UnBoliviable!
Visiting Bolivia is like hopping in Doc Brown’s time machine and hitting buttons. Suddenly, you’re in a place that feels very, very different… there are dinosaur footprints on the ground, women performing witchcraft, and EVERY restaurant serves tea brewed with cocaine leaves. Beyond that, the natural beauty is not of this earth.
In America, you don’t hear much talk about Bolivia as a travel destination. And that’s a damn shame.
Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve
In America, you don’t hear much talk about Bolivia as a travel destination. And that’s a damn shame.
Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve
This national reserve is like a page out of a science fiction novel. To visit, a small 4x4 took us off-road for 2 days through some of the most desolate terrain in the world. Home to only a handful of indigenous people, and sparsely populated by life itself. The journey passed several lakes, each a different color -- glowing green, deep red, and milky white. Some lakes poisoned with arsenic and void of life entirely, others home to rare species of beautiful flamingos. At the geysers, the ground before us bubbled and smoked away hot methane. Giant stone mushrooms… proof of what sand storms can do, given millions of years. As we drove from marvel to marvel, we passed mountains colored of red and white swirling marble. Occasionally, a family of wild lama trotted by.
Uyuni Salt Flat
Could you imagine if the Long Island Sound dried-up, leaving only a flat sheet of salt? The Uyuni Salt Flat is a ghost lake -- a lake that once was, thousands of years ago. Today, the salt flat stretches for miles and miles, and has “islands” covered with cacti. These "islands" are the tips of ancient volcanoes that pierce out from the salty flat surface. The flat is so darn flat, satellites orbiting the earth use it to calibrate their axes.
More importantly, Uyuni is where the best pizza in South America can be found. A fellow named Chris from Massachusetts was travelling through Bolivia in the 90's, fell in love with a Bolivian gal, and decided to stick around and open a pizza shop. It's called Minuteman Pizza, and it will make you go "Mmmmm"
More importantly, Uyuni is where the best pizza in South America can be found. A fellow named Chris from Massachusetts was travelling through Bolivia in the 90's, fell in love with a Bolivian gal, and decided to stick around and open a pizza shop. It's called Minuteman Pizza, and it will make you go "Mmmmm"
Dinosaurs used to chill-out here
We all love dinosaurs and miss them very much. Well, back in the day, Bolivia was one of the dinosaurs’ main hang-outs. And their footprints are still here today! Near the city of Sucre is a giant dinosaur trail covered with footprints — a highway that dino’s stomped on 68 million years ago. Their prints hardened into the mud and are still well-preserved. There are over 5,000 tracks from 300 different species of dinosaur, including T-Rex, sauropods, and the colossal titanosaurs! Near the prints is a museum where they’ve recreated the magic with life-size replicas of the dino’s. Rarrrr!
Witchcraft
Have an ailment you can’t shake? or frustration with love or sex? Head to the witches market in La Paz where they’re bound to have a remedy. The prescription will likely be a dead lama fetus, a mystical potion, or a special black powder. Near the witches market you’ll find no shortage of fortune tellers reading tarot cards and tea leaves. Our hotel in La Paz was smack-bang in the witches district. I shopped around for a new tarot deck, but didn't chance upon that special one. It will find me, when the time is right.
Horse riding in Tupiza
In the early 1900's, Butch Cassidy and Sundance arrived in Bolivia, fleeing the law and seeking fresh banks to rob. They eventually made their way near the canyon region of Tupiza where they met their maker. Or did they? Some whisper that they slipped away and lived in anonymity. Others say they've seen Cassidys face wandering through the deserts of Nevada. To be sure, Suzanne and I rode horses through Tupiza trying to trace their tracks and see what we could find. We didn't find a damn thing, but man, did we have fun riding!
Train Graveyard
We've all watched Indiana Jones leap from the top of train cars while the train roared down the tracks leaving a trail of dust and smoke. Well, those jumps are not as easy as they look. We tried! At the train graveyard in Uyuni. Here you'll find trains from the 1800-1900's -- some are old steam locomotives who's coal-burning days have long passed. Others were mangled in brutal train crashes. Like a playground, we climbed all over the trains -- through the cars, into the coal urns, running from car to car -- with Indiana Jones music playing in our heads all the while. One of the trains even has a swing dangling from it, for added fun.
Trekking the Andes
Nothing freshens the soul like a 3 day trek through the mountains. The fresh mountain air, your blood flowing fast, breathtaking views, and time to reconnect with mother nature. We started the trek on an old Inca trail, formerly used for trade, and later a secret passage for bandits who robbed silver from the mines of Potosi in Bolivia. The Inca trail leads to mountain views that will bring you to your knees and say "thank you", to anyone willing to listen.
The Cuisine
How about a nice loin of lama, accompanied by cocaine leaf tea? This a typical dish of Bolivia. The lama is similar to beef or lamb, and the cocaine leaf is harmless and not in processed drug form. Coca leaves help alleviate altitude sickness -- very necessary in the Andes and high alto-plains of Bolivia.
There is also a culture of competitive fruit ladies. The local markets have aisles full of fruit stalls that look identical and have similar stocks of fruit. So how do you choose a fruit stall? There a few factors... first, sometimes a certain stall will have a giant wall of fruit that just looks damn good. Or occasionally a stall will have a certain type of fruit that others don't -- and that's your one. But mostly, it's a matter of chemistry with the lady -- a quick glance and smile catches your eye, and you just gravitate into her nest of delicious fruit. But be careful... the next time you come 'round, you're expected to stick with the same fruit lady -- so don't get caught cheating ;)
There is also a culture of competitive fruit ladies. The local markets have aisles full of fruit stalls that look identical and have similar stocks of fruit. So how do you choose a fruit stall? There a few factors... first, sometimes a certain stall will have a giant wall of fruit that just looks damn good. Or occasionally a stall will have a certain type of fruit that others don't -- and that's your one. But mostly, it's a matter of chemistry with the lady -- a quick glance and smile catches your eye, and you just gravitate into her nest of delicious fruit. But be careful... the next time you come 'round, you're expected to stick with the same fruit lady -- so don't get caught cheating ;)
The People
...last but certainly not least. Bolivia has the highest concentration of indigenous people in all of South America. And their ancient blood shines through -- in their dress, their music, their food, dance, beliefs, and culture. A friendly, gentle, and unassuming peoples they are. Bolivianos have held on tightly to their native roots. They are also tough as nails! The women work hard doing... seemingly everything. Even into their elderly years. It's not uncommon to see a woman of age 90 hauling 2 giant sacks over her shoulders in the pouring rain -- one sack of produce, in the other sack a great grandchild. It aint no thang.
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