Step Aside Marco Polo

I am his South American equivalent. I discovered the spice route.

Unfortunately, finding something picante in South America took a hell of a lot longer than I ever anticipated. Calling Chile home, crossing Argentina, circling through Uruguay, and zigzagging Paraguay in my quest - all fruitless. But thanks to Bolivia that is quickly changing.



Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay (not Uruguay quite as much) have insanely bland foods. There are wonderful meats and seafoods (minus Paraguay), but nothing has much kick.

Well, Bolivia is my savior. (On a side note - Bolivia is named after Simón Bolivar who was known as El Libertador. The liberator or savior.) So it makes sense that they´ve come through for me here.

I entered Bolivia on the east and have worked my way from Villa Montes to Tarija and now Tupiza in the south.

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One thing that has really called my attention is the connection with Venezuela and Cuba. New socialist president Eva Morales, the first indigenous president in South America, has nationalized gas and is taking large socialist steps.

People constantly ask me about what the US thinks about Bolivia´s new position in the anti-US federation of sorts. (Cuba and the US don´t have good relations as most people know. Venezuelan president Chavez hates Bush and rants weekly on national television against the US. And now Bolivia considers itself in that mix by having a socialist leader and good relations with 2 anti-US nations.)

It´s hard to explain that there is almost no news of any of the three back in the US. I imagine that the majority of people reading this had almost no idea about any fresh hostilities with the US against those 3 countries. I generally explain that the US has enough to think about with war in Iraq and many other interests. And that there don´t seem to be immediate dangers with Venezuela, Bolivia, or Cuba.

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There have been tons of parades.



Selling cotton-candy alongside the troops. And Bolivia´s Navy...think about it. Lake Titicaca offers the only major waterbody for them to use that diving gear in. Also...this is eastern Bolivia. Meaning damn hot. I can´t imagine wearing a wetsuit for an entire parade!



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Caja de Lustroz

Rey has been shining shoes for years now. He earns 1 Boliviano per shoe...so $0.25 per pair. He was quite happy to have his pictures taken.







He also helps run a tiny stand with goodies. He said that gum and cigarettes sell best!