My first glimpse of Bolivia was an old-fashioned typewriter at the border crossing. A sign of things to come. After several hours of queueing, I´m in Villazon. Border towns are never a reliable guide to a new country but looking at the native costumes and poor state of the roads, it feels like I´ve gone back in time.
The first English football shirt I see is Arsenal, which will please Tom Armstrong, if he´s reading this, although this only reinforces my feeling of time travel (sorry mate, cheap gag).
After a pleasant train ride to Tupiza, I sign up for what I expect to be one of the highlights of my trip, a four-day tour of the wilderness in a jeep full of strangers, leaving tomorrow. The woman explaining the itinerary breaks off from Spanish to give me two English words about the accommodation.
"Very basic."
THINGS I DIDN´T KNOW BEFORE TODAY:
1. The capital of Bolivia is Sucre, not La Paz
2. Bolivia is the size of France and Spain combined
3. It is the poorest country in Latin America
4. The currency is called Bolivian Bolivianos
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment