Bolivia - A Land of Riches

Our original itinerary had not included Bolivia. However as we travelled through South America everyone we met, strangers and friends, recommended it as somewhere we must go. We had not allowed time in our travel plans initially for a detour and so we had to make time and we are so glad we did!









Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. Economically that is, however it is in my opinion that it is one of the richest in so many ways.
Culturally - many Bolivians work off the land in a very hand to mouth existance farming llamas and have managed to retain much of their traditional culture. The women still wear traditional dress with their hair plaited, bowler hats, many petticoats, stockings and strapped shoes. It is also very common to see them in their typical dress lugging heavy sacks of produce on their backs and across the borders often carrying for many miles. This may often result in horrendous difficulties in old age. Also being exposed to the harsh environment with the strength of the sun and wind at high altitude weathers the faces of Bolivia well before their time.














Minerals - Bolivia is a country rich with minerals. Gold, silver, copper, sulpher are in abundance in the mountains and volcanoes of the south west. During the Spanish occupation many mining towns were established with Spains´ thirst for gold. When Bolivia gained its´ independance it continued to mine with limited resources and knowhow. As a result mining continues today but much is done by hand and with child labour. The locals consider working in the mines as having a ´contract with the devil´and an almost certain or early death.










A Land of Colours - As a result of the rich mineral content of that land at high altitude you are greeted by a country as rich in colour and diversity as the finest artists pallette. There are deserts and moutains sculpted by windswept plains. Lakes of yellow, red and green. Dali-like landscapes with ancient rocks scattered in procarious formations. Smoking volcanoes and thousands and thousands of wild flamingoes!











The highlight of our 4 day jeep tour across the southwestern corner of Bolivia was an early wake up call to watch the sun rise over the Salar De Uyuini. The Salar De Uyuini is an ancient lake that has over time evaporated to leave 12,000 km sq of mineral salt deposits. A huge salt desert! There are 27 islands within the salt pan many with cactus that are thousands of years old. (Did you know that a cactus can only grow 1cm a year? Which has the makings for some very old cactus!)










With the massive expanse of the salt flats and the white floor against the non existant horizon this gave us the oppotunity to do some creative photography playing with perspective. Here´s what we came up with!













By the way, not sure if you have figured this one out but, if you put your cursor over the picture and click you should be able to see an enlargement. Hope all is well with everyone. We are now in Peru on a 3 week tour. So, here´s wishing everyone a ´Feliz Navidad´! (Merry Christmas) and a Happy New Year!