It's not a slow car, it's a fast house

Crossing the land border into Bolivia is a messy process for anyone with a USA passport. They require  the usual documents (vehicle title, dog papers, etc) and quite a bit more.

We had to gather bank statements with each name on them, two extra passport style photos for their files, copy of passport photo page, an itinerary of plans, a statement of lodging reservations and a hefty fee, paid in US Dollars.

It took us two attempts to please the grumpy face at the border, but with the help of a kind family at the corner mini mart/copy shop and some editing software, we were able to gain clearance to travel in Bolivia.

Bolivia is a geologically interesting country.  There is a huge amount of sparsely occupied jungle across most of the land.  Then the severe Andes Mountains drop off to the massive deserts including the Uyuni Salt Flats. We entered in the arid zone and encountered vast farmland. Of course, wherever there is good farmland, there will be farmers. But this was not what we expected to find……

This was unusual due to being in South America, in a Spanish speaking country, (they were speaking a dialect of Old German) where nearly every person is of hispanic or indigenous decent, and they dress mostly like this…….

Another interesting thing we came across in a small village were a few sloths living in a city park. These sloths are far from their normal habitat. And no amount of asking or researching could tell me why they were there. But they were literally guarded by military as they did sloth stuff in the trees above the park benches.

Once we entered the country we determined that we would turn toward the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Our exploration began with some little known ruins. This was carved from a large rock jutting out of the earth. These ancient steps, niches and altars were likely just a small part of a larger community. The rock walls indicated housing and commerce centers in the valley below the rock.

Driving through the flatlands of Bolivia was beautiful.  We passed farms with large farmland and herds of sheep, llamas and many, many, many dogs.

As our frequent readers will know, we are big fans of hot springs. So we hunted down a small village hot spring that was supposedly just off the highway.  We headed off into the foothills to find the warm water, and the road got smaller and smaller and turned to dirt. When we came upon the pools, we were thrilled to settle in for a few days to soak and enjoy the wonderful weather.

Every trip down a small, dirt highway must include a stop at Grandmas Kitchen. (Abuelas Cocina or La Cocina de la Abuela or just Comida Aqui) Usually a plain building with plastic chairs, dusty plastic tablecloths and grandma with her granddaughters working hard. This one did not disappoint, as we enjoyed several delicious home-made dishes in our four course meal. We began with quinoa milk, then soup with chicken bones, beef tamale and a main dish of pasta, salad and a mixed beef plate with potatoes.

While we are on the topic of food.  Here are some grocery store photos to share. Each photo has a label or caption to explain. We did notice that stores in Bolivia were small, crowded with stuff and chaotic.

One unique situation in Bolivia is the purchase of fuel.  Because fuel is subsidized by the government to make it more affordable for citizens, it is difficult for foreigners to buy it. Stations who are willing to sell to foreigners are supposed to charge a different price and fill out a bunch of paperwork for the government. They don’t really want to do that. So the trick is to add your fuel purchase onto a local persons purchase. This means waiting off to the side for the station attendant to wave you over. Then they move the dripping fuel nozzle from the local’s tank, to the foreigners tank. When it is done, you each pay for the amount you owe, equaling the total.   Not all locals want to be involved in this, some stations have tax agents on duty and violators can be fined. Stations that are willing to try this scheme are shared on the iOverlander app and by word of mouth. So keeping the tank topped off was important while traveling in Bolivia.

The next section is hard to write. It may be the very reason that I have stepped away from this blog for so long. I simply couldn’t bear to look back at photos and relive the situation surrounding this particular weekend. So, I will plunge in to it here and purge my photo gallery. Bear with me, please.

As we began to climb in elevation, into  foothills of the Andes, we saw more and more small villages.  One particular village had many people walking around in dressy clothes and appeared to be setting up for a big event. We parked near a small, rock church and walked to the plaza to investigate the activity. It turned out to be a wedding. Not just an average wedding but a huge event drawing in guests from all surrounding villages. This included loud music, fancy decorations, extensive food and alcohol and unfortunately loud fireworks.

During the loud fireworks noise, our blue-eyed dog, Nica, bolted away.  She vanished into the crowd and chaos. We searched throughout the night. The next morning we found her body on the highway. We gathered her lifeless little corpse and took it to a large, open valley to lay her to rest.  While we buried her body and said our goodbyes, a large flock of her favorite animal passed by, sheep! She remains there, marked in iOverlander at Nica’s Resting Place near Sica-Sica, Bolivia.

Driving on down the highway was tough.  We were a somber three in the camper and cab of the truck. We each worked with the grief in our own ways.   We stopped near some wonderful, old ruins and hiked quietly to a lovely waterfall.

The trip must go on, so we continued along the highway toward La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.  Along the way we stopped to watch a woman weaving on a loom in front of her house. She invited us in to look at her work.  Her loom is attached to the front of her home. Then she invited us inside her dirt floor, cinderblock one room home.

While we were there Pacha found a pair of dried rams horns. She brought them to the truck and chewed them in the back seat. I did not take them away, as I felt it was part of her coping technique as she adjusted to life as an “only dog”. Chewing is a great stress reliever!

Bolivia is a huge country. We have traveled from the jungle, through the farmlands and into the foothills of the Andes.