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Published: June 23rd 2017
Geo: -19.0421, -65.2559
Travel in Bolivia is full of unique challenges and one that was rumoured to be in play while we were here was roadblocks related to striking teachers, transportation workers, farmers, etc. Miners were the scariest group since they chewed copious amounts of coco leaves in order to remain stoned to cope with the poor working conditions in Bolivian mines (primarily tin). In addition to blockading roads with burning tires (you see melted asphalt strips on all the main roads), they apparently use blasting caps and dynamite to attract attention. Since they were one of the groups striking we elected not to do the daredevil bus to Potosi The biggest draw of Potosi was the chance to wander the mine tunnels to observe miners in 'action'- we were already concerned with the human zoo aspect, and if they were burning tires on Main St there wouldn't be much mining going on anyway (DH where the 'D' stands for Down &Dirty was a little disappointed but that may have been because I had exaggerated the testosterone-filled underground mining I had done in my youth- yes, while drilling, we were covered in dirt and sweat but we weren't all shirtless with bulging
pecs).
Sans her beefcake fix, DH and I opted for the relatively short flight from Uyunni to Sucre. We knew this was the right decision after running into a couple of our Salt Flat travel companions in Sucre who were forced off a bus at a roadblock, and marched through the strikers, only to find that the other bus they were assured was waiting for them at the other side did not, in fact, exist.
There are suggestions that Sucre was the location of the beginning of the Latin American independence movement against Spain (ironic, in that Bolivia was the last Spanish imperial territory in South America to gain its independence). On May 25, 1809 the movement was started with the ringing of the bell of the Basilica of Saint Francisco and this bell was rung to the point of breakage. And, apparently, ever since then, when the people of Sucre are upset about something (and they seem to be mildly upset most of the time), they make a lot of noise. While we were here we rarely stitched together more than a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep, and our day usually started with a cacophony of gunshots (these
were actually a blasting cap fireworks that various protesters would fire out the end of a bamboo launcher). We weren't always sure what the pressing issues were (although one group who stormed the municipal offices and sat in the nearby streets blocking traffic were vendors who were protesting government plans to keep them from blocking traffic with their various carts and cardboard stores- not sure the public noticed the subtle difference), but any time these folks marched away to create social unrest in other parts of the city, they were quickly replaced by an assortment of marching bands, kids in costumes, social activists, clowns/political parties, and even a couple of zebras (who were stressing the importance of crosswalks??). Noise was a common theme but it was a great way to explore Bolivia without ever moving from the park bench.
The current Bolivian populist government is slightly left of the communists (with an unhealthy reliance on Venezuelan oil money) so it was something of a surprise to see this much activism but it all seemed to be peaceful, and the cotton candy and balloons added a festive flair to the proceedings.
One of the big reasons we stopped in Sucre was to
secure a booster shot for our faltering Spanish. The schools here have a good reputation for pristine Spanish lessons and with DH ordering "boiled socks" for breakfast, we thought that a little formal practice would be helpful. Unfortunately my Spanish was better than our teachers English so I cut class and dropped out- DH hung in a little longer and claims to be very happy with the “scrambled bananas” she now gets for breakfast. Keeping up with our studies on the road has been much harder than expected, and I'm sure our Costa Rican 'profesors' would be very concerned.
Regardless of what DH orders, we continue to be subjected to the Chilean diet of ham, cheese, and eggs that now appears to be a South American fixation. No sleep, too much ham and cheese, and a failed attempt at renewing our license to speak Spanish- I hope it's not the altitude because our next stop, La Paz, is much higher.
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As a bit of an add-on to this posting, I wanted to include parts of the government warnings on Bolivia. If you took government warnings to heart, you would likely never leave the safety of your basement but the warnings for
Bolivia seemed particularly detailed:
“Demonstrations occur regularly throughout Bolivia, often with little notice. Avoid all demonstrations and public gatherings, as they may turn violent. Do not attempt to cross roadblocks, even if they appear unattended, to avoid possible confrontation.
You should remain alert to your surroundings at all times, dress down, avoid wearing jewellery or carrying large sums of money or credit cards, and keep cameras and electronic equipment out of sight. Secure your valuables in a hotel safe. Avoid small restaurants away from downtown and tourist areas.
Petty theft, including pickpocketing, purse snatching, vehicle theft and auto parts theft, is common throughout large cities.
Organized robbery occurs. Typically, members of a group of thieves will distract victims by staging a fight, starting a conversation, blocking a sidewalk, or throwing an object or liquid on the victims, while others rob them.
Express kidnappings by organized gangs have been reported. Tourists are held for ransom, often in a car, and are robbed or forced to use their bank cards to withdraw cash. Radio taxis hailed on the street have been involved in such incidents. Do not allow anyone else in your taxi; they may be accomplices. Special attention should be paid when taking a taxi to and from airports. Express kidnappings occur most frequently in major cities.
Criminals often pose as police officers and then ask to examine the traveller's belongings or ask the traveller to accompany them to a police station. Bogus police stations are sometimes set up to scam tourists. Criminals posing as tourists may approach the traveller and offer to share transportation (usually a taxi), which proceeds to a remote place where the traveller is robbed. In other cases, a criminal posing as a police officer intercepts the traveller interacting with an accomplice, who is posing as a tourist and carrying contraband material such as drugs. The “police officer” takes the traveller to a bogus police station and seizes documents, debit cards and credit cards.
Canadians visiting Bolivia in order to undergo a surgical procedure have reported falling victim to scams by medical companies that insist on retaining passports as collateral. Once the procedure has been completed, the company attempts to extort more money from the patient before returning their passport.
Tourists travelling to Bolivia have fallen victim to scams in which cocaine is hidden inside objects or luggage that they have been asked to bring back by an acquaintance. There are reported cases of this scam being perpetrated through dating websites. The new Internet acquaintance asks the foreigner to go to Bolivia, on the pretext of picking up personal belongings or legal documents on his or her behalf. When police determine that the backpack or briefcase allegedly containing the acquaintance's belongings or documents contains cocaine, the foreign citizen is detained at the airport and subsequently sent to a Bolivian prison. Drugs can be hidden in ways that are not clear to the naked eye, including being dissolved into clothing or fabric. Bolivian drug laws feature a zero tolerance policy and do not differentiate between intentional and unintentional drug smuggling. Exercise extreme caution when asked to carry objects or luggage for other people and do not, under any circumstance, carry luggage for a stranger.”
Not exactly tourist brochure material!!
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CarolC
non-member comment
Please tell me that you bought one of those hats!