Tarija La Linda

A little post about the city we were living in for the first few weeks. (Tarija, Bolivia) Tarija la linda (Tarija the beautiful) is a common saying that is bragged all around town. On buses, buildings, brochures, etc. The city seems to bring tourists in from surrounding areas. There are a few plazas that are surrounded by more upscale restaurants (still cheaper than say...Friday´s or something) and expensive clothing and shoe stores. Shoes are big here! Most girls I see on the street have pretty cool shoes. Fashion seems to be big in general. Jeans and cute tops usually. Cell phones are huge!!!!! Stores everywhere with display cases full and places to recharge your minutes on every corner. (It´s all pre-pay here.) Coca-cola, fanta and tampico seem to be the most common drinks, along with wine and beer. Guitar hero is often played in little computer/game shops on the street.

Sometimes Mike and I compare Tarija to the 80´s. Somewhat because of the style but mostly due to the focus on materialism, music, technology, and cool cars. Now that we have traveled elsewhere in Bolivia, we have found Tarija to be upscale in comparison. Tarija doesn´t attract as many international travelers, so blondie gets many awkward looks but so far no harassment. In the other cities we have recently visited including Tupiza, Uyuni, and Potosi, we have met several other backpackers ranging everywhere from Israel, England, Scottland, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand and Austrailia.

The markets in Bolivia are plentiful, full of fruits and veggies of all sorts. Super cheap too! We got two oranges yesterday for 1 Boliviano which is 1/7 of a dollar. Meat just hangs out over the shop counters on hooks all day long and is sliced off to order. Bobby and Rocio own a chicken stand in the campesino market which is similar to a farmer´s market. They work from about 7am-11am daily and then chill. Futzal, playing video games, eating big lunches, and going to the pool are pastimes we´ve enjoyed with them thusfar. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Bobby could still be refered to as ¨Bobby sloth.¨ We ate at an Argentinian Paradilla Restaurant with them where tons of meat was brought out on a little charcoal grill on a stand. We ordered a 1 person serving (and couldn´t finish). Along with limonada, salad and fries, we spent 20 B´s (around $3). We have found food to be extremely cheap here, especially when staying away from touristy restaurants.

Catholic or Christian? Rocio asked us which we were. Only two choices here.

When do they go to school????? It seems like I see school age kids roaming the streets pretty much all day. At 10ish, morning snack time (salteñillas sell empañadas and tamales for about 1B - we got some amazing llama yerky tamales in Tupiza). After lunch, almost every store, pharmacy, supermarket, restaurant, bank, etc, will all close down for a few hours. Afternoon nap - siesta. (I love siestas -Mike) In the evenings, there are usually people roaming around. In Uyuni, we got to see a college pep-rally/parade complete with drums and tuba. The students, many in uniform, stand in two long lines, one side girls, one side boys. They dance like that, some not really even engaged or looking at the person opposite them. In Potosi, we went out for the evening with our English friend Luke and they were dancing the same way at the Karaoke bar. (IMPORTANT NOTE- Mike sang ¨Lady in Red¨to Kelly after being convinced by our new Bolivian friend Samuel) Samuel was all about Obama!! We gave him one of our Obama pins and he was super excited. He sported it on the lapel of his jean jacket. Mike played Samuel´s guitar for a bit while Samuel freestyled in Spanish. Fun times!

In the city, it doesn´t seem like many are a fan of ol´President Evo Morales. Yet on in the country I saw several signs in favor. Rocio said that Evo wouldn´t be so bad if it weren´t for all the people behind him. Evo is the first fully indigenous Pres in almost 500 years. He is also president of the cocaleros, the coca growers union, who are resisting the efforts of the U.S. government to eradicate coca in Bolivia. For those of you who haven´t allready heard, Evo kicked out the Ambassador of the U.S. as a result of the blacklisting of Bolivian goods due to their non-compliance with Bush´s policy on coca. In Bolivia, coca is used as a mate (strong tea) or a chew to help with many different ailments such as indigestion and altitude sickness. We would have been very sick without it on our trip through the country. I also was encouraged to use it for menstrual cramps and it worked like a charm. It is not like chewing tobacco. Although you keep it in the side of your mouth, you actually swallow the juices. It seems to work instantly. It works as a heart regulator as well which is why it helps so much in high altitude. It is not legal to ship coca to the United States due to it´s use in the production of cocaine. Although we heard horror stories, prior to traveling, about rampant cocaine use in Bolivia, we have not seen or heard of anyone using cocaine here and have been told it is not common. The cocaleros, although not innocent by-standers, supplement their income by illegally shipping to other countries. (Mike thinks this would not be such a problem if they were able to ship their product legally for it´s intended use.) After the U.S. ambassador was booted, all aid from the U.S. to Bolivia was cut off. Bobby, who was previously working for the Peace Corps, said that Evo was kicking everyone out anyway due to their influence on the cocaleros (trying to get them to grow other products). The negative sentiment towards Evo in Tarija is partially due to a discovery of oil in this province. As we traveled we gained a broader spectrum of the allocation of funding from this natural resource. Whereas Tarija wants to keep the money in their province, Evo has centralized then disbursed funds to rural/indiginous areas of lower income. We witnessed this while traveling through the countryside. Many of the adobe built shacks and houses were equipped with solar panels, which we learned were government subsidized. Our guide for our Salar trip, Edgar, explained much of the political situation to us, which Mike could translate for us. Edgar provided us with a different perspective, saying while Evo does show bias towards Indiginous people, he has provided the best education, free of charge, to all Bolivian youth interested in attending University. The funding to the University in Sucre has enabled it to become one of the most distinguished in South America. We also saw signs for hydroelectric power with information regarding Evo´s involvement.

Che Guevarra was captured and executed in Bolivia.


I´ve seen one sign of recycling, glass only. (Pomeroys - they still use the glass coke bottles). But plastic is much more dominant and goes right out with the trash. As far as composting, at the vineyards they threw their food scraps right under the vines, but in the city...no chance. There doesn´t seem to be much care or concern for surroundings in general. While in Coimata, in the areas where people had camped, there was trash everywhere, leftover food, even a spot where they had been using the ¨bathroom.¨ Then I remembered the campsites in the U.S. that I´ve come across that are completely trashed. Same thing. Camping is not a big thing here at all. Such beautiful wilderness areas and mountains, yet it´s just not a common past time. Rocio said many people will go out for the day but never stay the night. Outside of the city of Uyuni, there was trash for miles, mostly plastic bags and bottles.

It´s typical for there to be afternoon showers, with all the mountains surrounding the city. But this day it rained so hard and the streets were filled with water.

It´s the rainy season in Bolivia, yet while in the desert areas of the southwest, we saw very little rain.

We will be leaving Bolivia on Wednesday, December 10th and will arrive in Cuzco, Peru on the 11th. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Bolivia. We have experienced a variety of the culture here. Soon we will post more pictures and a description of our Salar de Uyuni trip along with more permaculture based info.