Sucre

Sucre, the former capital of Bolivia is one great stage for Bolivian history, national pride and bygone splendour.

I spent three days diving from museums into churches into historical sites, always being watched by the omnipresent Simon Bolivar; this might have easily oversaturated my considerable appetite for culture if it had not been for the pleasant company of Charlotte from Holland, who I met in the bus reading the Lonely Planet (How uncommon!). Check out the Fotos here.

Cochabamba & Chapare

About time to report of my recent stations! I spent a very relaxed week in Cochabamba, where Teresa took great care of me, and had me get to know her family (of a truly biblical extent).

Here are a couple of pictures I took in Cochabamba, and while visiting the nearby Chapare jungle with Sergio, Pamela and their kids.

A pleasant change after the freezing Altiplano

A bustling city in a lush valley (well, for Bolivian measures)

The Cochabamba Jesus is taller than Rio´s

(and thus reminds me of the discussion about the world´s highest building in London)

Just a pleasant detail of a monumental industrialist mansion.

My endearing host

So, here go the fotos of the trip to the Chapare:

Yes, it´s me

The road winds down from 2700 to 300 m of altitude, and
before long enters a Jungle-like landscape

Just a Macro


And another one


And another one


Sergio and the kids preparing for a rather adventurous river crossing

Yanif

No one knows for sure, but presumably Yanif was a Israli soldier, who spent his time inventing card games rather than proactively defending his country. Apparently, this talent of his was greater than any other, for nowadays his only trace is a card game of the same name (generously, he also included his pal Asaf, as eponym for a very rare trump).

This card game however has entered the Israeli mainstream culture as part of the canon invariably taken in by military recruits. Therefore it can be taken for granted that every Israeli who has served in the army (virtually every Israeli) knows Yanif. And an ever increasing number of other nationals follows, thanks to the custom of embarking on extensive backpack travel after the end of service and teaching this marvellous game to everyone met. Quite an elegant way to become famous!

(Sociologist note: Who thinks, that the Israeli identity is created by jewism, hebrew or territory may be misled; it´s the Israeli Defense Force, which can be observed in frequent meetings of unacquainted Isreali travellers. Fascinating!)

(Personal note: Oddly, for the fourth time now I was taken to be an Israeli. I thought I resembled more of a Palestinian...)

Invitation to tender!

Well, as Mathias mentioned, chances are that my blogging may stop at sometime (he seems to know me well). In order to encourage your enduring curiosity and participation, here is an offer:

That person, who places the first comment to my last post, will be awarded an original Bolivian Llama-cap (highland proof).

Conditions:

• The person is known to me.
• The person´s head circumference does not exceed the commercially available range of caps.
  

Uyuni & South-Western Circuit

The town of Uyuni is an outpost in the seemingly hostile south western desert. Cold dry winds blow through the chessboard streets, and the incredibly azur sky seems to be much closer to earth here. (More fotos )







From here, we start on a three-day expedition through the largely uninhabited southwest. Starting with the worlds largest salt lake, we climb altitudes of more than 4400m and creep our way through a moonlike landscape that would seem like a painting if it were not for the ice-cold winds.

The definite star of this expedition

Island Vista

One of many rocks to be seen here

A toxic but beautiful lagoon

Just one of many breakdowns

El Altiplano

The road from La Paz winds up towards the airport and leads into to the vast Altiplano, the cold and scarcely populated highlands. While the bus unexcitedly follows the long straight road, occasionally small settlements and sheep herds pass by.

After 4 hours of travel, we reach Oruro, capital of the southern province of the same name, long-time mining capital of Bolivia. A welcome sign displays the city motto: O Poder de tus braços (The strength of your arms).
The nearly completely indigenous population has built their homes clinging to the hills that once provided for labour and prosperity. However deficient this city maybe in terms of sights, it has an air of a proud, hard working past.

Rewarding view after a long climb

A closed down tin mine

A house with a protective token

Leaving from Oruro train station

Travellers

There seem to be three archetypes of backpackers in La Paz:

• The "Performance-Eco", whose challenge is to travel the whole of South America in 2 months. Efficient cultural immersion and ecological concern and state-of-the-art-equipment round up the self-image of this species.
• The "Hare-Krishna-Pilgrim", who seeks deeper wisdom and self-knowledge by moving around the continent´s inspiring places and entertaining the local varieties of mind-extending substances.
• The "Postcard-Oriented Swarm Packer" who seems to come either from US or Israel, moves in huge noisy packs and has the divine mission of promoting the use of the English language.

Well, so far my only mission is to take a break...

La Paz, a little longer

I guess it is a little early for expounding on the psyche of Bolivia or La Paz, but so far I like the place and enjoy simply wandering about. Besides this, I spent yesterday afternoon with Teresa (a dear family friend from Cochabamba) and her niece´s family. Well, a pleasant start (very much delicious food and very little appetite)!

Toyota bus defying gravity

Quick downhill material transport

Saluting the national softdrink industry

Foto Studio

Me

Marcelo, Mateo, Nicolas, Daniela y Teresa

Shouldn´t this one be called La Paz?

La Paz

La Paz, first glance

After a felt week of travel I finally reached La Paz at 5 am yesterday. I am yet to start exploring, but a few thing have become apparent yet:

• The landing strip of El Alto Airport is thrice as long as normal, because of reduced air density.
• Sunlight is really blinding.
• Altitude sickness feels like really bad hangover.