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Bolivia

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BOLIVIA

(Happy Diwali , 2013)

Itinerary

Day one: Arrive early in La Paz, Bolivia explore the coca museum and the witches markets

Day two: Take a day trip from La Paz to Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America, Island hop from Isla del Sol to Isla de Luna and see the birthplace of the sun and the moon

Day three: Visit Sajama National Park to see the snowy volcano Sajama, a UNESCO World History Site

Day four: Take the journey to Salar de Uyuni to visit the largest salt lake in the world

Day five: Travel a little further south to Laguna Colorada a red tinged shallow salt lake to watch the sunset

Day six: Travel to Potosi and take in the history, spend the night in the city of Sucre, the Capital of Bolivia

Day seven: Head to Santa Cruz to end an amazing week in Bolivia

Introduction

Bolivia is a small South American country sharing borders with Peru, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina. Bolivia along with many other South American countries can boast its diverse cultural aspects, in-depth history, amazing food and positive outlook on life! During my week trip to Bolivia I will immerse myself in as much culture, food and sightseeing as I can fit in. Through my chosen itinerary I will be able to get a true feeling for the magnificent sites, amazing sounds, and complete cultural background of the Bolivians. My week in Bolivia will start in La Paz and take me down to marvelous landscapes and extreme adventures lead me to Bolivia's largest city of Santa Cruz. What are we waiting for ¡vamanos!

Food
Who doesn’t love to eat, some people travel just to explore different tastes and dishes from around the world. Most countries stress that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but the same can’t be said for Bolivia, where lunch is actually the main meal. Bolivia is definitely a meat and potato lover’s paradise, as these resources are readily available due to the climate. Most cultures often eat whichever meat is consistently available, in Bolivia’s case this meat is guinea pig or as they locals refer to it ‘cuy’. Cuy is a popular choice for all classes of people in the country for many different reasons, cuy has been a necessary resource since the Inca era. Cuy is also a widespread choice in the Andean populations due to the fast reproduction rate and low maintenance of guinea pig. (Gadling, N.D.) Bolivians are particle to curing meat, the process of over salting meat and letting it dry in the sun for a day or two, this is a high common practice in Bolivia as refrigeration was not always a common entity. As mentioned above potatoes are another main staple in the country, often being prepared in different fashions and consumed several times a day. Potatoes can be used in stews, as the base of soup, simply paired with meat or as the filling of a traditional breakfast food know as a ‘saltena’ which is basically a pastry stuffed with meat, vegetables, rice and potatoes. Bolivians are known for their spices as many are grown in large quantities and are native to the area. Bolivians have a spice rating system the refer to for their dishes, you can either have poco picante (a little bit hot), medio picante (medium hotness) or picante (hot). (HEDE, 2013) If you’ve had enough of the heat you can move over to a traditional Bolivian dessert such as queso de coco (coconut cheese) dessert which in essence is actually a flan, the term cheese comes from the cheese like consistency. (Bolivia Bella, N.D. ) Although Bolivians mostly stick to few food staples, they definitely know how to mix it up and spice it up so your taste buds never get bored. Along with food comes drinks and there are two traditional teas the Bolivians drink and they are ‘api’ which is a tea made from spices, corn and lemon and another popular tea is ‘mate de coca’ which is a tea made from coca leaves. (HEDE, 2013) So whether you decide to eat and drink in a restaurant off of a street cart, you’re bound to find some interesting, authentic and very tasty Bolivian food, just make sure to have an open mind!
Religious festivals
Festivals are a highlight of daily life in Bolivia, with many occurring year round, few festivals can top those of religious nature especially in such a Catholic dominated country. Five of the most popular religious festivals in Bolivia include Alasitas in La Paz, Semana Santa - Fiesta in Copacabana, Aymara New Year in La Paz and Tiwanaku, The Procession of el Gran Poder in La Paz and Urkypina Festival in Quillacollo, near Cochabamba. Alasitas is known as the festival of small wishes. The celebration takes place at many different times in varying locations across Bolivia, although the most well-known festival is held in downtown La Paz on the 24th of January. The festival has evolved over the years combining Bolivia’s main backgrounds of Catholicism and Andes traditions passed down from centuries to centuries. The festival brings light of both the Virgin, the yatiris, a focal point of the Franciscans and Ekeko a focal point of the local wizards. Bolivians tend to care about both and show it by purchasing items in miniature form that they would like to possess and presenting them to Ekeko, the Gold of Plenty while still honoring yatiris the Virgin of La Paz. If you don’t know where to locate miniature items don’t fret as the nearby El Mercado de las Brujas more commonly known as the Witches Market is fully stoked. One thing to remember though is the Ekeko you are offering should be a gift to you to have effect and should not be purchased by oneself. The next religious festival on the list is Semana Santa more commonly known as Holy Week or Easter. On Good Friday hundreds of people make the trek to Copacabana to celebrate extravagantly. Up next on the list is Aymara New Year held on the 21st of June to celebrate the winter solstice. Bolivia is comprised of 36 ethnic groups with the Aymara making up the largest residents of the highest plains, the altiplano. The festival encompasses a large variety of activities including offerings which are presented to the universe and mother earth by the shaman to show appreciation to the sun and welcome a New Year. If you’re lucky some locals even invite foreigners to join the festivities. La Festividad de Nuestro Senor Juses del Gran Poder or El Gran Poder for short is the next must see religious festival. El Gran Poder is La Paz’s largest festival hosting over 25,000 locals and is traditionally held in late May/ early June. It’s hard to believe this festival which was once a small candle lit parade has evolved into such a congested commemoration. Last but certainly not least on some of the top religious festivals in Bolivia is Urkypina Festival in Quillacollo. This festival pays homage to the Virgin, Urkypina between the 14 to 18 of August. The festival follows suit closely to many other Bolivian ceremonies by encompassing traditional dance, song and offerings of respect to the Virgin by the communities of the Andean cultures. Festivals of any nature, though especially religious are a great way to fully immerse oneself into the culture and heritage of a Country. If possible try to participate in ceremonies or other cultural experiences such as a religious festivals while traveling as is may be a once in a life time opportunity. (Vis, 2013)
Bolivian Clothing
It is hard to pin point a specific style in regards to typical Bolivian attire due to the varying cultural at ethnic groups in Bolivia. There are more than thirty tradition dress styles amid Bolivians. Dress styles are based on varying Bolivian lifestyles including difference for men, women, every day wear, income, region and climate, Bolivia is also known for having many costumes including masks and hats. The original style of Bolivian clothing was vibrant, colouful yet simple at the same time. Men and women both used tunics which were tied in different ways to make them longer or shorter. Both men and women also wore simplistic sandals made from leather straps, referred to as ‘ojotas’. During the winter months, Bolivians would incorporate a think cape made of alpaca fur into their wardrobe to stay warm. Traditional dress also demonstrated various social statues. Designs were embroidered and woven to help determine social status as well as different fabrics were used; most Bolivians were subject to using alpaca, llama or cotton fibers whereas the wealthy and upper class used fine vicuna fibers. Headdresses and hats were also another important factor in determining social status. The common class of people did not wear any type of headdress or hats at all to ensure social status was shown. The lower class wore woven caps with earlaps referred to as a ‘chulo’. And the noble or upper class wore headdresses called ‘tocados’ which were decorated with fleece earflaps, feathers and gold and gems. Headdresses and hats are still used in today’s day and age to identify which region the Bolivian is from. As the 16th Century rolled around the Spanish started colonizing South America and implemented many rules including what the indgiduos people could and could not wear. During the colonization Bolivians were forced to wear typical European style clothing of the era, this clothing is referred to as ‘cholas’. The word ‘chola’ stems from the word ‘chula’ which is a term used in Spain for a bullfighters assistant (chulos and chulas). The style of the clothing implemented in Bolivia mirrors that which chulos and chulas wore. The style of clothing varies a little from state to state in Bolivia and these changes are what each region so unique and identifiable. Most Bolivians are now wearing more Westernized clothing on a day to say basis and save the traditional wear for festivals and ceremonies. There is one exception to this though and that is up in the Western Andean regions, the typical Bolivian attire is still worm as it has been for hundreds of years. (Bolivia Bella, N.D.)
Conclusion
Bolivia can not only boast about its amazing landscapes, scenery and adventures but about its incredibly diverse people history and culture. Bolivia is a very well rounded country with unique traditions and festivals varying from region to region. To me if feels like Bolivia will be able to offer very unique experiences which you wouldn’t be able to encounter in other countries, such as a traditional ceremony, the salt lakes and the Andean way of life. Traveling from La Paz to Santa Cruz will allow me to be fully immersed in different cultural aspects such as different indigenous people, climates, religious beliefs, attire and food. All in all Bolivia looks like an amazing country to travel and explore with the only downfall of 7 days not being enough! Appendix (Go Pro Travelling, 2014) (holacenandsouthamerica, 2010) (Flickr, N.D.) (Daily Mail UK, 2011) (Agwauk, 2013) (Agwauk, 2013)

(Los Antojos de Clara, 2013)

(Feed Andrew, 2010)

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