Bolivia is named for Simon Bolivar who had some higher goals on his mind- to get rid of Spanish royalists and create Federation of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The idea so familiar to the people from Balcan. Another great man, Che Guevara was executioned in this country fighting against social differences. Both of them had riched their goals but only for a while. After long period of conflicts, finally it's Republic of Bolivia living in the peace with neighbors and trying to survive in this "laissez- faire" World. Social situation is not on level Che had wanted to die for and it's obvious that Bolivian people try to get the money on the side whenever is possible: immigration officers, receptionist at the hotel, touristic agencies, bus and taxi drivers. I was present in every situation almost ended up in the jail trying to get the justice from the immigration officers. Maybe that's the reason for this countries to be so popular, offering the ways to survive from the moment of setting the foot to the border.
Bolivian people might not be wealthy but they can celebrate. Oh, boy, they can. Again, I'm at the right place at the right time just for the Carnival in La Paz. There's no special name for it. I'll give you some key words and you can call it whatever you want: water bombs, all-purpose cleaning foam, water guns. It's a lot of water pouring around and, on the top of everything, comes the rain from the heaven above. Better to get my plastic red poncho ready, if I want to watch this game of getting soaked wet. It sounds like a fun for kids. But not for younger only, I see an older man throwing a water bomb (a balloon filled with water exploding when it hits the target) on a young girl. If that was her age companion, it would be fun. In the middle of this water-war it's a parade with the people in the costumes, even riders on Harley Davidson (I hope that is not a just a costume, too) but nobody will go home dry. High maybe because of the weed is on sale. It's the Carneval!!!
I have one more reason to celebrate. After having so much trouble with the visa at the border, I thought about skipping Bolivia. I was kicked out from the bus where I forgot my husband's bag and the book "The Blind Watchmaker". I turn the Earth upside down trying to find it. Everybody just shake their heads in a negative way. It's my last day in the city so I go to the station to buy the ticket for the next destination. In all that chaos, a girl approaches me, trying to explain me something in Spanish because she doesn't speak English. She keeps saying: "Libro, libro!" I am in a hurry, saying to her that I don't speak her language, but she pulled my arm in order to get my attention. What I understand is that she has found the book at the bus. Fortunately, she wasn't blind. Knowing the driver would throw it in the garbage, she has kept it with here. I can't believe what I'm hearing. But that's not all. I tell her I had a bag too, so she goes to the agency and arranges for the bag to be brought just before we leave La Paz. Her name is Gloria and she's from Chile. After the things has been set, we have a nice lunch and she explains me what to visit in Santiago. I'll see her once more, at Uyuni, south of Bolivia. Maybe, I'll meet her in Chile, too.
Few busses, full of tourists, arrives at Uyuni at 5.30pm. With no place to stay, approximately a hundred of hungry and tired souls need to kill some time until the sunrise. They get a drink, have some breakfast and then all of them are going south. Numerous agencies offers similar tours by different price. First comes first served. The tours are arranged and all of us get into the groups. There are six people in my group: two of us from Serbia, two girls from Japan and their peers from Canada. Later on, it turns out to be the funniest group. We don't know precisely the schedule because the guide doesn't speak English. It remains a mistery.
Our first stop is the graveyard for the trains. These rusty cans are not going anywhere now. Back at the time, they were a mean of communication between Bolivia and Chile. Just like everything else's, their time is gone.
One the way, we make few stops to the places with souvenirs that nobody cares about so the guide needs to give us something what will put the bread on his table. He doesn't say where we are but I see in the water the reflection of the sky and clouds at the exactly same color as they are. I think it's a mirage but the others see this too. It's so real. And salty, too. We are at the Salar de Uyuni, in Potosi. It's Bolivian "Salt Lake City". It's very shallow, it used to be whiter, saltier, but the wind and pollution make the color less intensive. I run out the car. Silhouettes of the visitors in the lake makes the scenery more interesting. The salt is sticked to my feet and it scratches when I try to take it off. I can use it as a natural peeling. I notice through the clear water that the bottom has the structure of a honeycomb. We have a lunch at the small island in the middle of the lake. It's stupid to ask if anybody needs some salt. If I had a bottle of tequila with me, I would stay here forever. It's time to go but nobody gets into the car. We all crave for more salt. I can't even think about what I would missed if I didn't solve the problem with my visa.
Driver takes us to the place we'll spend the night but nobody tells us the place is not very hygienic: no flashing water, no hot water, no heating, but full of flies. We have a nice dinner and we go to sleep still full of salt from the lake. Bolivians are waisting water for the festival but they don't have it enough at home.
Next morning, Japanese girl's alarm wakes me up to see the sunrise. It's a bit cloudy so we can't see it in all the nice colors it appears, it's nice anyway, especially the landscape of the mountains and the sky where a few shades of blue are melting. I wish I had this view from my apartment but a few shades of grey buildings is all I can see.
Driving the dusty road after the breakfast, watching quinoa plantages and chewing coca leaves I try to forget a filthy place we stayed in. Canadians make sure the music suits the landscape.
Miles and miles of Bolivia are made of red-rock formations.
We're in The Andian Fauna National Reserve Eduardo Avaroa. The rocks are different size: the huge ones are animal shaped: pig, turtle, elephant... Beside their significance for genealogy, this rocks are the perfect place to hide if when you need to pee. The smaller ones are like pebble stone, creating big dunes. It's so chilly that I want to pick one of the clouds from the row to wrap myself in. Once in a while a salt lagoon shows up with flamingos. I feel sorry for this birds, they must be freezing here. During the winter, temperature is around -20. This is summertime here, so it's only - 18. One of the lagoons appears red from minerals that contains with the thunderstorm and lightning in the distance as a perfect special effects added.
The day is over and another "all-exclusive" place is waiting for us.
It's 4.30 pm, freezing to death outside and nobody knows where we're going because the driver doesn't understand our questions. All we know is it needs to be so early so we don't miss the colors. Driver goes by red rocks and the dunes of the red pebble stone. There's a lot of them around. And here we are, in front of the geysir. It looks like a boiling pot, but thousand times stronger. I put my hand in the steam and it warms my freezing hands, not for a long, though. There are the mountains, red and brown, far away from the steam and I need to catch them with my camera. This is one of the situations when I forget that I feel cold, that I didn't take a shower for two days, that I exist at all. To take the pictures, as much as I can, is all that matters. I don't want to forget a thing I see here. The ground is full of craters with the steam coming out. This place looks like another planet. Mars, maybe. I need to check it up one day, too. Maybe I should call the agents Molder and Scaly 'cause I don't feel the gravity any more. I've heard they reopen "The X-Files". Or, I just need a shrink.
Near the geysers, it's an erupting volcano Licancabur. Keeping an eye on them. Like Mordor. It stands between Bolivia and Chile. On the other side is the place where I'm heading to, San Pedro, Chile.
The last stop on this tour through the Galaxy is a hot spring. I already have caught a cold so I only dipp my feet to get some warm. The Sun helps me out a little bit.
Once more, I would be such a fool if I turned my back to Bolivia at first. I'm so glad I didn't.
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