Bolivia is a place of immense and unreal beauty. Enormous white and grey clouds sit low on the altiplano, or high plain, pierced by the snowcapped peaks of the Andes. In the foreground lie rolling hills of green and tan, their ancient terraces resembling digitized waveforms. Rocky outcroppings buckle out of the earth every so often, a reminder of the violent past responsible for this astounding landscape. Much of the altiplano is reminiscent of the edges of our own great plains, specifically those of Wyoming and Montana, though it sits several thousand feet higher.
Rain comes frequently and dissipates quickly as sunlight burns through morning clouds. The sun is bloodthirsty in this otherwise cold part of the world. It is almost necessary to dress according to the direction one is facing, with the heat of the sun in harsh counterpoint to the chilly air that hangs around throughout the day. At dusk, the retreat of the sun below the horizon brings near freezing temperatures. It is a land of late spring during daytime and early winter at night. This is using the northeast United States as a reference.
The buildings are brick and the people are short, stout, and colorful. Their Spanish is clean and easy to understand. Towns are bustling with merchants. Roads are half paved and fields are half planted. Landscapes stretching as far as one can comprehend are dotted with cows, sheep, and brightly clothed women in bowler hats. Though there are signs of industrial growth, the land seems almost completely untouched.
We left the lakeside town of Copacabana yesterday for La Paz. In Copacabana we explored the ancient ruins and rocky landscapes of the Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca. The town is relaxing and the views are unbeatable. The food, other than the pizza, was good too. The pizza is crap everywhere in these countries.
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