The Great La Paz

Cochabamba

After the tradicional cities of Potosi and Sucre we caught a bus to Cochabamba but due to a Bloqueo happening on the way to La Paz all the buses were running through Cochabamba which surprised us and at the same time turned our life more difficult once all the tickets were sold until the next day. With a great luck we found some overpriced tickets to go to our destiny and there was our chance. We took an overnight bus and got there by 5 a.m. We had a contact on couchsurfing who would host us: Meg, from USA. We took a taxi to go to her place and found out that she works for an American School outside Cochabamba. Her place is just amazing and made us feel like in the countryside even though the city itself is huge. We spent the whole day reading in the big garden that she has and at night went out with some of her friends, also teachers at the same school.  We had a great time that night, when we tried the famous Pique a Lo Lobo, a plate full of meat, potatoes, vegetables and some spices which proved to be delicious. At the same the night we also learned how to play the most typical dices games in Bolivia: Cacho.

Pique a lo Macho

Next day we woke up and decided to visit the city, walking around the centre city and trying to find a good place to eat again. We end up going to the best place where you can try some local food: Comedores. We tried a Pique a lo Macho which is very similar to what we call Chorrillana in Chile, but anyway, very tasty. After that we wanted to see the so well-known Jesus Christ. The highest one in the world and from where we also had a view from the whole city. The city itself didn't call our attention that much and after being in so many colonial and historical cities this one was a kind of urban shock for us.

So, after being hosted so well by our friend Meg, we took a bus to La Paz, the most populated city in Bolivia. The first view from the city was just stupendous. The sun rising in the horizon together with an up view from the city that is basically located in a valley just took our breathes away. Getting there we found a cheap but very clean hostel near the Plaza San Francisco, the main one. The city is full of up and down streets and unless you are a Super Man, you will have trouble walking around the city. For this reason Murta got addicted to Hojas de Coca (Coca Leaves) and the altitude is his excuse to have them on his cheek, chewing it in a non-stoppable way. By the way, there is a very nice museum that talks about it, the Hojas de Coca Museum and we would recommend it for better explanations about the delicate subject.

We basically spent 4 day in town, visited a Mirador in the top of a hill, with an amazing view, visited all the museums located near the Plaza Murillo and just by luck met some of our traveller´s friends: Paolo, an Italian friend, the Swiss girls that took the tour to Uyuni with us, our friend from Scotland and of course, we made some new ones.  We also went to the Ministry of Finance and Economics where under the lie of an academic research we gathered information about the countries’ development, indicators, evolution under the government of Evo Moralez, the politics of subsidies and natural resources in an almost 3 hours conversations with a kind economist of the Government. La Paz is a city where you can find all kind of food, clothes and cultural scene within its almost 8 million habitant’s territory.

Being in Bolivia is being in touch with an authentic culture. You can see original people that proudly keep their tradition despite all the globalization that turns big and small cities into a massive machine of production regardless the native habits, customs, food etc...To give you an example, Bolivia is a country where the so big Mac Donald’s tried for several years, with no success, getting in the market when finally gave up this year (we should also mention that despite of that, we saw a Burger King in la Paz). Some of those traditions have thousands and thousands of years being passed throughout generations for example the habit of chewing Coca’s Leafs or the bags used by women to carry theirs stuff or small children. In La Paz the idiom is, besides the Spanish, the Aymara, easy to hear on a simple walk in town.

Even that people say that Bolivians are quiet, shy or head down you realiz that after speaking politely, a few smiles, jokes and good behaviour you will discover the big hearts they have and the friendly conversation always ready to help.

Versão em Português

Poo-tosi (4000msnm) y Sucre (true capital)

Potosi is known for its mines and we visited one. The visit couldn’t have been more touching. First, a young boy around 14 years old, gets out of the mine drunk and after falling and standing up, is hit by a mineral trolley. The official minimum age to work in the mine is 18 years old, but since there is no control over the regulation, kids end up chasing silver and parents send their kids to bring money to contribute to the household.

The famous Tio, consired a God for all the miners. Its image is very respected and  offers to his image  are very common

During the visit we talked to miners, saw the impressive conditions they work, inhuman coditions. “Ganan centavos y trabajan como bestias”.T his mine is mostly exploited by cooperatives but cooperative is just the name given because every worker works individually. What he finds is what he gains. In his first year, he gives 50% of what he finds to the cooperative, 30% on the second year, 3rd year 15% and on the 4nd year he gets the opportunity to form a team and gives 10% a year plus a yearly fee (this is what the guide told us). Our impression is that a miner who discovers silver, in the end will have around 2% of the selling price, because they are exploited by the companies (most of the miners are illiterate and do not know how do to math). There are 3 private companies that pay a fixed salary but they are less popular around miners, they prefer the risk/return approach.

Potosi is the highest city in Bolivia and in the world, 4000 msnm and we actually can prove it, it is impossible to walk and talk at the same time! Moreover it has the highest beer of the world, Potosina, and due to the high, Murta was unable to show its skills of serving a beer without foam. On the second day we visited Museo de la Moneda where it explains part of the importance of Potosi in the past and it is where coins used to be made; now Bolivian coins are made in Chile. In this city the buses are imported in second hand from China, so it is common to see Chinese letters/symbols on the buses. Potosi is worthy visiting.

Sucre was the following city in our Bolivian journey. Sucre is the capital of Bolivia and it is really beautiful, the city is all painted white. We visited the Mirador where we had a Paceña beer white a Chilean and Spanish friends. We visited Casa de La Independencia to know more about the history of Bolivia. In the evening we head to Cochabamba. 

Its colonial streets can bring you a lot of a peace atmosphere while you walk up and down admiring all the white houses with a tiny terrace.

Bienvenidos a Bolivia-ita

We reached the border of Bolivia through La Quiaca and then took a supposedly 8h bus to Uyuni. The road was not paved and we though “hm.. that´s why this bus has jeep wheels and is much higher than usual ahaha”. At mid-night, the hour that we thought we would arrive, the first sights of what was going to be an adventure started. The bus was stopping a lot of times and no one could understand why. The answer came an hour later when the driver said “the engine is not working and a mechanic will arrive in 4 hours”. The bus stopped in the middle of the desert, without any heater and no sights of a nearby village. We were travelling with a French friend and a guy and a girl from Buenos Aires. 

At 4am, we woke up due to some guy that every 5m used to shout “puertaaaaa”, “vamossss”, “daleee”. What happen is that the bus ´windows were frozen and no news from the mechanic. At 6am, people started some fires outside to fight the cold that was invading the bus, and of course we went outside, the sky was amazing and so clear that the shooting starts were uncountable. The mechanic came at 7.30 but he could not fix the bus. We went back to the bus to sleep a bit more and wait for more news. Someone woke up us saying that the pick up outside would take us to Uyuni. We were 12 people in the car, 6 inside 6 outside, and 150km or 2hours away from Uyuni.

What was seen as a sign of “in 2hour we are eating our llama meat”, ended up in 4 hours because the car had a flat tire after 30m and without battery later on.

In Uyuni, we did eat our tasty llama. The next day we did the Salar tour which ended up being really worth it. During the first day we could only see white, white and white horizon, salt everywhere except when we stopped in a cactus island. A cactus island in the middle of nowhere, very unusual!! The first night was in a salt hotel, halls and beds made of salt. The next two days were through the desert with lagoons, flamingos, volcanos, geysers, hot springs, amazing sightseers! (but did not have the same impact on us because we had visited Atacama desert in the past, which is very similar but on the other side of Andes). On the second day we met a Portuguese that recognized there was a Portuguese after hearing a typical Portuguese “cabraoo!”, that came out of  Murta´s mouth when an animal passed by his precious lunch meal.

Even though Uyuni took almost 30% of our budget here in Bolivia we could say that our experience in the Salar was amazing. We did the tour with very nice companies and with a very outgoing guide Mateo. We also started using the so well known Hojas de Coca or Coca´s Leafs and please Martim, look out for your two traveler’s children.

The last Mates in Argentina

Heading to the North of Argentina from Paraguay we had our first good surprise and had to stay one full day in Resistencia, in the region of the Chacos (one of the poorest provinces in Argentina), since we lost the bus at 8 a.m. The surprise was to know that this is South American capital of sculptures.  The city itself is full of monuments everywhere you look  to and it hosts the biannual “Bienal of Sculptures”. We had the opportunity to visit the place and can say that is just lovely.

After Resistencia we took the night bus to Tucumán where we had a contact on couchsurfing and went directly to the address informed. We spent 4 days with the most amazing family we could ever met. Dani, our contact, lives in the up floor of her parent´s house. The family is a very typical Argentinian family where the follow topics would never be off the table: Argentinian football, Maradona, Politics and the amazing country. Oh and almost forgetting the huge amount of delicious food served (please do not lose the Empanadas from Tucuman, and also Napolitanas). The city is the birthplace of Argentina, where the Indepencia was declared and the Casa de La Independencia is a place to be visited if you´re in town. There´s also a famous Christ to visited at the top of a Cerro where Francisco improved his skills on serving and preparing the Mate.  We left the city with strong feelings for the family that hosted us and was kind of hard to say goodbye. Anyway.

Cafayate was our next stop and just getting in town we met German a friend from Buenos Aires and we all stayed in a same hostel with a very nice garden outside. Cafayate is a small and charming Pueblo and we in the first day we took a tour through the Quebrada. Amazing views that cannot be captured in the follow photos.  Since Paulo was sick Murta had the mission to go with German to a very close and beautiful Waterfall.

Don’t forget trying the famous Locro, typical of the region.

From Cafayate we went to Salta where we stayed in another hostel still traveling with our friend from Buenos Aires and with a sick Paulo almost dying of fever. We walked around town and at night went out in a region full of bars and clubs. Once we were a little bit sick of big cities we stayed there for only 2 nights and went to Tilcara.

In Tilcara, another small and charming Pueblo, we met our friends from Salta (German from Buenos Aires and Julien from France) and together with other nice people from the hostel we made an asado at night.  In the next day we made a trekking to a Waterfall surrounded by stupendous views and mountains.

After Tilcara we went to Humahuaca the last Pueblo from this region called Quebrada de Humahuaca. This one has nothing in especial and we spent just one night there before going to our next country destination: Bolivia.