My days as a Catholic school girl are paying off. This morning my flight was cancelled. Dunno why... I'm a silly gringo and don’t get any answers. But the world makes sense again. They put me up at The Raddison. It’s a four-star hotel everywhere else in the world, but Bolivia not so much. As it's one of the poorest countries in South America everything is cheap, cheap, cheap. So is the quality. Hence there being no toilets on the overnight bus. That only adds to the fact that I'm not supposed to eat the food! But it does matter now. I’m in a fancy hotel and am safe to eat and even drink water from the tap. This makes me very happy as I haven’t eaten in two days. That’s at least eight meals for me.
I did manage to escape the confines of my bed yesterday. Found the witch market with the dried Lama foetuses. I wanted to take photos but my stomach wouldn’t let me. It's a strange type of beauty here. The mountains are covered with houses, some favals (slums), but literally covered and you can see the natural slope of the mountains shaping the skyline, with bricks instead of grass and trees. It really is bizarre. There are pretty parts of the city. Mostly the 1600-1800 European type churches and monuments. Not much grass though. Some trees. Actually it's not dirty and even though it's not the most ozone-friendly city, there are a few smellier cities I can think of.
Then there´s the women. I really haven´t seen anything like it in my life. They are no trendsetters mind you but the flounces of the skirts and petticoats, cute bowler hats and fluorescent knitted blankets worn as bags, ponchos or capes really are astounding. Bright or dull, shiny or matt, floral or geometric, crushed or embossed, natural or synthetic, these women know how to put on a show. And for some reason it's only the elders that dress accordingly. I'm sure it’s a mana thing. Have some camera footage but no photos. I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. Oh and their hair. It's all about long hair in braids. I guess it’s the first time I've noticed fashion in South America because it's truly the first time it's stood out to me. Argentina´s and Brazil´s styles were predictable, but for originality I give Boliviano women two thumbs up.
Here's hoping next time you hear from me I've landed in Cuzco and booked my Inca trail.
