They move 4-5 times a year, creating new roots in the direction in which they want to move, while their old roots, the ones they don't need anymore, rot. They're constantly searching for a spot in the sun, or as our jungle guide poeticaly put it "they're constantly looking for freedom."
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Bolivia is a mix of contradictions. Extreme poverty, but amazing riches. Some of the most beautiful landscapes can be found in Bolivia, and some of the saddest stories as well. The people work hard, keep their head down, treck unimaginable distances carrying tree trunks on their backs. Bolivian people have a reputation of being unfriendly, but who can blame them? "Child care" are two words which do not exist yet. Cholitas, Bolivian women in traditional dress, carry their babies on their backs, while they get on with the daily chores. Women are the true motor force of Bolivia. They do everything, and I'm not just talking child bearing and household chores. They work the fields, construction sites, the markets, they can be seen literally in the middle of nowhere carrying things from one place to another. Always carrying things. I think maybe they carry the world on their backs, looking for their spot in the sun.
Some of Bolivia,
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| Salar de Uyuni |
The bolivians who live in or near the jungle are a whole other story. They contrast vividly with the hard working altiplano people (the altiplano is a high plateau, with heights of over 3000m). They sit around drinking beer most of the day, or driving around on bikes, and are much friendlier. They also reject the bolivian reputation of unfriendliness, while raising their glass and saying "with all respect brother". I guess that's just a normal side effect of an easier life, or maybe it's just that warmer climates make people happier, even if they haven't got much...
Peru is more developed, although probably more so in Lima, due to the rich elite that live in the capital (along with the many poor who live around it), and in Cusco and the surrounding areas, mostly due to the hoards of tourists that flock in to visit Machu Picchu . There's no blaming them (myself included), as Machu Picchu is one of the most amazing sites I've ever seen. Never discovered by the spanish conquistadors, it retains it's original beauty, a true look into the past and to the Inca civilisation. After a two day treck, camping in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fireflies, stars and dark mountains, a 1 and a half hour climb up 400m at 5am to reach the lost city, our eyes are rewarded with the view of one of the seven wonders of the world. By 11am there are so many tourists it's hard to move around.
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| Machu Picchu |
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| Handstands around the world highlight |
