Life in Bolivia

I realise my blog has a lot about La Paz, but honestly I’ve met a few friendly people and it is proving hard to leave. But leave I must this week, hopefully. Also it has been difficult to choose what photos to leave out.

One thing that really captivates you about La Paz is how mountainous it is. The photos only tell part of the story. While it rains in the city the higher regions remain relatively dry, creating an unforgiving environment- largely treeless with bare rock.  Enrique tells me that houses higher up the slopes from the city do not receive any water or sanitation. The higher peaks (around 6000ft from sea level) are snow covered, although global warming has seen the white shrink. Apparently,  about 10 years ago there use to be a ski resort to rival those in the Alps, but this has not been possible recently.

Enrique was telling me about life in Bolivia. If you have a chid here for the first two years the government supplies,  free of charge, that which is required to bring up the child: powdered milk, butter, nappies, etc. Often it is more than is required, so Enrique said that he hands the surplus to other family members. However, people often sell the whole lot to make ends meet.

Health is free here (rather like the National Health Service in UK) but it is basic, no radiography,  ultrasound,  etc for example.

Cable Cars and Minbueses- La Paz currently has three, new, cable cars that take you up the mountain slopes: red, green and yellow. I’ve only been on the red (on my own) as Enrique doesn’t see the point in them so prefers to take the minibus. A return trip costs 80cents/60p. Although of average height in UK,  here I’m a comparative giant and have to fold myself in and out of the mini van.

Enrique complains bitterly that as the city has grown the number of trees has rapidly decreased (I imagine he will get a lot of sympathy for his thoughts). Slopes that use to be thickly covered with forests are now bare or filled with houses. I tried to ask him if they had Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) but he didn’t understand so I presume not. His fear is that they will need to start importing oxygen from other countries to fuel the city.

Manners and queuing is not something that seems to be part of the culture. Getting onto a mini bus with Enrique I gave him ‘a bit’ of space to squeeze himself into the space, a young lad then inserted himself in front of me to get on and encourage his mate, I lost patience and pushed his mate out of the way to get on (I was bloody well there first). Additionally I was waiting in the queue to get a photocopy. It was evidently my turn was next but an older guy tried to push in front, not only did I shout louder but shot him a dirty look.

Driving- if you ever come to La Paz take a taxi ride somewhere, just for the experience. If you ever want to sell a car here don’t worry if the indicators don’t work (no one seems to use them anyway) just make sure it has a good horn (they use this all the time, even when obviously the traffic in front of them can’t go anywhere). They also give each no space, randomly pull out even if there are cars coming behind them (seemingly without looking or indicating), go when the lights are red (pain if you are a pedestrian) and fly across cross roads even if it is not their right of way.

Rubbish- busy teaching my students that the Brits say ‘rubbish’ and our American counsins say ‘trash’ (anyone fancy correcting me?). There is a $450/£300 fine if caught dropping litter but this seems to be largely ignored. It leaves real eyesores in parts around La Paz but thankfully there is an army of street clearners who continue to keep the city centre tidy.

Rain- It is currently the rainy season (I’m here in January/February). At the moment it rains approx every three days and comes down in a torrential storm for about 4 hours. Interestingly those places higher than the centre of La Paz tend to receive very little rain if any.

Keeping Safe- in tandem with the LP, Enrique warns of the prossible dangers of Bolivia. People may offer you things e.g. a beer. This will probably be in a friendly way but be aware as it might be laced with a sleeping drug and you will awaken in a strange place stripped of your belongings (Enrique tells a story of when a pretty girl offered him a drink… he awoke missing all his cash and his mobile). Additionally you may be asked to read something from a bit of paper because the person claims to be hard of seeing or blind. Again take care as the paper may be laced with a sleeping drug that has been put onto the paper and is rapidly absorbed by your skin.

Condors, Pumas and Snakes- Like many countries, Bolivia has a long history and many tribes, some like the Incas were big but most were small. Ancient civisations believed in God, mother earth and the under world and that three creatures could communicate with them. Condors spoke to God, Pumas to mother earth and Snakes to the under world. As such you will see a lot of this in art work from this part of the continent.

Spanish- It is nearly essential to learn some Spanish before you come to visit. Those in the larger city will have better English but experience will be enhanced by knowing some of the local language. Speaking to some Spanish girls I met it is important to realise that not only does the accent change but words and use of the language from country to country. For example, although on the most part they taught me, I taught them a few words I learnt having lived in Venezuela. An example being when you are asked how you are in Spanish, the usual reply is ‘muy bien’. In Venezuela they use ‘Chevere’ meaning very good. Actually you can base a whole conversation on this word, like- ‘How are you?’ Chevere; ‘How was it last night?’ Chevere; ‘Hows the girlfriend’ Chevere; ‘Shall we meet tonight?’ Chevere.

Fellow Travelers- Interestingly at the moment the majority of tourists appear to be French. Usually I meet Brits, Australians (tick) and Germans (Tick), but can anyone explain the French invasion?

Population- locals, other travellers, etc seem infatuated with knowing the population of places. As such my advice is learn the population size of your village, town or city and that of your country. If you live in UK good lesson to explain is that the UK does not equal England, as many people assume. For a laugh I reply ‘Britanico’ when asked where I’m from (meaning British), the natural reaction is ‘Ok, Inglaterra’ (meaning ‘England’, imagine what a Scot would say…)