A Small Country with Big AttractionsBy Joyce DaltonBolivia is a traveler’s “high.”With the world’s highest navigable body of water (Lake Titicaca at 13,000 feet above sea level) plus its highest capital (La Paz, at an altitude of 11,880 feet), Bolivia unquestionably merits this accolade in the literal sense. A strong indigenous culture, colonial cities, living traditions and glorious natural scenery make the South American nation a figurative high, as well. A 6 a.m. arrival notwithstanding, my positive vibes began at La Paz’s airport with pleasant immigration personnel, speedy processing and my hotel’s driver waiting outside customs. Throughout the trip, nothing altered this first impression. It isn’t every city where, in only two days, a visitor can happen upon multiple wedding parties with blizzards of confetti; a low-keyed campesino demonstration, banners unfurled; two religious processions; a hip-swishing, bell-booted Carnival rehearsal; a drum and bugle military parade with aging vets, chests decked with medals, accorded the place of honor, and numerous christenings (more confetti).
Even the expected sites boasted that extra something. Plaza Murillo, bordered by a colossal cathedral, columned government buildings painted a cheery yellow, and the early 20th century Gran Hotel Paris (a matching yellow), bustled with kids chasing pigeons, balloon and ice cream vendors, and bench sitters of all ages. Indigenous women, black or brown bowlers perched atop their long braids, greeted tourists with smiles.
La Paz claims enough churches and colonial structures to exhaust the most ardent architectural buff, plus an impressive complement of museums devoted to religious relics, natural history, art, fiesta masks, gems and minerals, musical instruments, ethnography and folklore. Along with flower, vegetable and handicrafts markets, this city boasts a Mercado de los Brujos, or Witches’ Market, where herbal remedies, amulets and llama fetuses sit among the displays. While almost all attractions are walkable from Plaza Murillo, the altitude and hilly streets suggest frequent breaks for mate de coca, a refreshing tea made of coca leaves which helps relieve the effects, such as intense headaches, of altitude sickness.
Although accessible as a day trip, Lake Titicaca deserves ample time to take in its mountainous beauty and nearby islands. The lakeside Inca Utama Hotel & Spa, situated near the town of Huatajata, makes a great base for exploring the area, plus sampling the many programs and activities offered right on the hotel grounds.
Spend a magical evening at the Inca Utama’s Alajpacha native observatory where the program utilizes ancient Aymara legends to interpret the mysteries of the heavens. Once visitors are caught up in these tales, the roof rolls back, revealing the most star-studded sky most of us are ever likely to view. For a popular Titicaca adventure, board a hydrofoil and swoosh across the lake to Copacabana, a town of 4,000. After a visit to the cathedral, site of an annual pilgrimage, and perhaps, lunch, it’s back aboard the hydrofoil for a stop at Sun Island, legendary birthplace of various deities. While ruins dot the island, the usual brief visit allows time only to climb a daunting number of steps for views of the lake and surrounding snow-capped mountains.
Bolivia’s most colorful celebration occurs annually in the city of Oruro, three hours by road from La Paz. During Carnival, held the Saturday preceding Ash Wednesday, hundreds of fantastically costumed and masked revelers take to the streets. Months before that date, however, craftspeople in small shops along Calle la Paz can be found at work creating elaborate outfits and grotesque masks.
To drum up business, bus conductors on the La Paz/Oruro route sing out “Oru oru oru oru oh.” In concert with reed boats, ferocious masks, snow-capped peaks, witches’ markets and impressive architecture, the refrain makes Bolivia a traveler’s “high” in more ways than altitude. For further information: Embassy of Bolivia (202) 483-4410. www.bolivia-usa.org. Images by Joyce Dalton |
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Local tour agencies operate a variety of day excursions
from the capital. High on all lists should be Tiahuanaco, a major ceremonial
site dating to 700 AD. The Tiahuanaco people, who constructed the statues,
temples and megalithic gateways, remain something of a mystery, but experts
consider the ruins here to be among the most important of pre-Inca South
America.
At the Inca Utama’s Mystic World of the Kallawayas museum,
guests negotiate a candle-lit maze of tunnels, viewing artifacts devoted to
Kallawayas, or traditional medicine men. The path culminates in a cave where a
modern-day sear answers questions by reading coca leaves. At the on-site
Altiplano Museum, life-size dioramas illustrate the culture of the lake region.
Headphones and English-language tapes, complete with music and folktales, make
for the best of self-guided tours.
Apart from the area’s natural splendor, the island of
Suriqui is the highlight of a lake adventure for most. Here, villagers
demonstrate the construction of Titicaca’s famed totora reed boats. It was
natives of this island who designed and built Ra II, used by the Norwegian Thor
Heyerdahl to prove that ancient people could have sailed between the Americas
and Africa. To reach Suriqui, negotiate a price with boatmen in Huatajata.
Copper, silver and tin mines surround Oruro. At Museo
Etnografico Minero, visitors descend into an actual mine for an introduction to
the industry and the dangerous work it entails. Tio de la Mina, the fearsome
guardian of the mine, looms at the tunnel’s terminus.