The Real Bolivia

A view from downtown

So I managed to make it out of the city this week.  In our project we have about 4 families that live in the town of Huayhausi.  It is about a two hour ride south of the city.  Wednesday morning Justus, I, and our coordinator of our project Cinthya hopped on a minibus heading south.  I was extremely excited to get out of the busy city for a day and see the REAL Bolivia.  As we made our way through the city we reached the edge where the road winds through a few mountains heading towards the countryside.  As we crested over a hill in the road, I began to see a green valley.  I stared out the window in awe as we winded down a dirt road around the side of a mountain overlooking a lush green valley between the mountains.  It was a very calming sight.  I began to forget that I was crammed in a minibus with a bunch of snoring cholitas.  Eventually the bus made its way down the dirt road through the valley.  We were surrounded by fields of corn, flowers, and all kinds of vegetables.  I began to realize we were in the land of beards and tattered clothes.  People here just live their life and aren’t trying to impress the people around them like in the city.  They weren’t extremely concerned with appearance but seemed to be more authentic.

 

Houses scattered along the edges of the valley

We continued winding through the beautiful green valleys and mountains for about an hour.  At one point we were coming around this narrow bend on the side of a mountain when we were met face to face with a rather large piece of equipment grading the road.  It was a little startling to be honest.  We ended up having to back down the road a little ways until we reached a spot wide enough for it to pass.  Finally we were back on our way.  I was amazed about how different everything was outside of the city.  We were passing through the middle of fields and driving through shallow rivers.  Definitely not a common thing to do in the city but I felt at home.  Eventually we reached our first stop.  We hopped of the minibus in a small little cluster of brick and adobe houses.  Justus and I looked so out of place.  Two tall white gringos in the middle of nowhere with backpacks and a cooler.  We had to pack our lunch the morning of the trip because where we were going there are no restaurants and very few tiendas.  As we were standing there on the side of the road we decided since we were gringos it was time to put on some sunscreen.  It was quite a bit warmer than in the city because we were at a lower elevation.  I say around 70⁰F ( about a 20 degree change in temperature). 

 

Where the bus dropped us off

Well we didn’t exactly know where the first family’s house was so we had to ask.  There was this old guy just sitting on the side of the road.  The first thing Cinthyia said was “I hope this guy speaks Spanish”.  I was a little confused for a second until I remembered that a majority people in the countryside speak Ayamara as their first language.  Not all of them know Spanish.  Well in this case he was one of those people.  We finally found some ladies in front of a small tienda who pointed us down the road.  We got to a cluster of houses where we just began knocking on doors until we found the family.  It was a mother and her two sons.  They invited us in and offered us a glass of Pepsi.  Notice I said “A GLASS.”  That is all they had, one glass.  The kids proceeded to show me a around the yard and their pet kitten.  I couldn’t get over how beautiful of a view they had.  It was so peaceful and calm.  They offered us some lunch that they were cooking but we hadn’t the time because we had to keep moving so we could make it home before dark.  We told them buy and made our way back to the road in time to catch a big red school bus.  A lot of people stared at us as we got on.  I think they were a bit confused about why there were two tall white guys in this part of the country.  It’s not like it is a popular tourist attraction.  We rode with them for a short bit until we approached where the second family lived.  She lived in a small house on the side of the main road.  She had a little tienda in front of the house.  I have no clue how much she sells in this little store because it is not like she had many customers.  She showed us around the house and where they sleep.  Just like in the first house we went to she didn’t have water.  We asked her where they go to the bathroom and just like in the first house she pointed to the mountain side behind the house.  That is normal life in the countryside.  We sat in the tienda with her waiting on a minibus to pass by to take us further down the road but nothing came.  As we were sitting there she offered us a bottle of orange drink but we told her no thank you because we already had enough to carry.  She then handed us some ice cream bars.  I cannot get over how these people who have nothing are so willing to give us stuff to make us feel welcome.

 

Tall random white guy in the middle of nowhere

Well since the bus wasn’t coming we decided to walk down the road to the next family.  We walked for about 30 minutes until we got to a house on the edge of a cliff with a ol’ green FORD truck sitting in front of it.  We knocked but no one answered.  I could hear kids playing down the cliff by the river.  We shouted out to them and they came running up.  It was two of the kids of the family.  We asked where their parents were and they told us that they were at the hospital in the city because their mother had just had another baby the night before.  So the 12 year old little girl was left in charge of her brothers while her parents were gone for a couple days.  This still baffles me.  We talked to them for a few minutes then set off towards the last family we had to visit.  Well I’m guessing school had just gotten out because we were walking with a group of little kids down the road.  Picture this: two tall white guys walking down the road surrounded by about 15 kids half their size walking down the road in the middle of nowhere.  It was quite amusing.  It was a short walk to the last family’s house.  We visited with them for a short while.  Again they were very welcoming.  So we decided it was about time to start heading back.

 

FORD

Don't we seem so out of place

We walked down to the bus stop (a small dirt spot on the side of the road with a log to sit on).  We ate our sandwiches and waited for the bus to come by.  We could see about 2 or 3 miles down the road through the valley.  So we knew if a bus was coming or not.  We waited and waited and waited.  I think we waited for about an hour and a half before we finally saw a minibus coming in the far distance.  Finally about 5 or 10 minutes later it finally arrived.  It was kind of nice sitting and waiting for the bus though.  We just sat there taking in the beautiful sight and enjoying the nice breeze and watching pigs and herds of sheep walk by.  When the bus arrived we noticed a group of kids riding on top on their way home from school.  Then we began our long ride home.  On the way we came around a turn and about had a head on collision with a dump truck.  Again it was a little startling but this a common thing on the country roads apparently.  Finally after a long day we were back in the city and heading back to the house.  I was glad to be home so I could lie down in my bed but I truly enjoyed my time being out of the city.  It reminded me of home.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  Also, there was so much to be explored. I could have walked around for days taking it all in.

My dream home in the middle of the valley