Throwback to Bogotá

I met a Colombian guy in Santa Cruz and we talked a lot about Bogota, since he was raised there and I was there about two months ago. Remembering Colombia and it’s people made me miss it. I was there only for a week, but the country took a place in my heart and I am sure I will go back some day. So, I thought it would be nice to remember Bogotá before the year ends.

My journey in South America began in Bogotá. The city was huge with big highways, a lot of cars and people. At first I felt very intimidated in this big and unknown city and it took me a while before I could really enjoy and explore it. Luckily I wasn’t alone, I stayed at the house of our family friend Jenny. She, her two children and the rest of the family were so welcoming and generous that I almost couldn’t believe it. Thanks to them I was able to get a little inside look to the everyday life of Bogota.

What I most loved in Bogotà was the lively city and the street art. With lively city I mean that there was always something happening, the streets were never quiet or empty. And the street art was just amazing, one could see paintings from little detailed prints to theese huge biulding covering graffities all filed with multiple colours and figures.

Looking back, I realize that I really got to do a lot of things during my stay in Bogotá. I got to taste typical Colombian food, drank almost all kinds of beer there was, spend a day with local sociology students, wondered around in La Candelaria, spend the night in El Chorro, got lunch at the mountain of Monserrate, used the transmilenio (local transport), got a real touch of the incredibly friendly Colombian people, saw the house of Simon Bolivar (a former freedom leader in South America), spend Halloween with a pink wig on, got lost in the local secondhand market, got wet under the rain and of course danced salsa! 
I can not really describe all the things I did and felt in this trip, all I can say is that I really lived it all.

El Chorro

 

 

 

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

I was having some blue days in La Paz so I decided to travel to Santa Cruz, east side of Bolivia, near to the border with Brazil. I stayed in the house of my uncle in an area called Barrio Lindo, and it’s no joke the place was really beautiful. My uncle’s house was big and it had a garden with fruit trees, although it was in renovation it still looked nice.

It was so relaxing to travel alone again, I needed some time out of the city. I also enjoyed the hot and sunny weather of Santa Cruz  instead of the cloudy and rainy one we’ve been having in La Paz. 

I spend sometime with my uncle and my cousin Graciela, however I was mostly wondering around alone. I love traveling and discovering places on my own, so I took my bag and went. I felt free and alive again, I was happy. 
I found the people in Santa Cruz very kind and helpful, almost every time I got out I would meet new people and make friends with them. I guess it’s true that people in warm places have a warmer heart. I also fell in love with all the green color I could see everywhere the streets, parks, houses they were full of trees and flowers, everything was green.
I ended up staying one night at a hostel called Jodanga, it was definitely a good choice. I met a bunch of new people and even found my lost and found sister!  Actually she was a girl half bolivian and half new zealander who looked like me and people thought we were sisters. Anyways I ended up going dancing with my new friends. We went to dance salsa, we drank tequila and I even found my self dancing in a local gay bar, I had such a blast with these guys!

I mainly used my disposable camera on this trip, so there are not a lot of pictures.

On the way back I decided to take a bus instead of flying to La Paz. I've never travelled alone such a long way by bus and I used to hate traveling on the road, but I don't anymore.

The trip was almost 18 hours, though lucky for me the driver was crazy and drove the route in only 14 hrs! I took the night bus so it didn't feel a long way because I slept most of the time. Though I woke up in the midnight to see a beautiful landscape. Of course it was dark, but I had my window open, the wind was blowing gently on my face and I saw millions of stars in the black sky, I felt it almost magical. 

Further away from the city the bus stopped in a little town where people were waiting in their little food stands for the travelers to come to eat, I thought it was a very interesting and at the same time with the lights a very beautiful scene. 

a cloudy sunday by the titicaca lake

It was a cold but calm and relaxing sunday by the largest lake in South America, the lake Titicaca.

We actually had lunch on top of the lake, seriously, the restaurant was built on top of the water.  

I really enjoyed this beautiful sunday with my dad, cousins aunt and uncle.

Black and Yellow

There are no sundays without football.
This sunday we went to the match of our home team The Strongest - El Tigre vs Wilstermann. The Strongest is the team of my family, the colors of the tiger, black and yellow run in our blood (well maybe a little exaggerated, but you gotta take these things seriously). I’ve been supporting this team all my life and being going to their games since I can remember. And thanks to my dad, this is why I love football.

The feeling in the stadium of Hernando Siles is like no other, there are people dressed in black and yellow everywhere, from children to elder screaming the name of the team and hands high up waving flags. The excitement and nerves are indescribable, one can really feel the football fever.
When the team comes to the field the fans go crazy, drums start to beat, people start to jump and sing and clap in the rhythm of the team songs. 
The passion, love and hate could really be felt in the audience, the sensation was amazing ! 

I can happily tell you that we won 3-1 :)

Coroico - Los Yungas

For the birthday of my dad, we travelled to the Yungas province, western Bolivia. 

Los Yungas is like an other world comparing to La Paz. It is amazing how the climate and nature changes within just few hours and kilometers of driving. The route to Los Yungas is in the middle of the mountains and clouds, the route is very curvy an about ten years ago it was also very dangerous, it was called the "death road", but the new highway is better and a lot safer. 

In the beginning of the trip the route passes the highest point of The Altiplano, where we saw these amazing snow-covered mountains. It really took my breath away and made me forget everything else in the world.

     

Our aim was to get to the city of Caranavi, but as usual in Bolivia the route was closed so we changed our plans and went to Coroico. Because of the road constructions, we drove part of the trip on the old road "the death road", it was amazing! Although I was a little scared driving just in the edge of the mountain, it still felt incredible. Looking out from the car window, I could only see a big drop to the jungle. And because of that overwhelming feeling I wasn't able to take any pictures..

In 3-5 hours we were already in Coroico, once we got out form the car, we could really feel the climate change, it was super hot! So we went to the first hotel we found, to change our clothes. 

After that we did a little tour in the town. The town of Coroico is located on top of a hill and it's very small. It can be walked up and down just in ten minutes or maybe fifteen.

Coroico is one of the main attractions for tourists in Bolivia, also many locals come to spend the weekend to relax in family (like us) or to have fun with a group of friends. Anyways in general the atmosphere in the town was very calm and united, one can notice that the locals all know each other. 

homemade pineapple ice-cream from the local shop

   

Jus a half an hour from Coroico, we also visited an another even smaller town called Tocaña, the town of the afrobolivians. It wasn't an organized town it was more like an area with little houses here and there on top of one hill. They told us there are 45 afrobolivian families living in this town. They are the descendants of the slaves that the Spanish brought to South America in the colonial era.

We visited the main spot of the town the admirer and The Center of Afrobolivian Culture.

Unfortunately, because of my cowardliness I didn't get any pictures of the afrobolivian people... But it was really interesting and almost weird to see dark-skinned/black people with traditional Bolivian clothes. 

view from the hotel

I am still very impressed of this trip. I can not believe how wide the world is, if only in Bolivia I can see so many different things. The variety of people, nature an culture is absolutely incredible!