Bolivia

Bolivia has always been the country in South America I've wanted to visit most (besides Argentina, of course), and now is an especially interesting time to visit Bolivia. Evo Morales was recently elected the first indigenous President, and is making some changes, such as nationalizing the country's oil.


Our first stop was La Paz. At 3632 meters, I was feeling a bit light-headed for the first few days. We visited just about every street market in the city, including a witch market where an array of witches were telling people's fortunes. The fortune-telling process seemed rather complicated and involved dried llama fetuses (pictures have been omitted for your benefit!).

We next headed to Lake Titicaca, where we spent three relaxing days. We spent the first day in Copacabana (which is neither hot nor north of Havana), and then trekked 17k to another small town, from where we took a little boat to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), the legendary Inca creation site and is the birthplace of the sun.

It was not your average walking trail... llamas and colorfully dressed indigenous all along the way constantly reminded us that we were in Bolivia.

Along the trail we met a man who was working on building a traditional reed boat. He planned to use it to take tourists across the lake to the island once it was completed.

The island was at an even higher altitude than La Paz, which made hiking more difficult than normal, but the scenery compensated for my fatigue.



We also paid a visit to Rotary Club Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia, and they were amazing hosts. They told us a lot about the political situation of the country, which is very divided. Santa Cruz is more of an economic center than La Paz of Sucre (big cities in the west of the country), and much more capitalist than the new political wave of socialism that Evo Morales, Bolivia's new president, represents. Our hosts claim that the new constitutional changes Evo's government are trying to pass through Bolivia's congress could incite civil war. I'm definitely keeping updated on Bolivian politics since my visit with RC Santa Cruz!

In a nutshell, Bolivia was fascinating and I would love to go back and see more of the country. The people were very receptive and warm and the scenery is stunning.

Back in Argentina, I'm still sailing every Wednesday, and have final exams next week.

I also may be starting an internship soon. A former Rotary scholar from 2002 decided to stay here after his Ambassadorial year ended and has started a socially-minded export business, helping small- and medium-sized businesses export to the States. We'll see if it works out!