About the Bolivians

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So I spent a few days in La Paz but really there wasn’t anything interesting to report so I thought that I would take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about the Bolivians and some of the things that I have noted in the memory bank.

1) All Bolivians especially the women are 4 foot nothing! There has been times when I have been queuing and have literally been head, shoulders and hips above those around me. (It’s times like this that I hate being a lone traveller because it would make a fantastic Kodak moment).

2) You will see a woman in traditional dress in my photos. It is common occurrence for a woman to stand in the middle of the street, squat and either pee or poo. I would bet good money that this is why the women still dress in their traditional dress but also this is why it was invented.

3) Due to the above when you get on public transport it stinks like a very dirty toilet. You also pray that you are seated next to another foreigner which is highly unlikely. On one journey Michele had to sit on stains that we would not like to guess about and often 18 hour night buses you have the window wide open even though it is Baltic outside.

4) Bolivia like most other South American countries I have been in does not have such a thing as give way when driving, therefore at a junction a car will just bib their horn and god help anybody that gets in their way. The driver does not slow under any circumstances and it really is survival of the fittest.

5) Other than their toilet habits Bolivians are some of the nicest people I have met and probably one of the safest countries if not the safest to travel in South America. However the people are constantly demonstrating about something and I have seen several thousands of people marching around for their rights. There are also constantly road blocks and Bolivia is even on the verge of a civil war, which having just left there is really hard to believe that it is possible.....but it is.

6) I have never paid to go to the toilet as much anywhere as I have in Bolivia. So you would expect the standards to be high but in fact they are some of the worst toilets I have ever been to in my life but as I don’t have a traditional outfit it is the only way to keep any dignity.

7) Bolivia and Peru are both places which have a new tour where you can go into the jungle with a Shayman and have a psychic trip of your life. This is based upon you drinking either a cacti called San Pedro or the super strong Iawaska. The amount of stupid gringo’s that have been is quite interesting and the stories are even better!

8) People think nothing of laying their children in the isles of buses and often there is double the number of people in the bus than the bus has capacity for.

9) Hygiene - It’s not in the Bolivians vocabulary


My conclusion of Bolivia is that it is definitely a country of contrast and as much as I enjoyed the experience and was glad to be there I was definitely just as happy to get out.

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Photos

La Paz
A traditionally dressed Bolivian

La Paz
A typical market stall

La Paz
The city of La Paz, deep in the valley

Comments

[Lisa BX]

toiletting
So you never need traditional Bolivian dress at Glasto hun!