Bolivia SA
Homepage
Featured Story
Bolivia — South America's hidden jewel
Pia Chatterjee | SFGate
The white cars line up in front of the white basilica. There are twenty, thirty of them, all of them white, queuing up to be blessed by the priest. Each car is decorated — they have large paper butterflies stuck onto the front, some have gilt ribbons on the doors and windows, all have streamers — yellow, red, green festooned along the body. It is Bolivian Independence Day, and the small town of Copacabana has gone mad — it feels like all of Bolivia and half of Peru have made their way up to this tiny town at the edge of lake Titicaca. The priest is serious about his blessings — he rings his bell in front of each car, he sprinkles them with holy water, there is confetti and incense. Everyone takes pictures. Then the car drives off to the lake and waits. The shaman arrives, possibly from the island Isla del Sol, more ceremonies take place, also involving incense and water. Prayers are chanted. Then, before my amazed eyes, beer is flung onto the car. Groups of singers arrive and are paid to sing and dance before the vehicle. Everyone drinks beer. I stand at the sidelines, watching. I too, am offered beer. I take a tentative sip. It's good. I drink some more. It's nine in the morning.
Bolivia is a country clearly at home with duality — shamans co-exist with priests, pachamama is as strongly revered as the virgin, Aymara, Quechua and Spanish are spoken with equal degrees of fluency. The geography of the country reflects this inclusiveness — for such a tiny country, Bolivia seems to have a little bit of everything (except a coast-line — but that is a topic for someone with a deeper political understanding than me.) Bolivia has a giant hinterland of Amazonian plains, dense jungle with more colorful birds and monkeys than I have ever seen before; the largest salt flats in the world at Uyuni, where Arvind and I travel to the highest elevation of our lives to see blood red lakes with pink flamingos flocking against tall volcanoes. Further north is Titicaca — a huge cobalt blue lake, with the hills of Peru violet in the distance.
I have loved being in Bolivia. It has challenged and confused me, it has asked me to revise my opinion of the world, and for this I am grateful. In a world that is swiftly becoming homogeneous, Bolivia is unmistakably unique — in the streets the ladies wear their traditional dress, the morning drink is a fiercely sweet api made from purple corn, and the day to day food, full of hominy and crisply fried fish is different from anything else I have ever eaten. We have been treated with a gentle warmth wherever we go — the eyes of our new friends are friendly and secure - everyone we speak to is kind and interested — but there is no excessive curiosity or glee. We have been told to be careful with our belongings in Bolivia, but the one day when, frazzled from our twelve hour bus ride, we leave our debit card in the ATM, it is returned to us. As we spend time in Bolivia, we feel the magic of the country overtake us. We too grow gentler, more compassionate, less needy. When we buy things, we do not bargain — the country is more obviously poor than any where we have ever been, and we find it impossible to haggle over a few cents here and there. When there is no hot water, or internet, or even electricity — as seems to be the case for us in remote areas of the country — I find it hard to get upset. More than 60% of the country lives below the poverty line, yet everyone we meet has found the time to chat with us, ask us about ourselves, offered help. In the place like this, it's difficult to be demanding.
Despite its remarkable beauty, Bolivia is not visited much by Americans. It has neither the culture of Argentina, the famous landmarks of Peru nor the beaches of Brazil. Yet, of all these places, Bolivia has my heart. It's beauty is jaw dropping, but you have to travel long, bone rattling roads to get to them. Its jungles are full of birds and animals, but as far as I could tell, Bolivians do not pursue their sighting as aggressively as in other South American forests, La Paz is dizzying in its beauty — but its elevation makes it difficult for all but the most determined of visitors. Yet, of all its gems, Bolivia's real prize is its jewel hearted people. >>>>Go to Full Story >>>