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Published: January 16th 2007
On the road again...
from Copacabana to La Paz.On the 8th January we set off from Copacabana to La Paz. About half-way we had to cross a narrow part of Lake Titicaca. The routine was for passengers to step off the bus and take a small boat (Bs 1.5/person) across the water while the bus went on a separate "ferry". Well, it did have room for the bus and one car. Powered by one 75-horsepower outboard motor it took a while for the "ferry" to make it across. Amazed it actually worked at all.
Finally in La Paz, we hoped to catch a bus to Cochabamba two days later. Before leaving Peru we had heard about some trouble in Santa Cruz, relating to autonomy demands from the province. Santa Cruz is the more properous province in Bolivia, so naturally its citizens don't want to support the poorer highlands anymore. (It's a bit more complicated than this, but you get the idea.) The Cochabamba province is however a farming region (Santa Cruz has a lot of natural resources, gas for example), so we never thought they would create the same fuss. We were wrong.
We booked a bus ticket to leave on the 10th. The evening before, all
Ferry
The bus on one "ferry" and the passengers on another, smaller one. hell broke loose in Cochabamba and the road was blocked. Our bus was cancelled and the fare returned. What to do now? OK, we had plans to go to Tiwanaku (
2,700-year civilisation), so let's go there and hope that things get better in Cochabamba. Back from Tiwanaku we saw riots in Cochabamba on the news. Let's do that two-day trip to Urmiri (
No change since 1933(?)) next instead. Back from Urmiri, the situation seemed to be the same in Cochabamba. By now we had given up on Cochabamba and the orphanage we had planned to visit there (D's sister supports a little boy there).
During our trips around the La Paz region, Bolivia had really started to bug us. OK, it's the poorest country in South America, but that's no reason to provide really dirty hotel rooms, or bed linen or towels that should have been binned at least five years ago. The attitude we met when we were requesting towels (shouldn't even the cheapest hotels provide that?) was alarming. Indoor heating is totally unknown. With the Cochabamba trip out the door, our experience from the Tiwanaku and Urmiri trips and hotel standards fresh in our minds, the altitude really starting to bug
us and H's cold that never wanted to go away, we decided to cut our Bolivia trip short by five days and leave for Santiago, Chile, on the 17th January, in search of oxygen and warmer weather.
The last few days in Bolivia we spent walking around town looking at churches, trying to get into museums and people watching. A couple of things have crossed our minds.
Bolivia is poor. Well, maybe if they decided to keep stores, museums and sites open all day and to do some work, they could just maybe raise their living standard a little bit. It sounds cruel and is probably totally unfair for us to say after two weeks in the country, but that's how we see it. Not very good advertising for Bolivia. Just compare to the US (
Final thoughts on the US), where most people (we've seen) are working all the time and attractions and services are open when the customer wants it, not when it's convenient for the owner/staff. OK, so Bolivia and the US is not a very fair comparison maybe, but how about Peru. Not the same entrepreneurial spirit as in the US, but a good step closer to that than
Plaza San Francisco
Notice how the houses cling to the side of the mountain. Bolivia. Just a thought.
Another thing is all the cars in La Paz. The streets are littered with them and the traffic jams actually makes it much quicker to walk. We haven't seen more than a handful of cars parked, all the rest are in motion, adding to the already horribly polluted air.
OK, enough ranting. Bolivia has shown us some pretty and interesting sights and a different world to what we're used to. What can we bring home from this? Lots of memories, the knowledge that we are living a very priviliged life to be able to experience Bolivia and have the option to leave when we want. People are different across the planet (influenced by religion, culture, etc.) and it's important to keep this in mind. If we, who think we are very openminded and relaxed, get vexed by these little things, no wonder that people in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba want to break free from the rest of Bolivia. We definitely have to open our minds a lot more before we go back to Bolivia.
Den 8:de januari satte vi av fran Copacabana till La Paz. Ungefar halvvags maste man korsa ett smalt sund
i Titikakasjon. Rutinen bestod av att passagerarna klev av bussen och tog en liten bat (Bs 1.5/person) over vattnet medan bussen tog en egen "farja". Naja, den hade plats for bussen och en bil. Men en utombordsmotor pa 75 hastkrafter tog det en stund for "farjan" att ta sig over. Fantastiskt att det funkade overhuvudtaget.
Val framme i La Paz hade vi hoppats pa att ta en buss till Cochabamba tva dagar senare. Innan vi lamnade Peru hade vi hort om problem i Santa Cruz, relaterade till sjalvstandighetskrav fran provinsen. Santa Cruz ar den rikare provinsen i Bolivia, och dess invanare vill forstas inte forsorja de fattigare hoglanderna langre. (Det ar mer komplicerat an sa har, men det ar huvuddraget.) Cochabambaprovinsen ar daremot en lantbruksregion (Santa Cruz har mycket naturtillgangar, till exempel gas), sa vi trodde inte att de skulle fora samma vasen. Vi hade fel.
Vi bokade en bussbiljett med avresa den 10e. Kvallen fore brot "helvetet" ut i Cochabamba och vagen var blockerad. Var buss stalldes in och biljettpriset aterbetalades. Vad gora nu? OK, vi hade planerat att aka till Tiwanaku (
2,700-year civilisation), sa bast att aka dit och hoppas pa att situationen forbattras i Cochabamba. Tillbaka
Witch Market
(left side of the street) Here you can buy pretty much anything that has to do with black magic. A llama fetus perhaps? fran Tiwanaku sag vi upplopp i Cochabamba pa nyheterna. Lat oss ta den dar tvadagarstrippen till Urmiri (
No change since 1933(?)) istallet. Tillbaka fram Urmiri verkade situationen vara densamma i Cochabamba. Vid det har laget hade vi gett upp planerna pa att aka till Cochabamba och det barnhem vi tankt besoka (Ds syster har en liten fadderpojke dar).
Pa vara resor runt La Pazregionen hade Bolivia borjat irritera oss. OK, det ar det fattigaste landet i Sydamerika, men det ar ingen anledning att ha smutsiga hotellrum, eller lakan och handdukar som borde ha kastats for minst fem ar sedan. Attityden som motte oss nar vi bad om handdukar (borde inte till och med de enklaste hotellen ha handdukar pa rummen?) var alarmerande. Med Cochabamba-resan i stop, vara erfarenheter fran resorna till Tiwanaku och Urmiri i farskt minne, hojden som verkligen borjar irritera oss och Hs forkylning som inte vill ge med sig, bestamde vi oss for att forkorta var Boliviavistelse med fem dagar och aka till Santiago, Chile, den 17e januari pa jakt efter syre och varmare vaderlek.
De sista dagarna i La Paz har vi gatt omkring och tittat pa kyrkor, forsokt ga pa museum och tittat pa folk. Vi
har funderat pa nagra saker.
Bolivia ar fattigt. Naval, om de hade affarer, museer och annat oppet hela dagen och kanske jobbade lite, skulle de kanske hoja sin levnadsstandard litegrann. Det later grymt och ar formodligen valdigt orattvist av oss att saga efter tva veckor i landet, men det ar sa vi ser det. Inte vidare bra reklam for Bolivia. Bara jamfor med USA (
Final thoughts on the US), dar de flesta (vi sett) jobbar hela tiden och attraktioner och servicestallen ar oppna nar kunderna vill komma dit, och inte nar det passar agaren/personalen. OK, sa det ar kanske orattvist att jamfora Bolivia med USA, men Peru da. Inte samma entreprenoranda som i USA, men anda ett steg narmare an i Bolivia. Bara en tanke.
En annan sak ar alla bilarna i La Paz. Gatorna ar fulla av dem och trafikstockningarna gor det mycket snabbare att ga.Vi har inte sett mer an en handfull parkerade bilar, resten ar i rorelse vilket gor den redan fororenade luften mycket varre.
Okej, nog med gnall. Bolivia har visat oss en del vackra och intressanta platser och en annorlunda varld mot vi ar vana vid. Vad kan vi ta med oss hem? Mycket minnen, vetskapen
om att vi lever ett valdigt priviligierat liv som tillater oss besoka Bolivia och mojligheten att aka darifran nar vi vill. Manniskor ar annorlunda pa andra sidan planeten (influerade av religion, kultur, mm.) och det ar viktigt att halla det i minnet. Om vi, som tror vi ar valdigt oppensinnade och avslappnade, retar upp oss pa de sma detaljerna, inte konstigt att folk i Santa Cruz och Cochabamba vill bryta sig loss fran resten av Bolivia. Vi maste definitivt oppna vara sinnen annu mer innan vi aker tillbaka till Bolivia.
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Mamma/Gunwor
non-member comment
Huvudstäder
Ja, så kommer då "lärarn" fram! Sucre är den formella huvudstaden medan La Paz är den reella. Två alltså. Tack för alla jätteintressanta kommentarer och dito bilder som vanligt!