{"id":3249,"date":"2016-05-24T19:06:49","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T19:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=3249"},"modified":"2017-07-24T11:22:26","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T18:22:26","slug":"bolivia-land-of-untapped-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2016\/05\/24\/bolivia-land-of-untapped-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolivia – Land of Untapped Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our trip to Bolivia was one of the most interesting trips that we’ve ever taken and we have a lot of experiences that we want to share. Before we describe each unique adventure that we were able to enjoy, we wanted to share our overall impressions of Bolivia in general.\u00a0 As with all countries, Bolivia is a very complex nation with a lot of contradictions, aspirations, and impediments to success.\u00a0 Everyone we met along our journey was extremely nice and helpful, but they all expressed a similar impression of their country.\u00a0 It is a land rich with potential, but that potential is being squandered due to mismanagement and corruption from the political leaders who rule the country.<\/p>\n

\"High<\/a>
High Mountain Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Andes<\/a>
Andes Mountains across the Plain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Farmland<\/a>
Farmland on the Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the success of surrounding countries like Peru, Chile, and Argentina, Bolivia seems to be stubbornly holding onto the past, which is great for a visitor, but not necessarily good for its people.\u00a0 While these other countries have embraced tourism, the people of Bolivia may want travelers to come to their country, but seeing the sites that the country has to offer is not an easy endeavor.\u00a0 Just getting from one place to another can be risky and life threatening or is often very expensive.\u00a0 Because of that, we were able to only see a fraction of what the country has to offer, but it isn’t going to deter us from visiting Bolivia again, as we truly want to see more of this wonderful country.<\/p>\n

\"Driving<\/a>
Driving in the Jungle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Farming<\/a>
Farming the Land<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hard<\/a>
Hard Work the Old Way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From our conversations with people in the United States, people often know nothing or very little about Bolivia.\u00a0 Usually the conversation goes something like, “isn’t that where they wear the bowler hats?” or “that’s where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed, right?”.\u00a0 Perhaps they’ve heard of La Paz, but few associate it with the Inca empire or relate to the ruins the same way that they might refer to Machu Picchu in Peru.\u00a0 As far as the bowler hats, people are partially correct.\u00a0 There are three major tribes that trace their ancestry back to before\u00a0the Incas and each has their own traditional dress and language.\u00a0 In fact, as you venture out of the cities and into the countryside, you are likely to meet people who speak no Spanish at all, the standard language of Bolivia and South America, but who speak their ancestral language.\u00a0 We saw people from two of those major groups, Aymara and Quechua.\u00a0 Outside of Cochabamba, where we spent our first week in Bolivia, the people are Quechua and the women wear white hats, while outside of La Paz the people are Aymara and\u00a0are the ones that where bowler hats.<\/p>\n

\"Potato<\/a>
Potato Market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Aymara<\/a>
Aymara Woman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Women<\/a>
Women from Cochabamba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seventy percent of the land in Bolivia is covered by jungle and rainforest, while the\u00a0rest\u00a0is either\u00a0high in the Andes mountains or on open plains, such as the Uyuni Salt Flats.\u00a0 In fact, the salt flats are probably Bolivia’s biggest tourism draw at the moment, but something that we didn’t get the opportunity to see during our trip because we simply didn’t have the time or money to make it there.\u00a0 Road conditions in Bolivia are horrendous and travel by bus can take days or even weeks to get places.\u00a0 You can fly to some smaller cities, but the prices are usually outrageous.\u00a0 However, to and from the major cities, La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, flights are not only convenient, but they are cheap as well.\u00a0 In fact, we flew with BOA (Boliviana de Aviaci\u00f3n), which had flights from La Paz to Cochabamba leaving about every hour and a half and it was one of the best airline experiences we’ve ever had.\u00a0 Our round-trip tickets cost the two of\u00a0us a\u00a0total of less than $150 USD and our flights were on time and the service was excellent.<\/p>\n

\"Rough<\/a>
Rough Road<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Traffic<\/a>
Traffic on Dirt Roads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Flight<\/a>
Flight into Cochabamba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ancient ruins that we were able to see, both Inca and pre-historic, were definitely one of the highlights of our trip.\u00a0 Oddly though, the Bolivian people don’t have much of an interest in their own history and therefore these sites are not as fully examined as they would be in other countries and because there isn’t a lot of tourism, they aren’t visited often.\u00a0 Being the only people at a site, just us and our guide, made seeing them even more enjoyable, but at the same time made us rather sad that these historical sites were not being relished and cared for in the way that they truly deserve.\u00a0 They are very proud of the fact that they haven’t rebuilt any of the sites\u00a0in order to show what they might have looked like, but there\u00a0are also probably many more buildings and ruins left undiscovered and buried beneath the land.\u00a0 Other than the time that we spent in Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, we saw very few tourists anywhere during our trip.\u00a0 And the people that we saw in Copacabana were most likely just passing through on their way to or from Peru, which is on the other side of the lake.<\/p>\n

\"Tiwanaku\"<\/a>
Tiwanaku<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Incallajta\"<\/a>
Incallajta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Statue<\/a>
Statue at Tiwanaku<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other common perception of Bolivia, at least in the United States, is that it is the\u00a0country where most of the cocaine comes from.\u00a0\u00a0Unfortunately that is true and growing\u00a0coca leaves is one of the largest crops that Bolivia produces, much\u00a0of it legally, but there is also a fair amount of\u00a0illegal growth as well.\u00a0 It is common to see people chewing on coca leaves and it was even on our breakfast buffet at the hotel in La Paz.\u00a0\u00a0Other than coca leaves, the\u00a0country grows everything that it needs in very fertile soil, including\u00a0potatoes, strawberries, bananas,\u00a0tangerines, lemons, and quinoa.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the demand from other countries for the cocaine that is made from the coca leaves has made that the largest cash crop in the country.\u00a0 It\u00a0has also created the culture of political corruption as well as a desire not to have prying eyes from tourists, which is probably part of the reason that they make it\u00a0difficult for tourists to visit the country.<\/p>\n

\"Drying<\/a>
Drying the Coca Leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"From<\/a>
From Farm to Table?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Coca<\/a>
Coca Plants<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bolivia truly is a fascinating country with plenty to offer the world.\u00a0 Right now it is like a gem that has yet to be polished to reveal its true splendor, but there will likely come a day in the near future when tourists flock to Bolivia to see all that it has to offer.\u00a0 From the animals of the jungle, the amazing Amazon river, the high ranges of the Andes, dinosaur tracks, ancient ruins,\u00a0humble cities and friendly people, there is much to see and do in Bolivia, if people are willing to venture there.\u00a0 We had heard a lot\u00a0about petty crime and pickpockets before we left and were on our guard everyplace that we went, but we found that our concerns were pretty much unnecessary.\u00a0 Every country has places where crime is prevalent and people should be wary, but we didn’t find Bolivia to be any worse than any other country that we’ve visited.\u00a0 We hope that more people will\u00a0visit this incredible country and we will definitely return again.\u00a0 Maybe on our next trip we won’t be the only foreigners that we see as we\u00a0explore\u00a0the many treasures that Bolivia has to offer.<\/p>\n

\"Palm<\/a>
Palm Leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jungle<\/a>
Jungle Beauty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Banana<\/a>
Banana Stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our trip to Bolivia was one of the most interesting trips that we’ve ever taken and we have a lot of experiences that we want to share. Before we describe each unique adventure that we were able to enjoy, we wanted to share our overall impressions of Bolivia in general.\u00a0 As with all countries, Bolivia … <\/p>\n

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