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Bolivia Journals

The Bolivian Way

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A July 2007 trip to Bolivia by SeenThat

Kari Kari, Diablada, Pachamama and the Tio Photo - La Paz, Bolivia More Photos
Quote: "No gringo will tell us how to behave," a Bolivian friend told while commenting on another gringo’s words and this journal was born.
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Waterfall Photo - Sorata, Bolivia
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The Bolivian society defines itself as Roman Catholic; however, the heavy syncretism with old pagan practices creates a fascinating kaleidoscope of beliefs. Here are some of them:Kari KariKari Kari is a term kept for local male-witches. According to the locals, they can appear as black dogs, black birds or as a person dressed in black and that his face cannot be seen. The Kari Kari approaches his victims while they are asleep and takes out a bit of fat from their abdominal regions. Human fat is considered to be a powerful medicine and the Kari Kari uses it for healing his paying customers. As his customer heals, the person the fat was taken from dies.TioAt every Bolivian mine t...Read More
Kari Kari, Diablada, Pachamama and the Tio Photo - La Paz, Bolivia
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The MusicDespite Bolivia’s significant size, the local musical tradition is quite limited; one of the causes for that is the local conservativeness. No musical group would venture into innovating something, thus all of them within a given style end up with a similar sound. It is very difficult to remember a specific song or theme.From an ethnic point of view there are two well defined regions in the country; each of them created distinctive musical traditions. The Andean High Plateau inhabitants are mainly Aymara and Quechua, while the Amazonian Basin and other lowlands are populated by Tupi-Guarani people.The Andean Plateau population uses instruments of wind and percussion, t...Read More
Waterfall Photo - Sorata, Bolivia
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The Spanish immigrants who defined the future language of half-South America arrived from South-western Spain, and shaped the peculiarities of the regional dialects after their own. For those who learned Spanish as the Spaniards speak it, the South American versions are a bit difficult to comprehend at first. In Spain, the "c" is pronounced similarly to an English "th," however, in the whole of South America, the "c" and the "z" have been atrophied into an "s." The "ll" is a lateral consonant peculiar to the Spanish; in South America its pronunciation got lost and each region pronounces it differently, sometimes as an English "sh," sometimes as an English "j" and sometimes like an "ee." More than one ...Read More
Huayna Potosi Photo - Bolivia, South America
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Many different Bolivian dishes have been described in several journals of mine (see for example the "Eating in La Paz" one). This entry is dedicated to several generalities which were not fit of other specific entries.Quantum FoodMost foods in Bolivia are sold in a quantum fashion, since most locals do not trust neither the scales nor the people managing them. Most fruits are sold by the unit, as the bread is. The most popular breads are tiny loaves called "marraquetas" and "sarnas." Since they are sold by the unit, the producers have an interest to make them as light as possible. The result was the adoption of sodium bromate as a regular addition to the bread; unluckily, it is a car...Read More
Huayna Potosi Photo - Bolivia, South America
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I must apologize for this entry. Usually I try to write funny and informative entries, but as we share the good moments, there is no choice but share some of the bad ones. And if sharing my bad moments prevents other travellers of experiencing them, then it was worth writing and reading them. Some of the following paragraphs are quite funny and describe misadventures awaiting visitors in an unknown culture; others are gloomy facts regarding the sad reality in Bolivia.Conquering the GapDifferent cultures have quite different body language and diverse ways to manage life in a polite fashion. Here, Bolivians are unique in more than one way. One of the more peculiar Bolivian practices is...Read More
Mururata Mountain and La Paz Photo - La Paz, Bolivia
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On the first - and long - weekend of May 2008 a terrible accident occurred in the Salar de Uyuni, one of the main attractions in Bolivia. I reported that on IgoUgo's Message Boards and a series of events that lead to my hurried leaving of the country began. To my best understanding, this article is important not as a reaction to the violence exercised toward me, but as a warning toward other travelers. They still may decide to visit Bolivia, but then it would be a much better informed decision.The Accident in Uyuni On Thursday, May 1, 2008, between 2pm and 4pm two vans collided front to front between the "Isla del Pescado" (the Fish Island) and the Salt Hotels in the Sa...Read More

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SeenThat

SeenThat
Tel Aviv, Israel

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