Cochabamba... and Bolivian Protests.

At 11pm on Monday night, Maryam, Camilla, Seneca, Nina and I boarded the overnight bus to Cochabamba. We were delighted to find that by paying an extra 20 Bolivianos (about $3) on top of the average fare, we were treated to bus-style luxury. The seats reclined almost to a horizontal angle and there was mounds of leg room.

We arrived at the Cochabamba bus station at 6am before the rest of the city had woken, and as a result we were forced to spend a few hours in the horrible train station café. It did however allow us some time to plan the rest of our day and regain some energy.

Located almost directly behind the bus station is a giant hill with a statue of Christ standing on a pedestal with women and their children gathered at his feet. It was constructed to honour the women who fought against the Spanish invaders in the War of Independence in 1812 in Cochabamba. From the top of this hill there is a panoramic view of the city of Cochabamba encompassed by the ranges, a strange contrast to La Paz which looks down on the mountains.

The remainder of the morning was spent wondering through La Cancha, the enormous market in the centre of the city, and browsing through the streets of Cochabamba. One of the most spectacular sites is the Plaza 14^th de Setiembre. Filled with beautifully groomed gardens and a vintage stone fountain, the plaza is a very relaxed and popular spot to soak up the sun and watch the children feeding and playing with the pigeons.

A stark difference between Cochabamba and La Paz is the temperature. We unfortunately discovered this as we were making our way up to the top of the hill to the statue of Christ and were hit by a heatwave. When we reached the enormous Christ we were again treated to a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding mountains. Before ascending the mountain were proudly notified by a number of Bolivians that it is in fact slightly taller than the famous statue of Christ is Rio.

To escape the worst of the heat, we passed the afternoon immersing ourselves in the different cultural activities around the city. We visited the Natural History museum which appeared from the outside like a very run down, ghost house. The exhibition was hardly anything to get excited about as it contained few displays and was focused mainly on fossils, an aspect of history of which I am not overly interested in. However our visit to the Palacio de Simon I. Patino made up for it.

The Palace is an incredible mix of classic architecture and beautifully sculptured gardens. Patino’s wealth is evident in the fantastic interior design of the palace which contains a mixture of relics from all over the world. He was very interested in the artisans of Europe and had much of the art, furniture and fabrics that now decorate the interior of his palace shipped out to Bolivia from Europe. Surrounding the walls of the palace is a fantastic, Japanese-inspired garden which is a peaceful haven for many birds and animals alike. Unfortunately Patino died before he was given the opportunity to live in his dream home (as it took twelve years to finish), however his family still continue to visit the house.

What I found most fantastic about the palace is that it is now utilised as a cultural centre, and is the host of many exhibitions and formal meetings. I thought it quite unusual but at the same time very sensible that an historical site such as this continue to be utilised, as in many other countries palaces such as this remain untouched for fear of it being damaged.

Burritos and fresh juices were on the menu for both dinner and lunch that day…we were so impressed by both the taste and cost of the food at lunch that we had to return to the Mexican restaurant for dinner!

The rest of the evening we lazed around in Café Paris, consuming a gourmet banana split crepe and some freshly ground coffee, waiting to meet up with Mads, an ex-Bolivian Express intern who lives in the city. Due to a number of bus delays on her behalf as well as a scheduled departure time on ours, our gathering was fairly short lived. At 11pm that same evening we again boarded the bus expecting to arrive in La Paz at 6am the following morning…. how wrong we were!

The return journey was certainly the highlight of my trip to Cochabamba, and perhaps of my entire journey to date. At 5am our coach stopped in a tiny town known as Calamarka where  it remained stationary for the next 9 hours or so. After having drifted back to sleep after the initial stop, I woke again at 8am frustrated that we hadn’t moved a single metre.

Interested to see the cause of our delay, Nina, Cami and left the bus. We were each guessing at what it could be; laughing that it was probably a protest (considering I have not had a single day in Bolivia and haven’t seen a protest of some description). Ironically, we were correct. Our coach was one of about 100 other buses and cars stuck in a roadblock due to the work of a small Indigenous group of protesters.
Despite the fact that the bus drivers seemed not the slightest bit phased by the roadblock as if it were a regular occurrence, we were eager to take a closer look.

We approached the group of protesters to enquire about their motives for the protest, and they informed us that they were trying to get the attention of the government to better acknowledge Indigenous rights. They had worked all of the night to block the road with a large pile of rocks, on top of which stood a burning tyre and Bolivia’s Indigenous flag. We got a few photos with the men, and then the leader of the group grabbed the arm of both Cami and I and started dancing with us, much to the amusement of his friends.

Despite the fact that the protest could have been a dangerous environment for five obviously foreign travellers, we were treated incredibly kindly not only by the protesters, but also the policemen, the Cholitas and the local village people.

After an hour or so of viewing the protesters from a short distance, we returned to the bus to find two Cholitas cleverly positioned near the door to the bus. On noticing the build up of cars they had taken the opportunity to cook up an enormous batch of quinoa and salsa to serve to the hungry travellers. We feasted on two plates of quinoa with salsa and cheese; meanwhile the Cholitas laughing compared us to birds as we all huddled around to plate to peck at the food. It is small actions like this however that truly break the cultural boundaries and allow both us as foreigners to feel more like locals, and at the same time earns us the respect of the Bolivians who are impressed when we are eager to immerse ourselves in the local traditions.

A small, gorgeous little Bolivian boy was the focus of much attention for the next few hours as we watched him amuse himself with an empty coke bottle. It is so nice to see children who haven’t been exposed to the wrath of consumerism that is so prevalent in most first world countries these days.

This little boy was clearly a rascal as his mother was forced to chase him all over the place, but his gorgeous and very friendly persona obviously charmed her as it did everyone else who watched him. After he was used to us sitting near him, he came up and offered me the bottle, and for the next while we played games together.

After having sat at this tiny village for over four hours, we were offered by some Bolivians to share a micro for the last hour into La Paz for a small fare. Considering we hadn’t showered in over 48 hours, and because we still didn’t know when the roadblock would be cleared, we gladly accepted the offer and farewelled our temporary friends.
The police and the local Indigenous people negotiated an agreement and the protest ended in a very civil manner.

On Saturday night in a groovy little street known as Calle Jaen there was the ‘Night of the Museums’. We frequented the cultural evening for a short while however it was so crowded that the line to get into the museums stretched the entire lengths of the street. We shared some pizzas in a groovy little restaurant and enjoyed the live music and market stalls set up for the occasion. 

We did manage to slip into the photography exhibition where one of the designer from the Bolivian Express was exhibiting one of his photos. It was a fantastic shot of the champion Cholita wrestler of 2005 holding her victory belt above her head, although still dressed in her traditional Cholita dress. It was taken outside her very basic house and the contrast of the dull building with her bright attire was what made the photo so fantastic. We were all delighted to learn that Gato (the photographer) had also been one of the few artists to sell his photograph.

Later that same night we shared some drinks at home before heading out with our housemate Vampi and his friend Darko to Forum, one of the local clubs. We had a very enjoyable night dancing to the local music and hanging out with the guys.

Over the past few weeks we have been sampling all of the street foods in La Paz, all of which are very simple and delicious. Choripan is a crunchy baguette filled with a German-style sausage, tomato, lettuce and spicy sauces. Tocomanas are similar to saltenas (mentioned in the previous blog), but are fried instead of baked. Anticucho can be found on small barbeques after about 7pm and is beef heart with potatoes. Initially I was slightly hesitant to indulge in all of these meaty foods as I am not an overly keen meat-eater, however I felt it important to experience the culture of La Paz. The other thing I really value about street food in Bolivia is that it is a very social and relaxed atmosphere, as people often stop just for a few minutes and huddle around the Cholita as she prepares the meal, and then remain for a further few minutes to enjoy it.

It has been a busy few days at the Bolivian Express with deadlines approaching as well as our usual Spanish and journalism classes still keeping us occupied. We have now all written two articles for this month, and will do the same in the coming few weeks for the July issue.

The next few weeks however we have some serious plans for exploring more of the Bolivian countryside. I imagine my next blog will be a lengthy one as I recall the ins and outs of our proposed excursions. I hope you can wait until then…