Pachamama – The Weird & the Wonderful

Post-blockade, freedom never felt so good. Even though we were sticky, smelly and sleep deprived in Cochabamba, we had a flight booked to our next destination of Tarija, we had beers a plenty and we had the promise of a hot shower in the near future. After waving bye to those that were heading to La Paz (including Kanika), and our favourite Bolivian family who were heading home to Santa Cruz, we settled in to a quick 50 minute flight. Next stop – the land of wine, ready for a couple of stress-free days. Our heads hit the pillows hard and we were out for the count.

The next morning brought a fresh breakfast, a large pile of clothes ready for washing and a 4 hour wine tour! Having spent some of the morning wandering around the central square and streets, we bundled into a jeep to head out into the countryside. Introducing a new spirit to the trip – Singani. Like a much softer tequila, it was love at first sip for some and 2 bottles were bought instantaneously. The day was bettered with further promise of plenty of wine, and although much of what we tasted was super sweet, including the infamous blue version (wine snob, say what?), we were happy to be out in the countryside and enjoying the day.

The vineyards were looking bleak, but the surrounding countryside was beautiful!

Feeling the need to properly celebrate our getaway from the blockades, we cracked open our new purchases and made our way to the local Friday night hotspot, dancing away amongst the locals to a live band.

The night was filled with Bolivian hits and dancing on tables with the local singers – a night we’re not likely to forget.

Having drunk and danced our way through Tarija, we headed for the town of Tupiza. Famous for being the hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid, the town felt like we were propelled back in time to midwest America – buildings looked like cowboy saloons and red, dusty mountains surrounded us in every direction. This was our starting point for the Salt Flat tour, a 4 day adventure into the mountains, deserts and lagoons.

We set off the following morning, squeezing into our jeep, accompanied by Jana, Tim, another traveller from Canada and our charismatic driver, Hoshin. Before leaving Tupiza, we stopped off at Hoshin’s house so he could pick up a couple of Ukuleles for later. This was already a sign for things to come – in a great way.

Day 1 was spent climbing high into the mountains. The views were spectacular, rocks protruding from the ground in bizarre, if not impossible shapes.

As the day went on, the air became thinner and the lungs started to fail us after only 6 or 7 steps. We were at 4,700m above sea level and we turned to local remedies and rituals to get us through. Renowned for helping with headaches and sickness, coca leaves are the secret weapon for tackling altitude sickness. Sadly, the benefits of these leaves do not include taste – you find yourself looking vaguely llama like, wincing and chewing profoundly on a dry, green mush forming in your mouth.

This was also our first encounter with Pachamama. Before munching down on our tasty leaves, we were instructed to throw a leaf to the ground as a gesture of goodwill and honour in the name of Pachamama. For those unfamiliar with indigenous, Andean tradition – Pachamama is the ancient goddess of Mother Earth and the first (best) portion of any drink or food is sacrificed to her. Who were we to argue when dear Pachamama was showing us the best she has to offer.

With these dizzying heights also came the coldest night of sleep to date. Not surprisingly, shacked up at altitude in the middle of the desert with no heating was not an experience we would be keen to relive but we had some laughs putting on every item of clothing we could muster and huddling for warmth.

The next 3 days featured some of the most spectacular scenery we had ever seen. While the days in the jeep were long, the views just kept getting better and better. We were in high spirits, singing along to the hits (the Bolivian hits that is) and scrambling around boulder, rivers and lakes. We rubbed shoulders with flamingoes, llamas and guanacos and even got to taste the best of Bolivia’s odd beer selection, with quinoa coming up trumps. On top of that, the ukuleles came out regularly and we enjoyed jamming along amongst some exceptional scenery. Margarita, our resident chef and cholita, even taught us how to tie tablecloths to make them into bags for our backs. Who needs a 60L backpack when you have these tips and tricks?

Laguna Colorado – the reddish water is due to sediments & algae in the water

Just your average llama crossing in the desert

The highlight though, came in the early evening of our last night of the tour. We snuck out with Hoshin to catch a beautiful sunset over the salt flat that was not technically included in the tour. Having been told the desert was bone dry, we were shocked to find flooded plains of shimmering water so reflective that the salt became a mirror image of the sky above. It was one of the most magical sunsets we had ever experienced. With excitement in our eyes, we asked Hoshin whether it would be possible to wait for some of the stars to peek out. Wine and Singani in company, we all danced and sang our way into the evening, eventually climbing up onto the roof of the jeep to watch the galaxy unfold before our eyes. It was a mesmerising night – truly unforgettable.

We of course couldn’t leave the tour without dedicating a day to the dry, salty expanse. Our final day, from dawn to dusk, was spent completely on the salt flats. We were already in awe of the landscape and seeing the large expanse of salt with nothing else around was quite a view. Still, no experience would be complete without taking a few tourist mandatory photos (cue ridiculous poses and camera angles) and buying a poncho (Cal insisted this was the height of fashion)!

An ode to the great Sucre blockade of 2018!

Our 4 day tour had been incredible and we left southern Bolivia in awe of the landscapes, feeling very grateful for Hoshin and Margarita. But we were ready to be out of a Jeep and set off, destined for La Paz.

The joint capital of Bolivia is about as crazy a city as you will find. With a overwhelming mix of wires overhead for the city’s cable car system, to the beautiful mountain backdrop of Huayna Potosi, and all wrapped up in a maze of roads twisting and turning at a very high altitude, its easy to understand the attack on the senses. Our first thought was whether we had accidentally stumbled into an Asian city counterpart, but there’s some things only South America can provide.

One of these experiences we enjoyed on our first night in the big city. Having heard about cholita wrestling from other people, we thought we had to check it out ourselves and we are so glad we did. Effectively WWE on steroids, the night was spent cheering on our favourite cholitas as they battled through the rounds of hair pulling and aggressive kicking. While it was all entertainment, the ringside beers and popcorn really added to the sense of occasion.

With adrenaline still pumping from the show Cal took on the perilous death road, finding a Bolivian bike outlet that fitted his very non-Bolivian like legs and spending the day hurtling down beside 1000m cliff drops.

Battling vertigo fears, Cal made it down in one piece and just about managed to stomach a cliff edge photo.

Back in La Paz our days were spent exploring the emerging Bolivian food scene and the markets across the city, including the witches market where whispers of Pachamama appeared again. This time offerings came in the form of deceased baby llama foetuses, used as sacrifice for new buildings and other rituals. But we were more horrified to learn that human sacrifice is still very much a part of the culture and often includes drunk, homeless men who are taken away into the night and buried alive.

Trying a La Paz speciality – potato gratin and corn!

Alongside the horrifying stories, there was also a jovial atmosphere for a workers holiday. Given this, a parade of brass bands and dancers made their way through the centre with crowds of Bolivians enjoying the beers and festivities. We couldn’t help but get involved, with each of us having a go at joining the parade, playing some of the instruments or just having a dance. It culminated in a party around La Paz’s main roundabout and the music played long into the night.

We had been treated to everything in Bolivia, strange beliefs, foody delights, rituals, offerings and adventures. It all seemed to come together in La Paz, a centre of madness and brilliance. This was definitely the home of the weird and wonderful.

Cocktail club: After our introduction to Singani, there was no stopping us making Chuflays at every opportunity. This included us hauling 4 2-litre bottled of ginger beer on the salt flat tour to be enjoyed on the road. Cal and Tim were swigging the stuff like it was water, Rosh would have liked a bit of lime to cut through it. 7/10

British bowler: One of our favourite pastimes wandering around Bolivia was ‘bowler watch.’ Ladies in Bolivia had taken to wearing old, British style bowler hats, introduced during the days of railway building across the country. Today, it is the latest nouveau chic, with cholitas proudly donning all kinds of shapes and sizes.

What we’re listening to:While we had prepared a playlist of western tunes to keep us in good spirits for the Salt flat tour, it was a Bolivian classic that became our favourite and number one classic. Hoshin even played it as we drove into Uyuni, almost as a tribute to our 4 days together. Shout out to “Hoy Me Iré.”

Love & hugs,

Cal & Rosh xxx