It's probably a good thing foreigners can't adopt Bolivian children cause otherwise this one might end up coming home with me.
These are Julia's Kids. A group of kids from the local orphanage in Bermejo. We took the kids out of the city and to the campo for an afternoon of soccer and raiding oranges form a nearby orchard. I know it's wrong to have favorites.... but these two are mine! The kid in pink is probably 8 years old and not even four feet tall, but he is the most bas ass futbolero you've ever seen! He's like waist tall but dribbles straight for you like he's going to run right over you. It's hilarious! Me and Dan tried not to laugh every time this kid got the ball. The other one is just so cute. He's always holding your hand and asking about some plant, your earrings, why your in a cast. It's probably a good thing foreigners can't adopt Bolivian children cause otherwise this one might end up coming home with me.Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Todos Santos
Todos Santos (All Saints) is a Bolivian holiday celebrated around the same time as Halloween in the States. It´s my favorite Bolivian holiday (so far) and was the best bonding experience I´ve had with my host family thus far. There´s a few elements that I would like to take with me and incorporate into Halloween when I´m back in the States. Mainly, it´s just taking time to remember and (most importantly) celebrate the lives of the dead. I think it´s really nice to just set one day aside and remember people... because otherwise they can be too easily forgotten.
It reminds me a lot of Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. Basically, people take a day, or two, to remember and celebrate the dead. In my host family the day before Todos Santos we cooked a big meal making specific dishes that recently departed ones had liked and set a special place for them at the table. Then on the day of Todos Santos we had a delicious parillada (bbq) and headed over to the local cemetery to hang out and pay our respects.
This is the Cruz de los Viejos (Cross of the Old Ones) that greets you at the entrance of the cemetery and symbolizes all the ancestors that became before us. There must have been about a thousand candles lit underneath this brightly decorated cross.
This is my host mom Doña Ana and my niece Adriana, a real cutie. They are holding up pictures of Doña Ana´s son Rafa (passed away about two years ago) and her husband (five years). They were apparently both really into horses. Rafa was quite a popular, accomplished rider in Bermejo. He actually died in a tragic horse riding accident that I´ve talked about on here before.
This is Rafa´s and Doña Ana´s husband´s grave site. One of the prettier graves in the cemetery. I asked to go with them to the cemetery to see the graves. I was a little worried that Doña Ana might get emotional because I heard that she gets pretty emotional whenever talking about Rafa and I´m really not good in dealing with situations like that. But we just sat there in contemplative silence while other people would come up and pay their respects and Doña Ana would show them her pictures. The overall feeling at the cemetery was humm... how can I describe it? It was neither somber or overly festive. But it felt positive. Like people were genuinely remembering their loved ones, but happy to be there all the same.
It reminds me a lot of Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. Basically, people take a day, or two, to remember and celebrate the dead. In my host family the day before Todos Santos we cooked a big meal making specific dishes that recently departed ones had liked and set a special place for them at the table. Then on the day of Todos Santos we had a delicious parillada (bbq) and headed over to the local cemetery to hang out and pay our respects.
This is the Cruz de los Viejos (Cross of the Old Ones) that greets you at the entrance of the cemetery and symbolizes all the ancestors that became before us. There must have been about a thousand candles lit underneath this brightly decorated cross.
This is my host mom Doña Ana and my niece Adriana, a real cutie. They are holding up pictures of Doña Ana´s son Rafa (passed away about two years ago) and her husband (five years). They were apparently both really into horses. Rafa was quite a popular, accomplished rider in Bermejo. He actually died in a tragic horse riding accident that I´ve talked about on here before.
This is Rafa´s and Doña Ana´s husband´s grave site. One of the prettier graves in the cemetery. I asked to go with them to the cemetery to see the graves. I was a little worried that Doña Ana might get emotional because I heard that she gets pretty emotional whenever talking about Rafa and I´m really not good in dealing with situations like that. But we just sat there in contemplative silence while other people would come up and pay their respects and Doña Ana would show them her pictures. The overall feeling at the cemetery was humm... how can I describe it? It was neither somber or overly festive. But it felt positive. Like people were genuinely remembering their loved ones, but happy to be there all the same.
I stopped to take a picture of the relatively more simple grave sites and this woman saw me and invited me to a drink which I was instructed to first pour some onto the grave as an offering to the decest. She told me about how the elderly woman in the grave didn´t have family when she became ill and that she took care of her during her last year and now she was the only one to visit her. I was touched by how this woman so openly shared her story with me. Definitely one of the most significant and personal cross cultural experiences I´ve had thus far.
Tupiza to Copacabana
Ok... wanted to elaborate on the vacation more, but I think I may have broken my finger playing football after turkey dinner (yes I am an idiot). So typing isn´t working out too well right now. This will have to do for now.
Just got back from my first real vacation! (I do not count a weekend in Salta as a real vacation) A whirl wind tour through western Bolivia. My friends from Brown, Dawn and David, came down and meet me in Tarija. From there we made a brief visit to Bermejo and then it was off to Tupiza, via el norte de Argentina and the absolutely gorgeous Quebrada Hamahuaca. For anyone headed to Tupiza I highly recommend traveling this route rather than through southern Bolivia. Not only are Argentinean buses clean and comfortable and the roads paved, but the scenery is sooo pretty.
Just outside of Tarija.
From Tupiza we set off on a four day/ three night jeep tour through the desolate south western corner of Bolivia and the Salar de Uyuni (the world´s biggest salt flat). It was basically four days of straight driving through some of the most remote, but beautiful territory in Bolivia. We passed by extinct volcanoes, colored lagoons, deserts... all around 4000m or more. We saw a lot of wildlife.... about a million llamas (although they´re not so wild anymore), vicuñas (like llamas but smaller), vischacas (like a chinchilla), lots of flamingos and a fox. No condors though... that was a bummer.
This is the Isla de Pesca (Fish Island) in the middle of the Salar. A cactus covered island in a sea of salt.
We came across some pretty impressive ruins. An abandoned village said to be about 1500 years old (not sure if I quite believe it), still in great condition. The first ruins I have visited thus far in Bolivia. The town was huge relative to all the other more ¨modern¨, still occupied, towns around it. The people apparently made a living mining silver, but like so many others were robed by the Spanish then victim to a subsequent plague.
Some minor technical difficulties. The break was stuck on the rear tire. Solution... take it off. You don´t really need all of your breaks anyway, right? The kid... oops I mean full grown man in the red jacket was our guide and driver. We didn´t realize how tiny he was until he got out of the jeep. We shared the jeep with a really cool Irish couple (there the one´s in black. Some of the most well traveled people I´ve ever meet. So now I´ve got a place to crash in Ireland ;)
The beautiful Laguna Verde. Green because of arsenic and other nasty chemicals. We took a cue from the flamingos and stayed away from this lagoon.
So cheesy.... but we couldn´t help ourselves. This is one in about a million dorky photos we took on the Salar.
Infamous Potosi. Once the richest city in the World. The mountain is still mined to this day under very harsh, some may say cruel and inhumane, conditions.
El Cemetario. One of the most tranquil places in the other wise chaotic city of La Paz. This huge cemetery is a nice retreat from the smog filled noisy streets of La Paz. I almost had a heart attack climbing up the almost vertical streets to get there. But it was well worth it. La Paz is just nuts. It´s a huge city in the middle of a relatively small valley surrounded by dramatic snow capped mountains. You can see in the picture how the buildings crawl up every inch of the valley seemingly defying gravity. It´s the weirdest contrast between ugly urban sprawl and natural beauty. At night on the Prado, in the middle of the valley, you´re surrounded by lights on the valley walls all around you. A very bizarre feeling.
These fine items are for sale in the witch´s market (more like a few random stands than an actual market). Well... I´m not exactly sure what the armadillo is for, but the dried llama fetuses (yes that´s what they are) are buried under new houses and other buildings to please Pacha Mama (Earth Mother) and bring good fortune. No... the fetuses were not killed for this particular purpose. They were found in previously slaughtered llamas used for food purposes.
El Centro. I think this picture gives a pretty good idea of the chaos of La Paz.
The totally chill (definitely more my pace) Copacabana. It´s really weird feeling like you´re at a beach town while looking at snow caped mountains in the background. The countryside surrounding Lago Titicaca is soo pretty. This is the largest body of water I have seen in 10 months! There´s some thing very calming about water.
The even more tranquilo Isla del Sol (Sun Island). The birth place of the sun in Incan legend. Turns out the birth place of the sun wasn´t so sunny. We actually got a hail storm while on the island. We had to hike up ¨an easy 2km of stairs¨ (hostel description) at over 4,000 m with our packs to get to our hostel at the top of the hill. I felt like I might die as local kids carrying other peoples packs (almost as big as themselves) were waltzing up the hill. But it was all worth it. Once my vision came back into focus... I could appreciate the absolutely amazing view of Isla de la Luna (Moon Island), the lake and the snow capped mountains behind it. As you can see from the photo every inch of this island is terraced. It´s pretty impressive what people will do to make a living.
Glad I wasn´t on that bus (we decided to take the lower route). This is the reason why the length of bus rides are given in time ranges and not precise hours. Ya never know what you´re going to run into. Who knows how long these poor people were stuck in the middle of nowhere while the drivers shoveled dirt futily under the tires.
Just got back from my first real vacation! (I do not count a weekend in Salta as a real vacation) A whirl wind tour through western Bolivia. My friends from Brown, Dawn and David, came down and meet me in Tarija. From there we made a brief visit to Bermejo and then it was off to Tupiza, via el norte de Argentina and the absolutely gorgeous Quebrada Hamahuaca. For anyone headed to Tupiza I highly recommend traveling this route rather than through southern Bolivia. Not only are Argentinean buses clean and comfortable and the roads paved, but the scenery is sooo pretty.
Just outside of Tarija.From Tupiza we set off on a four day/ three night jeep tour through the desolate south western corner of Bolivia and the Salar de Uyuni (the world´s biggest salt flat). It was basically four days of straight driving through some of the most remote, but beautiful territory in Bolivia. We passed by extinct volcanoes, colored lagoons, deserts... all around 4000m or more. We saw a lot of wildlife.... about a million llamas (although they´re not so wild anymore), vicuñas (like llamas but smaller), vischacas (like a chinchilla), lots of flamingos and a fox. No condors though... that was a bummer.
This is the Isla de Pesca (Fish Island) in the middle of the Salar. A cactus covered island in a sea of salt.
We came across some pretty impressive ruins. An abandoned village said to be about 1500 years old (not sure if I quite believe it), still in great condition. The first ruins I have visited thus far in Bolivia. The town was huge relative to all the other more ¨modern¨, still occupied, towns around it. The people apparently made a living mining silver, but like so many others were robed by the Spanish then victim to a subsequent plague.
Some minor technical difficulties. The break was stuck on the rear tire. Solution... take it off. You don´t really need all of your breaks anyway, right? The kid... oops I mean full grown man in the red jacket was our guide and driver. We didn´t realize how tiny he was until he got out of the jeep. We shared the jeep with a really cool Irish couple (there the one´s in black. Some of the most well traveled people I´ve ever meet. So now I´ve got a place to crash in Ireland ;)
The beautiful Laguna Verde. Green because of arsenic and other nasty chemicals. We took a cue from the flamingos and stayed away from this lagoon.
So cheesy.... but we couldn´t help ourselves. This is one in about a million dorky photos we took on the Salar.
Infamous Potosi. Once the richest city in the World. The mountain is still mined to this day under very harsh, some may say cruel and inhumane, conditions.
El Cemetario. One of the most tranquil places in the other wise chaotic city of La Paz. This huge cemetery is a nice retreat from the smog filled noisy streets of La Paz. I almost had a heart attack climbing up the almost vertical streets to get there. But it was well worth it. La Paz is just nuts. It´s a huge city in the middle of a relatively small valley surrounded by dramatic snow capped mountains. You can see in the picture how the buildings crawl up every inch of the valley seemingly defying gravity. It´s the weirdest contrast between ugly urban sprawl and natural beauty. At night on the Prado, in the middle of the valley, you´re surrounded by lights on the valley walls all around you. A very bizarre feeling.
These fine items are for sale in the witch´s market (more like a few random stands than an actual market). Well... I´m not exactly sure what the armadillo is for, but the dried llama fetuses (yes that´s what they are) are buried under new houses and other buildings to please Pacha Mama (Earth Mother) and bring good fortune. No... the fetuses were not killed for this particular purpose. They were found in previously slaughtered llamas used for food purposes.
El Centro. I think this picture gives a pretty good idea of the chaos of La Paz.
The totally chill (definitely more my pace) Copacabana. It´s really weird feeling like you´re at a beach town while looking at snow caped mountains in the background. The countryside surrounding Lago Titicaca is soo pretty. This is the largest body of water I have seen in 10 months! There´s some thing very calming about water.
The even more tranquilo Isla del Sol (Sun Island). The birth place of the sun in Incan legend. Turns out the birth place of the sun wasn´t so sunny. We actually got a hail storm while on the island. We had to hike up ¨an easy 2km of stairs¨ (hostel description) at over 4,000 m with our packs to get to our hostel at the top of the hill. I felt like I might die as local kids carrying other peoples packs (almost as big as themselves) were waltzing up the hill. But it was all worth it. Once my vision came back into focus... I could appreciate the absolutely amazing view of Isla de la Luna (Moon Island), the lake and the snow capped mountains behind it. As you can see from the photo every inch of this island is terraced. It´s pretty impressive what people will do to make a living.
Glad I wasn´t on that bus (we decided to take the lower route). This is the reason why the length of bus rides are given in time ranges and not precise hours. Ya never know what you´re going to run into. Who knows how long these poor people were stuck in the middle of nowhere while the drivers shoveled dirt futily under the tires.
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