Let's go to Bolivia
Bolivia was named after Simón Bolívar, a South American independence fighter who fought wars against the Spanish colonisers and won in many South American countries. Contrary to popular belief, Simón Bolívar came from Venezuela and not from the part of South America that is now Bolivia.
As it was unclear until recently whether we would be able to travel to Bolivia or not due to the altitude, we are all the more pleased to be able to inform you with this post: We were in Bolivia😊
We travelled by night bus over windy heights from Cusco to La Paz. We passed Lake Titicaca, which connects the two countries of Peru and Bolivia. The border crossing was exciting. There were 2 counters for leaving Peru and right next door 2 counters for entering Bolivia. Every bus traveller had to take all their luggage with them and everything was x-rayed. The procedure took almost an hour until we were back on the same bus and continued our journey, passing endless queues of lorries waiting to import their goods from Bolivia to Peru.
La Paz (3200 - 4100m above sea level)
La Paz, the capital of Bol.... No, wrong! We thought La Paz was the capital of Bolivia, but it's not! Sucre is the official capital, La Paz is the seat of government. It's a bit like the structure in Germany at the time: Bonn as the seat of government but Berlin as the capital. We spent 2 nights here for further acclimatisation. We liked the city very much, including a "prison tour" in the famous San Pedro prison. Well, it wasn't really a tour IN prison, but "Crazy Dave" told us his life story BEFORE prison and how he got out again.
Unimaginable, but until a few years ago the prison was "visitable" for outsiders and tourists could rent a private cell there for a few US dollars for one or more nights and sleep there. Why would anyone do that, you might ask?Tatjana, who is very interested in prisons, would have considered visiting by the hour. But certainly not for a whole night!
Well, after an internal change of power, the security situation for tourists has changed and a tourist was raped. The government then pulled the ripcord and banned this type of visit/tourism.Another reason that Crazy Dave gave us, which we think is more credible, is that an investigative journalist was lurking in a neighbouring hotel.He saw dozens of people going into the prison every day and coming out the next day stoned out of their minds. He also found out why.... When he published the story, it caused outrage among the population and the government banned the "visits". Now I'm sure you have as many questions as we did at this point!
Why was it possible to virtually rent a cell as a hotel room for a night and why do visitors come out of a prison drugged up? It's because the prison is self-managed. In other words, there are only guards in the entrance area.Inside there are 8 sectors, 3 for rich inmates and 5 for the other inmates.Rich inmates have a private cell with PlayStation 5 and everything they could wish for, whereas the poor inmates sometimes sleep in a cell with 8 or more people. Another special thing about this prison is that the inmates can bring their families with them to live in it. This is why you see women and children coming out of the prison twice a day and going back in again in the evening. There are currently more than 3,000 people in the prison, which exceeds all capacities and means total overcrowding. Each sector has its own spokesperson, i.e. its own management, which is elected every year. There is organised cocaine production in the prison. That was the real reason for the tourists' visit. Because they could consume cocaine (quote Crazy Dave: "top quality") here for little money. Yes, the government knows what is going on in the prison and yes, so does the population in La Paz. Some are involved in the business through corruption, others act according to the motto of the three monkeys: See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing! For the good of their own lives!Our tour guide on the city tour also said that if something is thrown out of the prison onto the street, none of us should touch it or even pick it up.There are "recipients" around the prison who grab the parcel and run away. We didn't see anything suspicious that day. There are 3 other prisons of this type in Bolivia and... no... there are no escape attempts, as the inmates know that they will then be sent to a "real" prison where they will no longer have these freedoms.
But back to Crazy Dave. He was born in the USA and served 14 years in prison for attempted drug smuggling. During this time, he went from being a "nobody" to an English teacher for the children of wealthy prisoners to a cocaine cook and even ended up with his own private cell with all kinds of amenities. Nowadays he lives on the street in La Paz and offers his tour once a day for interested people on a donation basis. We had a lot of questions for Crazy Dave and learnt from him, among other things, the difference between different drugs and types of consumption.We can now recognise some of the objects we saw (e.g. small glass pipes).Ironically, the building was a monastery before it became a prison. Here's a book and film tip from Crazy Dave (for anyone who wants to find out more about the prison):
Book:
- Rusty Young – Marching Powder (EN) / Marschpulver (DE)
- Markus Luttermann – El Choco
Film:
- Wildlands
As briefly mentioned above, we also went on a city tour through the historic centre of La Paz, including a huge fruit and vegetable market. The following picture gallery shows a few impressions 😊 As you have already seen in a few pictures, some of the traditionally dressed women are wearing hats and skirts. The story behind it is very exciting:
Hats: These originally come from England. An Italian hat maker had the idea, because he had ordered hats that were too small for the local Englishmen, to bring them to the local women here in Bolivia and told them that it was the latest fashion in Europe. As a result, many Bolivian women wear hats that are far too small. And the way they are worn also has a meaning! It indicates whether the wearer is married (centred on the head) or single (hanging on the left or right).
Skirts: These come from Spain, or are copied from the skirts worn by Spanish colonisers. Back then, Bolivian women wanted to look as pretty as the Spanish colonisers, but couldn't afford the fabrics and skirts. So they started tailoring them themselves, which is still the case today. Petticoats are often sewn on to emphasise the wide hips of women. They symbolise the fertility of the wearer.
We continued on to the witches' market, right outside our hotel door. Here you can find everything a brujo or bruja, the Spanish words for male and female witches/magicians, could wish for. From A for all kinds of smoking stuff about G like good dried llama foetuses, about S like safety amulets to Z for z(aubermittel) - magic remedies for potency, love and lust, everything is on offer here. We only saw what was standing and hanging on the shelves. What is sold behind the counter has remained hidden from us to this day.
WARNING: The following picture gallery contains pictures of dried llama foetuses/babies. Only look at them if you really want to see them, otherwise skip this picture gallery!
Offering for Pachamama for new buildings
Why are the llama foetuses/babies sold? We have also encountered this custom in Perú, but only once and we thought it was a local (i.e. localised) tradition. However, as we learnt here in La Paz, it dates back to Inca times, when offerings were made to Pachamama, the cosmic mother/mother nature. For example, if someone wants to build a house, they are legally buying a plot of land, but in fact it belongs to Pachamama, whose permission the buyer does not yet have. In order to obtain this permission and to ask that everything goes well when the house is built and that the house is protected afterwards, a llama foetus/baby is burnt on the ground for the foundation with sugar tiles on which the desired thing is painted. The foundation is then poured over it. Depending on the size of the building, 1 - 3 llama foetuses/babies are needed. According to our tour guide, it is important that the llama foetuses/babies die a natural death. One statement made by our tour guide - we still don't know whether it's a (very macabre) joke or not and very much hope so - was that human sacrifices are still made for multi-storey buildings today. This follows the tradition of the ancient Incas of human sacrifice. We have not yet found anyone with local knowledge who wants to talk to us about this.
In colonial times, the city was geographically divided into two parts. Our hotel was located in the part where the locals lived. Next to it was the part where the Spaniards lived. "Coincidentally", a Catholic church was built in the part where the indigenous Bolivians lived. The special thing about this building is that, although it is a Catholic church, there are elements of the Incas' faith on the façade. For example, Pachamama (the cosmic mother/mother nature) can be seen symbolically giving birth to a flower. Spirituality is of central importance here in the Bolivian / Peruvian Andes, everything has a spirit (people, animals, plants, mountains, stones, the elements, etc.).
With this in mind, mirrors were hung in the church at the time in which the indigenous people could see their own spirit. Until then, the people there had never seen anything like it. The only place where the indigenous Bolivians had ever seen their reflection was in the water. The aim of integrating the indigenous beliefs and the mirror campaign was to show commonalities so that people would convert to the Catholic faith. The mirror action caused people to become afraid. The Spanish conquistadors capitalised on this fear and told the people that they had to go to church very often and pray with their spirit so that they could go to heaven... Today, the vast majority of the population (around 85%) is Christian. Nevertheless, the indigenous rites and customs still exist today.
Unlike the usual name in Latin America, the city's central square is NOT called Plaza de Armas, but Plaza Murillo. It is named after an independence fighter with Spanish roots, in whose honour a statue was erected in the square, which is also the government square. As we learnt, Bolivia has been through some turbulent political times. In the approximately 200 years since independence (1825), there have been almost 100 different presidents. The country is characterised in particular by its cultural and ethnic diversity, which is expressed in the name Plurinational State. The Bolivian constitution recognises a total of 36 different ethnic groups and their own languages.
Salar de Uyuni (3653 m above sea level)
The next highlight for us in Bolivia was the Salar de Uyuni, which at more than 10,000 square kilometres is the largest salt flat in the world. For comparison: it is half the size of Belgium. It was formed around 40,000 years ago when a lake dried up and left the salt flat behind. Today there are around 10 billion tonnes of salt here. In some places the salt is even 6 - 30 metres thick. The biggest industries here are tourism and salt mining. Around 25 thousand tonnes of salt are mined every year. In the recent past, large quantities of lithium and potassium deposits have also been identified under the salt. But there is also life here, like the flamingos. Three different species visit the region every year to breed. We actually wanted to visit the lagoons. However, we would have had to spend the night at an altitude of 4200 metres. Once again, the altitude gave us quite a hard time on site. After our experiences and with respect for the altitude, we decided against it.
In the dry season, the Salar de Uyuni is accessible with four-wheel drive vehicles. We had a fantastic day trip. There were 5 of us and our tour guide William.
After visiting a surreal train cemetery in the desert, we learnt more about the mining and use of the raw material salt from the Salar de Uyuni. The salt is used as a building material for many houses in the region, and entire pieces of furniture are also made from it. We slept in a salt bed in our accommodation and enjoyed a delicious lunch in a house built entirely from salt. The salt is also used for eating, but with iodine added beforehand.
The special surface texture and very smooth surface of the Salar de Uyuni gave us a photo shoot in a class of its own. Added to this was William's noted talent for photography. But take a look for yourself:
The famous Dakar Rally has also taken place here several times. We were able to get a good idea of this on our journey through the salt desert.
At the end of this wonderful day, we were able to enjoy a magnificent sunset. Here we also got an impression of the special mirror effects during the rainy season. The reflection of the water on the seemingly endless white surface creates a unique mirror effect.
The Bolivian mines
There are mines in Bolivia with working conditions dating back centuries. In fact, it is possible for tourists to visit these mines in the city of Potosí. Silver, tin and copper are mined here. Around 1550, the silver mined here financed the entire Spanish empire. Potosí was one of the richest cities in the world at the time. The boom is over but the mines are still operated by mining co-operatives.
In the many years of operation, many thousands of people have lost their lives here under cruel working conditions. According to various sources, 8,000,000 people have died since the mine was commissioned.
Given Tatjana's interest in taking a closer look at this industry from a human rights perspective, we wanted to go on such a tour. However, after a thorough investigation, we decided against it. It is a very dangerous endeavour. The mines are very high up (sometimes over 4300 metres above sea level) and there are practically no safety conditions at work. When going deep into the mountain, there is a risk of falling into the depths, being run over by a heavily laden trolley, falling victim to a dynamite explosion and suffering permanent health damage from inhaling substances such as asbestos and quartz dust. The health risk was too high for us at this point.
Our tour guide William worked in the Potosí mines for a long time before changing his profession. He comes from a mining family. We were able to talk to him about this work. His father died of pneumoconiosis at the age of 47. This is a normal life expectancy for miners. He himself had a positive view of working in the mines. It is hard but offers the opportunity to make good money if you are lucky. Some of his friends and family members have become millionaires this way. The miners are self-employed and sell their earnings on site to companies that separate the minerals and sell them on.
We'll link you to a video here so that you can see for yourself if you're interested. It gives you a good idea of the conditions under which the raw materials are extracted. Potosí is just one example of many mines around the world that have a low level of technology and safety. Many of the valuable raw materials extracted here can be found in our electrical appliances and, of course, in our jewellery.
BBC documentary (English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHZS74Z9qlM
Visit video mine from ZEITreise (German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfaYyaX-b10
Visiting video mine by Leon Ziegler (German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B3fRmEJlVo
There are of course more videos and documentaries. Just have a look in the media libraries or on the Internet if you're interested!
Pulacayo
We made a short detour to an abandoned mining town called Pulacayo, located at 4132 metres above sea level. Once flourishing, only around 800 people still live here today. In the 19th and 20th centuries, silver, pyrite and other minerals were mined here. We encountered a few workers on site, but today the place is known as a ghost town. That was also the impression it made on us. Accompanied by an Andean thunderstorm, we travelled back to Uyuni along the steep slopes in a totally rattling bus. For your information: even four scented trees installed there didn't cut it.
Our night journey from the Salar de Uyuni to Tupiza follows on from this. Technically, the bus was in a good driving condition, let's say, but nothing more. The gearbox squeaked very loudly, but the bus driver had a solution. He unexpectedly played the music in the entire bus at maximum volume for 5 hours (a very long 5 hours) to drown out the noise. It worked so well that even Artur's noise-cancelling headphones didn't manage to block out the ambient noise, and earplugs certainly didn't help. Due to the darkness, it took us a long time to realise that the bus driver had turned on the music. At first we thought that another passenger had activated a portable jukebox, which we couldn't believe. Some people travelling on German public transport with Bluetooth speakers, on the other hand, are a dream and really quiet - trust us. Learn to appreciate them 😊 It bordered on torture, we remembered the night journey in Indonesia... Here's a small sample (the volume doesn't come across, of course. Feel free to set it to 100% and imagine another 100%):
Tupiza (2965m - going down)
An insider tip off the beaten track. Number of other tourists seen in three days: 4. Tupiza reminded us of the one place in the Wild West from the films, with its extraordinary rock formations and picturesque gorges. We hiked completely alone through this breathtaking landscape, past mountains in rainbow colours, huge cacti, through river beds and through red stone arches.
The place was really beautiful and totally relaxed, but getting there and back is and remains an adventure.
The bus journey to our next stop (Tarija) was also a tough one. This time we travelled during the day, for which we are very grateful. Otherwise we wouldn't have seen the abysses! We drove up to 4219 metres above the Andes on unpaved roads without lane markings. One lane at most, sometimes with oncoming traffic. Petrol stations, emergency call pillars: Not available. No mobile phone reception. Instead, we had a bus that had to be repaired every two hours. But we arrived safely!
Tarija (1873m)
Tarija, near the Argentinian border, is considered the Tuscany of Bolivia. The highest vineyards are located there. The wine tastes surprisingly good, we were convinced 😊. It was also a culinary taster of Argentina, as this part of Bolivia actually used to belong to Argentina. Artur ordered a small T-bone steak here. What he didn't realise was that the bone of a 600 gram T-bone steak doesn't weigh 300 grams. So he had something to digest for several days. The quality of the meat and the preparation were outstanding, it has to be said! However, there will be no more steaks of this size for Artur on this trip 😉
Santa Cruz de la Sierra (437m - the Andes are behind us)
On the long journey to our next big destination - the Pantanal - we made a stop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. This is the largest city in the country with around 2 million inhabitants. Here we breathed a lot of air (yes!), met Father Christmas and marvelled at the beautiful bolivianite (ametrine) gemstones. These gemstones are a special mineral variety made up of purple amethysts and golden yellow citrine. This stone is only found in the Pantanal region. It is extracted in the Anay mine near Santa Cruz of the Sierra.
Our breather in Santa Cruz de la Sierra was urgently needed. This was followed by a 36-hour journey across the Brazilian border to Cuiaba. The start was great, we had reclining seats on the night bus to the border. Have you ever slept horizontally on a bus? A dream, we'll tell you!
So in our next post, we welcome you from Brazil.
Und wer jetzt fragt. Häh Brasilien? Das stand ja gar nicht auf dem ursprünglichen Plan. Ja, diese halten wir mittlerweile (seit Neuseeland) flexibel und sind offen für alle Vorschläge und Möglichkeiten.
Sehr interessanter Bericht und super schöne Bilder. Danke.
Hallo liebe Tatjana und lieber Artur,
es ist herrlich Euch auf Eurer Reise mit diesem tollen lebhaften Berichten und phantastischen Bildern, teilweise akrobatischen Modellaufnahmen, zu begleiten.
Danke !!!
Mama und Wilfried