Potosi – Effects of Colonialism

After spending a few days relaxing in Cochabamba, we decided to head to Potosi. We agreed to skip Sucre, the capital of Bolivia, as it was more of a city with a national park nearby that had dinosaur footprint. That didn’t wow us much. Instead, Potosi is known for the mines and is on the way to Uyuni, our main destination in Bolivia.

Getting There

Getting to Potosi from Cochabamba was a challenge. There were no day buses when we arrived at the terminal at 8am. Therfore, we took a bus to Oruro from Potosi which took around 4 hours to reach there. Oruro’s terminal was like a village terminal in India with people carrying huge cartons of luggage everywhere.

We bought a bus ticket for the next bus at 3pm for a 4 hour bus journey. Before this, we had heard about Bolivians protesting all big and small things by blocking roads. However, this time there was talk in the terminal that the main road was blocked. The bus would go from a longer route through the desert.

The bus journey took 8 hours but the bus went through some incredible landscapes. We saw lakes, mountains, small salt flats, sand dunes, llamas, vicuñas and quinoa fields. We reached the hostel at 10:30pm and were a bit groggy the next morning.

Hot Showers At Last

Hostel Casa Blanca Potosi was one of the more expensive hostels in Potosi to stay at. However, our hostel in Cochabamba had a suicide shower (you have the choice of showering cold or getting electricuted while showering warm) and we chose cold showers for a few days.

While the hostel was great with a kitchen, breakfast, bar and a great chilling area, we loved the hot showers the most. It was probably the first time we have been picky over something like this. We didn’t regret it and had the longest showers during our time in South America!

Mine Tour

A long time ago I saw a documentary or a news piece about mines of Potosi. Each day, tourists go into the mines to see and understand about the lives and work of miners who have been mining the Cerro Rico mountain for over 500 years. It sounds touristy and adventurous but it’s a must do in South America to understand the hardship miners have gone through.

To benefit the miners, we decided to use a tour company whose guides were ex miners themselves. We signed up with Big Deal Tours on the morning of the tour and met other tourists. Though the tour was 50 Bolivianos per person, just over USD 7, more than other tour companies, it allowed us access to the minerals refinery as well as having the tour legitimate and safe.

Our first stop was the miners market where we bought gifts for miners. As we are entering their domain, its best to respect their work and help them out with some juice and coca leaves.

The next step was to get the equipment for safety including waterproof overalls, rubber boots and helmets with lights as well as a waterproof bag for our gifts. We weren’t meant to carry anything on us though I carried my phone and wallet in my pants, under the plastic pants. We set off from the equipment house to the mineral refinery. The refinery looked over Cerro Rico, the main minerals site of Potosi.

Our guide, Wilson gave us the lowdown on the mountain and the mining in Potosi. Cerro Rico has been mined for over 500 years starting with the Spanish. Once they discovered silver in the mountain, they brought African slaves to work in the mines. However, the Africans couldn’t survive at 4000 meters and eventually the Spaniards enslaved native Quechuas who lived in the region. Their story is quite sad as they were fed poorly and given coca leaves which are a hunger and thirst suppressant. This continued until the Spanish rule and also until the silver ran out. Millions died mining for the Spanish and Bolivia never received any benefits. Bolivia tried a nationalized company for mining but it didn’t work out. Today there are many cooperatives for whom the miners work.

The refinery crushed the rocks full of minerals and made it into a paste of minerals for export to China. The amazing thing was that Bolivia is mineral rich but industrially poor. It sends its minerals to China and other countries and then buys back the goods for use. After spending some time at the refinery, we headed towards the mines. Along the way, we took some selfies and photos with the beautiful mountain with a sad story.

As we headed into the mines, the smell of dynamite and chemicals was everywhere. Wilson warned that when we heard him yelling about wagon, we had to stick to the wall of the mine in case a flying wagon killed us. The entrance of the mine was full of water on the ground and smell of chemicals.

As we went in deeper, the mine became darker and the air thicker. We could only see with our headlights. Occasionaly, a wagon being pushed by miners would come and we would all stick to the wall.

During our journey deeper into the mountain, we would see miners heading back to change coca. This meant they had been working for 4 hours and it was time to rest. Wilson would talk to these miners and ask questions and then translate aspects of their lives for us and we would give them the gifts we brought along.

At one point, he sat us down on rocks and explained the cooperatives and the plight of the miners. Cooperatives had several layers of miners. New miners had to work for 3 years to be made full-fledged and could then work the mineral veins which ran through the mountain. These mineral veins could be thick or thin, could be full of minerals or simply rubbish. It all depended on luck and how well you got along with other miners. A new miner who had a fight could be kicked out and an experienced miner who had a fight could be elected out. Wilson had been a miner for 24 years, he had gone up the ranks but his mineral vein had ran out twice making him poor and vulnerable. He told us only a funny miner could survive for long as he would hide his pain and not fight. This explained his funny attitude.

After this we walked from one mine to the other using 3 ladders. We basically escalated levels in the mountains. In a confided space where we could hardly stand up straight, climbing a vertical ladder was a bit of relief. Except we couldn’t watch where we were going, unless we wanted dust and sand in our eyes.

We mainly did this to see El Tio Benito and also to cross the mountain and meet our bus. The miners have a mix of Catholic and indegenous beliefs. El Tio is the God of the mountain and his idol, though a bit odd, is in several places in the mountain. The miners believe that he keeps them alive and gives them luck (fertilises) for minerals. They give him offerings of cigarettes, alcohol and coca leaves. More importantly, they drink a litre of pure 96% alcohol on Fridays to please him.

On a sad note, we all had a sip of pure alcohol (which tasted horrible) and started to exit the mountain. Along the way, we went through an abandoned mine which is now full of beautiful stalagtites and stalagmites.

The final stretch was the toughest, it was all very short so we had to walk squatting. 10 minutes of this and our legs were smashed. Finally, we were out of the mountain with a greater respect for miners than we had before. A must do in Potosi!

Convento San Fransisco

Another highlight of Potosi was the 16th Century Convent of San Fransico. We took a tour of it for 15 Bolivianos per person, just over USD 2. Our first stop were the catacombs which we saw after the Cathedral of Cuenca. However, these were much older with skulls and bones still on display. It was a little scary and we were happy to get out of there.

Our next stop was the main reason for which we had come to the convent. The tour takes you to the roof of the convent. The domes and spires are tiled and the story goes that the natives who didn’t want to die in the mines came to the convent and worked and lived here. While the domes were beautiful, the best thing was the view of the city and the mountain. The tour is worth for this alone!

We then saw the church with its 12 brick domes representing Jesus and the Apostles. It was one of the first times in Latin America that we saw a Brown Jesus with black hair. This along with some paintings by native artists made us love this convent. The native artists painted all the negative characters in the bible as Spanish. A perfect example of protest in art.

Casa De La Moneda

Casa De La Moneda were the mints set up by the Spanish around Latin America to press coins. Potosi was the most famous of them all as the quality of silver was meant to be the best in the world. We arrived for an English tour to find out that there was none at that time. As we were leaving that day, we refused to come back later. After a long wait, a lady came to give us the tour.

From the start she wasn’t happy to give us a tour as it was only for 2 people. Moreover, The fact that I can speak some Spanish ticked her off even more. Anyway, she showed us the original coins minted here and told us about their value. The most interesting thing was that the letter PTSI were used on top of one another for Potosi coins. Their reputation was so high that to this day, SI on top of one another is used as the dollar symbol.

We saw many more rooms which had printing presses, foundaries, silver presses, silver wares, minerals from the mountain and modern Bolivian coins. The best example of outsourcing? Bolivian coins are made in Chile and Canada as its too expensive to mint them in Bolivia. An informative museum at 40 Bolivianos per person, under USD 7, but certainly an expensive one.

Bus to Uyuni

We took a 1:00pm bus to Uyuni which was meant to be the 12:30pm bus but this is Bolivia and no one complained. As the bus left Potosi, the view became breathtaking. There were mountains and valleys with llamas grazing in the distance. Shruti even managed to photograph a llama crossing sign.

It was only a 4 hour ride but it seemed much longer in good way as we went over canyons, hills and mountain passes. As the bus climbed the final hill before Uyuni, the vast high desert with a city in the middle appeared out of nowhere. It was a lovely sight. If we looked in the distance, we could see world’s biggest salt flats. We were near Salar de Uyuni.

Things to do in and around La Paz

Getting in

We flew into La Paz from Galapagos Islands on an Avianca Flight which landed at 2:30am. We didn’t have a hostel booked so we thought it was best to wait till dawn and then head out looking for a place to stay. Anyway, Shruti’s visa process took about 40 minutes although we had all the paperwork in order. We thought the visa was USD 55 but turned out to be lot more. And, the immigration officer only excepted Bolivianos, though luckily there was a currency exchange outlet just at the airport. We slept for a couple of hours at the airport. Somehow we got mixed up with time and left the airport thinking it was 6:30am, but in reality it was 7:30! Guess we didn’t hear the air stewdardess announce about the time difference when we landed.

PS: The on-arrival visa fee for Indians in Bolivia is now USD 95. We highly recommend getting your paperwork sorted and getting a visa stamped free of cost at a Bolivian Consulate from where you are flying.

It was incredibly cold outside the airport. The La Paz airport is situated in El Alto, which is 4000 meters high making it one of the highest airports in the world! We could also see a magnificent snow covered mountain in distance, it definitely was a beautiful first sight of the country! The minibus to the city costed only 4 Bolivianos per person, USD 60 cents.

Acclimatising to Bolivia

Generally speaking, the entire country of Bolivia is at an high altitude. Apart from the Amazon Jungle, I would guess the lowest altitude along the mountain range would be 2300 meters, in Cochabamba.

La Paz is situated in a canyon at 3689 metres. After arriving from the airport, we had to walk uphill with all the bags. The altitude was really hitting us – we were breathing very heavily, the palms were cold though our bodies were perspiring by the time we got to the hostel.

The rest of the time, we had a problem with what to wear. La Paz was incredibly hot, when under direct sun, and cold, if you happen to be in shade, at the same time! For the altitude, we bought coca leaves and lejía and kept it in our mouths everyday. It definitely seemed to help with the breathing.

San Fransico Church

San Fransisco Church and Plaza is one of the main gathering areas of the city. The church is so big that it takes up entire block on the main road of La Paz. The church was built in the Baroque-Mestizo architecture. It is the finest building of this architecture and is made entirely of stone. As with any Latin American plaza, it was full of people sitting, eating and protesting about one thing or another.

El Alto Mirador

La Paz is a city surrounded by mountains and many high areas which provide great viewpoints (miradors) of the city. We decided to visit El Alto to view the mountains for ourselves. Thankfully, we didn’t have to walk up the hill as there is a cable car uphill from Central La Paz.

The ticket was only 6 Bolivianos each way per person, almost USD 1, and at 10am it was mostly empty. The view was incredible as we started ascending. La Paz doesn’t have slums like Medellin. The houses up the hill looked decent and less rustic in context. In Bolivia, people generally don’t paint houses and therefore have a ‘brick veneer’ look.

The view of the mountains though was incredible. We could see Huayna Potosi, Chacalataya and Illamani mountains from the last station at El Alto. While it was stunning, it was also a couple of degrees cooler though it was bearable. For 12 Bolivianos (under $2), not bad at all!

Witches Market (Mercado de las Brujas)

When we initially heard that La Paz had a market of the witches, we were shocked, excited and curious, all at the same time. We ended up visiting the market a few times.

There were 2 streets with around 15-20 shops. Each of them had dead baby llama carcases outside. Additionally, lots of shops had little charm idols representing good luck, abundance, health, love, safety and also had traditional medicines. There were also drinks for offering to Pachamama, the Goddess of Land.

By visiting museums in La Paz and Cochabamba, we learnt more about the rituals and charms in Witches Market. The people in the countryside slaughter pair of llama for Pachamama but people in the city cannot do the same. Therefore, every Friday or before starting a new task, such as, building house or business, they burn offerings for Pachamama. The shops in Witches Market provide the raw materials for these rituals.

Ethnographic Museum

The Ethnographic Museum was in the main government area of La Paz. We bought tickets and started walking around seeing the textiles of different groups in Bolivia. As we finished with that section, we go to a room full of masks of Bolivia. Just then, a man approached us about a guided tour. He worked for the museum and the tour was in English and free – of course we said yes.

The guide explained us the meaning of different masks. He told us about the fiestas or dance festivals in Bolivia. This was one of our first days in Bolivia and we were keen to find out the native culture. The masks represented the Spanish conquererors, slaves, Chinese who were brought to the colonies and the Native Gods.

A particular fiesta caught our attention. In some villages, the locals participate in a fiesta to please the Gods and call upon good luck for everyone. But in order to do so, someone from the village needs to volunteer to be the ‘sucide guy’. The constume he wears, especially the mask, for 3 days of fiesta is very heavy. Additionally, everyone drinks with him during the fiesta. Eventually, towards the end of fiesta, he dies either due to alcohol poisoning or by breaking his neck. The people rejoice at his death as it marks a successful fiesta.

As we went further, the guide explained about the Tiwanaku and Inca cultures. While Incas are more famous, Tiwanaku had a larger and longer influence on Bolivia. A large part still speaks the Tiwanaku language, Aymara. Next, we learnt about the Spanish conquest and is sad effects of Bolivia. The slavery of people in the Potosi mines, farming for coca and racially subjugation. Moreover, Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in a war that was funded by British. Our guide felt that Bolivia had been mistreated by foreigners.

The guide told us that conditions in Bolivia turned 10 years ago when Evo Morales, an indigenous person, became the President. He had brought changes to the country which benefited the indegenous people for the first time since the Spanish conquest. Definitely something to smile to at the end of our tour.

The museum had a few other amazing rooms like the native beanies and weapons. There were hundreds of beanies of different tribes. It was a spectacular exhibition. Same with the weapons too. A great visit!

Coca Museum

One of the places I really wanted to visit in La Paz was the Coca museum. As someone who has grown up in the west, Cocaine is a big problem. It makes young people waste vast amounts of money, kills many with addiction and the government spends millions trying to stamp it out. On the other hand, countries like Bolivia and Peru has millions of people using Coca leaves on a daily basis. How can that be?

The coca museum was at the back of an old building. It was a little rustic and involved a lot of reading but it was truly informational. As we entered and paid our entry fee, the owner gave us some coca leaves, stevia and a information book and told us to follow the numbers. The first page had a legend or a poem from the Native Gods about how the white man would loot native lands and use coca leaves to kill people in the mines and eventually will from the coca. Great start!

The museum showed the history of coca in Latin America, its uses in rituals and traditions. Next, it showed how coca is grown and how it was used in a negative way by the Spanish Conquorers. The miners were provided with plenty of coca leaves, which allowed them to work for days without feeling thirsty, hungry or tired!

We also learnt about the various components in the leaf and why people use it. In the Bolivian antiplano, coca leaves are a necessity for the altitude. There is a small amount of cocaine but you would have to chew 4 bags worth to have the affect of 1 gram of cocaine.

The next part involved how cocaine was invented in the West by scientists, used by famous people including Sigmund Freud. Fun fct that we didn’t know was Coca Cola was initially made with cocaine and after the ban, continues to use coca leaves for flavour. The chemicals used in the process of making cocaine were not found in Bolivia but still countries like Peru and Bolivia are blamed for the western problem. As a result, Bolivia had to kill its own people to please USA.

An amazing story especially knowing that Bolivia doesn’t have a cocaine problem but an alcohol problem. People chew coca here like we chew chewing gum. It certainly changed our perpective of Coca. A good place to visit in La Paz!

Plaza Murillo

While staying at Wild Rover Hostel, we stumbled upon the Presidential Palace and other government buildings in La Paz. The plaza is really a square park and there are colonial buildings on all sides. The Presidential Palace has the Presidential Guards as well as the Military outside.

There were a lot of people sitting in the park and the area seemed a nice place to chill. A tall pillar stood in the middle of the park as a memorial. The Cathedral of La Paz was next to the palace. The building was made entirely of stone similar to most churches in Bolivia.

Valley of the Moon

Valley of the Moon is a unique landscape within the city of La Paz. Due to the geological changes within the area, clay deposited in the south of the city but later became a canyon of clay. However, that wasn’t the end and eventually the clay canyon started weathering away making mounds of clay over a huge area.

We could have visited the valley through an organised tour but then we wouldn’t be backpackers. We caught a local taxi to Mallasa area for 2 Bolivianos each, less than USD 30 cents. As we neared the town, we told the driver to drop us at Valley of the Moon. The entry was 15 Bolivianos per person, just over USD 2, we were in the precinct. Our first thoughts were “wow” and “what the hell happened”. The terrain really liked like it could be the moon. It was brown, lifeless and towers of clay everywhere.

We chose to do the 40 minutes walk around the precinct. Some of the clay towers were named such as Lady’s hat and Mother of the Moon Tower. The landscape around was truly something we had never seen before.

We eventually took the trufi (pool taxi) back for 5.20 Bolivianos and returned to centre of La Paz. All for under 40 Bolivianos which converts to $6USD. Gotta love Bolivia!

Markets

On our second trip to La Paz, we stayed in the touristy area called Calle Illampu. This part of La Paz has a lot of markets of different things. One day as we were returning from Peru Consulate when we realized that there was a huge food market near us. There were old ladies selling vegetables and fruits on the streets, small shops selling groceries, boiled vegetables, sauces, meat, cheese, bread and even spices.

As we are always looking to save money, this market turned out to be perfect for us! We ended up cooking for next few days – eating cheap and healthy. Additionally, this market also made Shruti and I nostalgic of a time in India when buying groceries meant going to lots of shops and street vendors with mum. It was a great feeling to not buy from a big supermarket for a while.

Shopping

While we’ve avoided buying a lot of things so far, Bolivia was an exception. For one, it is comparitively cheap and was our second last country in South America. This made it a perfect destination to buy some things for home. We bought gifts small and big for friends and family while helping out small businesses or small vendors.

Cochabamba, Bolivia

We arrived in Bolivia, La Paz, from Galapagos Islands. We had an overnight flight and spent a few days in La Paz before heading to Cochabamba. More about La Paz a little later, first we jump straight to Cochabamba.

Getting in

We took a night bus from La Paz for Cochabamba. Having heard about the condition of buses in Bolivia, I asked a few companies about the bus types and eventually settled on El Dorado for a Cama bus, which meant bed bus. We paid 30 Bolivianos each, approx. USD 4.4, and though the bus was a little shaky, it wasn’t bad at all.

Cold showers

Hostels or hotels in Bolivia are overpriced and when they are not overpriced they lack basic necessities. We found a room in a ‘residencial’ which are basic rooms for 120 Bolivianos, USD 17.3, with wifi and hot water. Wow that’s a bargain we thought! It was all going great until I started showering and realised there was electric current in the tap. Therefore, you can turn the hot shower on but that may be the last time you have a shower. We turned off the electric supply to hot water and had cold showers the whole time. Welcome to Bolivia!

Highlights of Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a beautiful city in the chapare region of Bolivia. It’s altitude is around 2000 metres making it much warmer than other cities in Bolivia. The city is surrounded by mountains of the cordillera real range making the city look like a Swiss or Austrian city.

The city has several parks in the centre as well as in the suburbs. The centre of the city was a grid which is quite unusual in South America. The cathedral and the main square of the town were absolutely stunning. The best thing about Cochabamba was its weather. The night temperature was around 14 degrees but the day could really get to 26 degrees.

Moreover, some places like Prado and Calle Salamanca with their tree lined wide avenues resembled streets in much more developed places. Prado had a ton of restaurants which was great for us as we had to go looking for vegetarian options for Shruti. On a positive note, Bolivia has really cheap food. You can’t have it all I guess!

Cristo De La Concordia

Cochabamba has the first or second biggest Jesus Statue in the World depending on how you measure it. Another one in Poland is bigger but it has a crown. We kept seeing it from different parts of the city so we decided to go visit it one day.

A cable car took us up the hill where it is located. The ride costed us 10.50 Bolivianos per person, USD 1.5, for two way ride. Upon arriving, our first thought was that the idol wasn’t that big but certainly beautiful. The Buddha in Hong Kong was certainly much bigger.

In any case, the hill on which it is located overlooks the city of Cochabamba. The view incredible on all sides as you saw different parts of Cochabamba. We ended up spending sometime here and just taking in the incredible view of Cochabamba.

Museum

Cochabamba is a big university town and there are public and private universities here. The University of Cochabamba had a museum in its campus and we thought we would take a look. Google uncle directed us to the location but there was nothing there. After looking around and being unsuccessful, we asked some students where the museum was. A nice student working on the computer in a student centre told us that the museum may be 3 blocks from there.

After walking those 3 blocks, we came to a market but nothing more. We asked a chemist and he pointed us to the next block. Finally, we found the museum and there was an English tour in half an hour which we waited for. We realised that the museum wasn’t very big. After sitting around for Hhlf an hour, a short round man walk towards us and we had a funny conversation:

Guide(Spanish): Are you guys waiting for the tour.
Mani (Spanish): Yes but in English
Guide (Spanish): but you are speaking to me in Spanish.
Shruti (Spanish): Sí No español!
Guide(English): Ah ok!

After that, Señor Renée gave us a wonderful tour of the museum. It started with the prehistoric fossils, animals from the dinosaur period, arrival of man in South America and cultures in South America. In particular, he gave personal accounts of the beliefs and rituals of Bolivian natives of the Antiplano, Quechua and Aymara people. It was wonderful hearing the stories about how the indigenous people still respect Pachamama or Mother Earth. Finally, we saw some amazing artefacts relating to Inca and Tiwanaku cultures whose effect can still be seen on the culture of Bolivia today.

Pico Tunari

We saw the things to do in Cochabamba and climbing Cerro Tunari was one of them. We checked with a few agencies and booked the one with the best rate. Our guide Gemello, met us outside our hotel and we started driving towards Quillacollo. Our journey would start from 4000 metres and we would hike upto 5100 metres.

Gemello was a chatty guy and his accent in Spanish was very clear. He told us about the history of Cochabamba, its villages and about Bolivia in general. After we reached Quillacollo, the road up was cobblestone and though the scenery was great, Shruti and I both feel asleep. After 15 minutes of nap, Shruti woke me up with a tap on the shoulder. There were llamas in the valley below. Gemello stopped the car the first time for photos and told us there will be more above.

We parked the car at a stream and started our hike up. The guide showed us a house made of rocks which was home to nomad llama herders. They leave the llamas in the mountains for the winter and return in the spring. As we started hiking, we felt the altitude but we didn’t have any issues as Gemello had given us sickness pills before. Just to be sure, we had coca leaves as well.

The view got better with mountains on all sides and llamas eating grass. After 45 minutes of hiking, we arrived at the “llama valley”, a high valley surrounded by mountains and atleast 100 llamas grazing. I couldn’t think of anything better to do except walk towards them and film while Shruti took photos. In total, it took us 1 hour to the base of the mountain.

We had a break for water before walking up an incline and the sheer rocks of the mountains around us. The Cordillera range was all around us and the view was fantastic. A bit further up, we started seeing the peak but more clearly we could see the second peak, Pico Negro. The mountains here were all volcanic and all dark rock. The hiking was tough due to the altitude and the incline but it was the constant appearance and disappearance of sun behind clouds and cold wind which were more annoying.

After 2 hours, we reached the base of the peak. We were in high mountains now close to 5000 metres of altitude. All around us were rocks and small lagoons of water. We stopped for a snack here and I washed our apples in the freezing water and nearly froze my hands.

The hike up to the peak was tough because 1) the altitude was getting to 5000 metres 2) we were hiking on solid rock and shards and 3) the wind was very fast.

We stopped for 5 minutes to photograph the view of Cochabamba. We had seen the peak from the city and now we were seeing the city from near the peak.

The final hike was the toughest but the reward was spectacular. We could see the city on one side and the mountains on all others. On a clear day, you are able to see the mountains of La Paz but that wasn’t for us.

The view below us of the lakes, streams and valleys was unbelievable. We stayed at the top for 10 minutes, took a few photos and then went down. The first part of the descent was uneventful except that Shruti and I had a few tumbles due to the terrain being unstable and us having cheap Colombian hiking shoes which have started to wear out now.

We made a stop at a beautiful aquamarine colored lake for a few minutes for photos. Shruti got me to pose but it was incredibly tough. Aside from being at the edge of a mountain, the wind was incredibly strong and pushing me over. We had lunch at this lake. Gemello told us about the quechua rituals still performed on the lake as well as how people trout fish in the lake.

As we descended from the lake, we saw more and more llamas with different markings indicating different owners. Some were scared and others are curious. We saw 1 llama in Colombia and Ecuador each but in Bolivia we saw them to our hearts content. There were adult males, mums and babies!

As we descended further, the view of the mountain behind us was remarkable. In fact, as we walked through a small wetland, the clouds cleared and the mountains were clearly visible all over. After walking on the side of another lake, we reached back to the car.

We had met a dog probably owned by the herders before we left. As we returned, he was still sitting next to the car waiting for us. We patted him and saw a huge herd of sheep next to a herd of llamas. What an end to a great day!

Food & Drinks

Cochabamba is famous for its food. However, Shruti being vegetarian made it tough to eat here. In fact, we ended up eating twice at a Hare Krishna Restaurant. Gopal restaurant has 4 branches in Cochabamba and we also ate at Tulasi vegetarian restaurant which was full of images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Something that amazed us. South America has a rich culture and plenty of traditions they follow, but somehow interest and curiosity of Hinduism has converted plenty to Hare Krishnas.

We also ate at Paprika which is meant to be one of the best restaurants in Cochabamba. I even got to try medallion of llama while Shruti had Thai noodles. In fact, it was the first time I had medallion and llama. The bill was only 165 Bolivianos which was huge for a normal meal in Bolivia but it was about USD 24. A bargain!

Finally, I tried the fried pastry which the Cochabambinos have for breakfast and snack. We also had some Huari beer which tasted like Singa beer. A disappointment!

Peru & What Next – Final Change of Plan

By now you know about Peru and Chile not happening and so Galapagos happened and Brazil was supposed to be the next stop after Bolivia. Well, we have another update – Peru Consulate in La Paz, Bolivia accepted the Visa Application and we are going to Peru! FINALLY!

Yes, you read that right. After trying so hard in Colombia and Ecuador, we had given up. But one evening I decided to write to the Consulate in La Paz and they responded positively! The process took over a week, but that allowed us to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Bolivia (posts to come).

Next week we are likely to be in Peru :) As such, Brazil is now off the table. Also, as we spent a lot of money at Galapagos, we cannot afford Europe anymore. Secondly, the Schengen Countries are creating a fuss about the visa too. So we will be heading to U.S. of America after Peru to visit a little life that has arrived in this world and finally end our year long journey with a road trip along the west coast. Can’t wait!

Follow the updated itinerary travel map right here.

Just a note – thanks all for praying for us :)

Ecuador – One Stop Location

When we initially started planning South America, Colombia, Peru and Chile were our highlights. We merely considered Ecuador as a country to cross to get to Peru from Colombia. Turns out we were wrong! Ecuador is one stop location for everything – mountains, treks, jungle, beach and wildlife! Like they said, “great things come in small packages”.

We got to Ecuador after spending an amazing month and a half in Colombia. We didn’t have much expectations but it blew us away on the first day itself. We visited the Otavalo Market on Saturday and were impressed with the presence of native culture – something that was missing in Colombia.

As we continued to spend days in this country we saw the natural beauty of it. Massive mountains, active volcanoes, canyons, waterfalls, lakes and rivers kept blowing us away one after the other.

At one point during our travel we decided to visit the Amazon and Galapagos Islands. This combination turned out to be like a ‘safari in Africa’. We saw plenty of wildlife in both locations and experienced the different cultures and weathers of the jungle and coast.

Just one thing to note though, because Ecuador uses US Dollars as their currency, it is comparatively more expensive than its neighbors. In Colombia we spent an average of USD 55 for both of us while in Ecuador the average day rate was USD 90 (minus Galapagos Islands cost).

Having said that, we still highly recommend Ecuador for its natural beauty. If you like to laze on the beach, trek for days or just enjoy wildlife, this is one place that offers it all.