Experiencing Bolivia

When traveling to Bolivia, it is hard to know what to take until it is too late. Last summer, I didn’t know exactly what to bring and what not to bring. This summer I learned from my past experience and had a better idea of what to wear.

Our summer is their winter! Don’t forget! Even though, Cochabamba is only twenty degrees below the equator it still gets cold. This is because it is located high in the Andes where there is snow on top of the mountains. Which areas of Bolivia one chooses to visit affects the decision of what to pack.

If one is traveling to La Paz, remember it is always cold here (average high in the 60s F and averaged low in the 30s F). However, if one goes into a closed neighborhood or to areas in which wealthier people live, these areas are warmer because they are lower. That is why it costs more to live there because it is lower, warmer, and easier to breathe. If one goes to Cochabamba, it is always warm during the day, but in the winter it is cold at night. So, pack a warmer jacket and layer. If one goes to Santa Cruz, be prepared for warm weather. Still, it can become cold here at night in the winter. Friends from here told me that in the night it can get very cold especially when there is a winter cold front coming from Argentina (such as this past summer).

Simply put, if one is located higher in the Andes it is colder than if one is located lower in the Andes and/or sea level. So, remember to pack a variety of clothes for Bolivia. Since I’ve been here for four months, I brought both winter and summer clothes with me, which was a good idea because I traveled throughout Bolivia and Peru.

After the Amizade volunteers finished their program, many chose to travel to Bolivia’s neighbor, Peru. Several volunteers in the past (including three this summer) have taken advantage of this cultural opportunity before they leave for home. Over this past week, I too had the chance to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu, which was absolutely amazing.

Arriving in La Paz, we took a twelve-hour bus ride to Cusco. Since the plane from La Paz to Cusco only flies certain days of the week were forced to take the bus. On the plus side, the bus fare is cheaper than the plane fare so it worked out. The bus ride really isn’t so bad despite the cramped leg conditions. The scenery is beautiful, and one would be surprised as to how similar Peru looks to Bolivia.

When arriving in Cusco, there are millions of travel agents waiting at the train station. So, if you don’t have a place to stay before arriving, it is okay. Upon walking into the main station, a woman came over to us and asked us if we needed a hotel. She gave us brochures so we could see the prices. We decided to try it out and went to the hotel, which cost only twenty U.S. dollars a night. The place was nice, so we decided to stay. The woman then sat down with us and asked if we planned our trip to Machu Picchu. We said not entirely. She then started calling her agency. She quickly found us transportation and a hotel to stay in Aguas Calientes, which is about fifteen minutes from Machu Picchu.

The next day we woke up at 5:00am and a taxi was waiting for us outside, which the travel agent arranged for us the evening before. After getting inside the cab, the driver took us to a garage. Here, a man helped us put our belongings into his small bus. Then we drove and picked up some other travelers at their hotels. From here, we started our journey to Aguas Calientes. The ride is about an hour and a half to the next train station, where we hopped out of the bus and onto a train. The train ride was about two hours.

Finally, when the train stopped, we arrived at Aguas Calientes. Here, another woman was waiting for us and showed us the way to her hotel. This hotel was also nice but was a little more expensive (about thirty U.S. dollars a night). The little town is gorgeous! There is a river that runs in the middle of it, and there are bridges that connect both sides. Also, the tropical Andes surround us, which create a breath taking sight. This little town is expensive due to all of the tourism, but if one adventures to different markets (becareful because they may not have the cleanest food for travelers) he/she can find cheaper, but still tasty food.

The following day, we woke up at 2:45am and started our walk to the bus station, which transported us to Machu Picchu. The reason why we woke up so early was because only 400 people a day are allowed to climb up Wayna Picchu, which is a large mountain next to the site. This mountain allows for a beautiful panoramic view. We were the second ones in line! At about 3:30-4:00 hundreds of others piled into line behind us. Some people who got there early saved spaces in line their friends, who would come later. This did not go over well with people behind them and soon a fight broke out--not a physical fight, but verbal, which was still bad! The police came and had to ask people to move and/or get to the back. It was crazy!

Then the bus came at 5:30am. When we arrived at Machu Picchu, there were already hundreds in line. Many start walking the hour or more hike the night before or early that morning. A travel agent told us that it is not safe due to the snakes and other animals living in the tropics. When the line started to move (about 6:30), the crowd again became kind of crazy as people tried to skip ahead while others started yelling at them. When I arrived at the gate, I was the 318th person in line. This meant that I would be able to climb Wayna Picchu.

Walking into the place is beautiful. It is amazing to see the sites and to think that once this held the Inca Empire. At 8:00am we had a tour of the site, which had been arranged the night before by the travel agent in Cusco. The tour was very educational. At 11:00 we began our hike up Wayna Picchu. The two-hour hike up the mountain was very difficult due to how steep it was. However, when we reached the top, the view was incredible! As for the rest of the day, we walked around the site and just relaxed in the sun viewing the Andes all around us.

Later that day, we took the bus back to Aguas Calientes. Then we took the train and the other bus back to Cusco. The following day, we took a taxi to the airport and flew back to Cochabamba, which was in total an 85 minute flight.

The trip was fantastic! If anyone has the chance to go, by all means do so! No one will regret it!

Amizade Bolivia has been involved with Millennium, which is an orphanage in Cochabamba, for several years now. Bolivians call orphanages Casa Cuna, which means cradle house. Millennium is a non-profit organization. It was founded by doctors and psychologist, who hoped to improve the health and mental care in orphanages. With this idea, they created Millennium, which is an orphanage that understands children’s growth needs.

Throughout the years of relationship between Millennium and Amizade, volunteers have been traveling to Bolivia in order to help with this important process of child development. By nurturing these children, volunteers improve the lives of these orphans. Without the involvement of volunteers this important process of care would be harder and possibly even lost.

This summer, I had the opportunity to visit Millennium several times and take care of the children along with other Amizade volunteers. I helped explain the ropes of the orphanage to the Amizade volunteers and helped them get around such as showing them where things were, translating some, and telling them stories about the children, who I have become very close to and actually miss them when I’m away. Everyone who comes grows close with the children who range from a couple of months old to about five years old. After the age of five or a little older, the children, who were not adopted, are sent to another orphanage due to room and space in the orphanage.

Unfortunately, this year the main funding stopped! As a result, Millennium is struggling to survive. With over thirty children, diapers, workers, and physical attention decreased. Due to the economic crisis in the United States, which is where Millennium’s main source of funding came from, the company who was funding them had to completely stop. This is devastating for the children! Now, only two workers work there daily both day and night making it extremely difficult for nurturing over thirty children. Amizade volunteers have helped immensely! All of the volunteers I’ve had the opportunity working with this summer have cared deeply for theses children and want to continue helping after hearing the news about the funding.

Last year, I had the chance to visit the orphanage for a day. When I visited, there were several workers on duty. The orphanage was cleaner and the atmosphere, in general, was happier. Also, as soon as a child wet his/her diaper, we were to change his/her right away. Due to the economic crisis and the cutoff of funding, we are no longer changing them. Each child a day only gets two diapers. Only the babies get more than three a day. The nurses regulate the changing. Also, some who wet themselves so badly are given towels for diapers. These diapers are the cheapest ones on the market meaning that they barely hold anything and cause baby rashes. It is very sad to me to see how much the orphanage has gone down within one year.

However, there is a way in which one can help! On the Amizade website, one can go to the donation section and donate directly to Millennium. This will certainly help the orphanage and the children. Also, if one is interested, he/she can go directly to Bolivia and help by engaging in social work, which is a wonderful experience!

On July 10th, Daddy Yankee, a famous Reggaeton artist, was supposed to come to Cochabamba, Bolivia and perform his hits. However, due to the Swine Flu, his performance was cancelled and rescheduled for August 9th at the Cochabamba stadium. I luckily had the pleasure to attend the concert.

Coming from Puerto Rico, Daddy Yankee was discovered by the United State’s Puff Daddy (P-Diddy) for his musical talent. In Latin America, Reggaeton is considered Latino Rap. It is a combination of Rap with Latin American music. Many Reggaeton artists come from Central America including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, etc. Central America is known for its talent in Reggaeton, but the music is enjoyed throughout Central and South America as well as Spain. When in Bolivia, one will hear this type of music in the streets, at the bars, and in the dance clubs.

At 19:00 on the night of the concert, we went to the Cochabamba stadium. We were greeted by a long line of anxious audience members waiting to get in. Trying to find the end of the line, we ran into friends of a friend, who allowed us to cut in line. This did not go over well with audience members behind us, but after talking with them, they decided that it was okay. The concert was supposed to start at 20:00, but we were still standing in line. In Bolivia concerts rarely start on time. Finally, at 21:00 the police opened the gates and allowed us into the stadium.

When inside, the atmosphere was intense due to the wait and people were rushing to find good sits. There were three sections: (1) the ground floor next to the stage, which was $100, (2) the ground floor behind the first section, which was $50, and (3) the stadium seats, which were $15. We paid for the $15 dollars sitting, which was still really good since we could see everything. At about 22:00, a woman came on stage to announce that the concert would start in five minutes. An hour later, the audience became very anxious and started whistling for the concert to begin. At 23:30, fireworks flared and Daddy Yankee came running out on the stage and started free style rapping by apologizing for the wait.

Throughout the performance, the crowd went crazy! Everyone was singing, dancing, and carrying on with cheers for Daddy Yankee and his crew of hip-hop dancers. Because I’ve been in Bolivia for a couple of months now, I had the opportunity to learn some of his famous songs. So, I was also singing and dancing along with the crowd, which was so much fun! This was one of the best concerts I have even been to due to the amazing performance and the spirit of the Latin American people.

After the concert was over, we all exited the stadium. As I was walking out, I felt something crawl up my pant leg. I shouted for the others to wait for me as I started to shake my pant leg. A few minutes later, a large cockroach crawled out of my pant leg and ran across the ground. I didn’t scream, but it was really weird. Our Bolivian friends stated that in all of their life they have never seen a cockroach crawl out of someone’s pants nor do they see a lot of them in Cochabamba in general. I guess I was lucky…

Even though, we had to wait several hours to get into the concert, the performance of Daddy Yankee was defiantly worth it!

Following the same road to Incachaca, the road led us deeper into the rain forest into the Chapare Region. The air became thicker and warmer as the trees grew long vines and waterfalls leaked through the mountain side. We came to our second tollbooth, where every car and/or bus has to register. After registration, the police will lift the hoods of cars and check the beds of trucks to investigate for drugs trafficking. If one looks suspicious, the automobile will be searched further. The police may bring out dogs. This is because the Chapare Region is “known” for cultivating coca for cultural matters and for cocaine.

After the three hour long drive, we came to the town of Villa Tunari. This is a little town, but very pleasant and very peaceful. In the main plaza, the Catholic church of the town is directly located there. Beside the church is a hotel with a pool called Bibosi and this is where we stayed. It isn’t too expensive and being that we were in the rain forest, we had no problems with bugs at all in this hotel. Also, being that we were so close to the church, the following day we went to church. The mass was a children’s mass and it was nice to see the children do the readings, to sing, and to alter serve.

Later that day, we drove across two bridges until we reached the monkey park. Here, I met several people from Europe and the United States, who were volunteering at the park for several weeks. The park is more of a path that leads one through the jungle. At the end of one of these paths, was an area where monkeys come out and play with the public. It was really cool to see a wild monkey that close to me! However, one must be careful because the monkeys will rob. This means that they might steal glasses, hats, and/ or cameras. In my case, a monkey climbed on top of my head and started playing with my hair. Then he or she decided to take all of the bobby pins that I was using to hold back my hair with out. Then he or she simply ran off with them. It hurt a little, but at the same time it was really funny. Monkeys are very curious and if they see something different they have to get their little hands on it.

Also, during our trip, we drove around to several other little towns and shops. For dinner, we ate at a really nice restaurant along side of the road in Villa Tunari called Bibosi. I had steak with an egg, yuca (similar to a potato), rice, salad, and vegetables. It was very good! In addition, when we went to different venders, they were selling tropical fruit from the rain forest and here I found bananas by the stems. The farmers simply go into the rain forest and cut the bananas down from the trees and sell them by the branch. It was really neat to see the fruits and it was amazing to see how large they grew.

Overall, the experience in the Chapare Region was truly great! It was really nice to hike the trails and to eat the fruits of the rain forest.