We got an early start and headed out of the city for about an hour and drove to the village of Chataquilla, located at 3,600 meters ( feet). After visiting the chapel at the top of the mountain, which was built over another miraculous image of the virgin Mary. I’ve heard many versions of this folktale in Venezuela and Colombia all the way back to Spain. It must be a Hispanic-America Catholic phenomenon.
Ale and Nadia sample some coca leaves to relieve the soroche.
The local government restored an Incan road from the chapel, dropping 1000 meters to the village of Chaunaca. The path wound around the steep mountain and there were a few very steep drops. Workers took care to cut and fit stones around the original remaining Incan stones to create a level, 1 – 2 meter wide trail. The entire walk is about 5 kilometers, but at that altitude, it felt like double that. We took our time, taking lots of photos, learning the names and medicinal uses of the plants and sorting out the children’s various needs. The views were spectacular and the sky was a pure blue. It was an absolute pleasure taking in the views of the geology and the many valleys, peaks, canyons, etc. What a great morning!
End of the trail – we made it!
We were planning to visit another village in the ancient Maragua crater but my sister-in-law was not feeling well so we returned to the hotel. I really want to explore more of the villages outside Sucre. It is a wonderland for mountain biking, rock climbing/scrambling and walking. It would be similar to the American Rockies in the southwest, like the state of Utah.
In the late afternoon we visited La Recoleta convent again for a sunset dinner. On the walk back we stopped in the plaza to get a taste of some of the Bolivian Independence Day celebrations. There was a school parade and lots of vendors, music and people-watching. We had a wonderful stay in Sucre!
View of Sucre from the roof of our hotel.
Bolivia is awesome for travel and adventure. The combination of a tropical latitude in the Amazon river basin and the widest part of the massive Andes mountains, blows away what most countries have to offer for adventure travel. I do hope to come back and especially as my children get older, I want to share with them the wilderness of Bolivia. My ideal trip would be to spend a week in the Amboro National Park, entering from the Samaipata side and then going to Vallegrande to see where Che Guevara was killed. Next we would go to the highest capital in the world, La Paz. While there we would do side trips to Lake Titicaca and see the village where Modesta is from and climb the snow-capped peak of Mount Sorata. Next we go to the salt deserts of Uyuni, staying in a salt hotel and do a driving tour of the amazing, alien landscapes of the high Atacama desert. There are brightly algea-colored lakes, high altitude flamingos, herds of vicuna and the weird rock formations. We would finish up by visiting two Amazonian parks, Alto Madidi and Noel Kempff and then the pantanal, the largest wetlands in South America. How is that for a trip!
Our goal today was to get out of the city and see a bit of the Chuquisaca (name of the department) hinterland. In the morning we visited the Fancesa Cement Quarry, which they claim is the largest dinosaur track/footprint site in the world. Years ago the company was digging limestone out of the quarry and they ran into a layer of Magnesium oxide rock which was not used in the cement making process. Two geologists working at the company noticed the fossilized dinosaur tracks. Nadia and I visited the site 15 years ago when there was nothing for tourists and since then, the government has established a visitor’s center with displays and information about the geological time scale and dinosaurs. It is quite an informative center and worth visiting if you want to learn more about dinosaurs. The prints are huge and criss-cross a massive (150 meters high by 1 kilometer in length) slice of rock. It was once a lake and the prints of 4 different dinosaurs can be identified.
Owen looking at the sauropod prints on the wall of the quarry.
In the afternoon we went on a hike to the Siete Cascadas canyon. It is located past the cement factory in one of the many mountain canyons/valleys in the area. The guide from the hotel was very knowledgable about the local trees. The driver asked me to smoke a cigarette when we got down to the first waterfall to appease Pachamama, the Quechua indigenous god. He said on Tuesdays and Fridays in the month of August it is bad luck to swim in the waters of the river in the canyon without this offering.
After a few puffs, Owen and I dove into the blue water and it was cold! The guide showed the boys a few rock climbing moves and we explored the canyon a bit. We made it over the fifth waterfall, but the sixth and seventh require some serious rock climbing skills. Sadly there was some graffiti and litter at the site, but the rock formations and waterfalls still made it an awe-inspiring site.
Ollie leads us out of the canyon.
On the way back out, we walked down the river a bit and took a smaller trail back up to the entry road. We saw a freshly killed goat carcass, which the guide said was probably the work of a fox. I loved scrambling with the boys through the canyon and the opportunity to get off the regular trail. The scenery reminded me a bit of the mesalands of the Venezuelan state of Anzoategui, except it was just a deeper ravine here in the Andes.
The access road hugs the side of the cliff and is dirt and it is a bit dodgy with a steep precipice. Our driver was careful going up and down.
Sad to see the tough life of the poor of Sucre.
The drive back into town went through some very poor barrios. The Barrio Alegria was definitely a misnomer (alegria means happiness in Spanish) as the roads were unpaved, makeshift houses, and disheveled children and garbage in front of the homes. Lots of opportunities for community service up there and I am amazed how people survive in such a tough environment.
The city has the great idea to use people dressed as zebras to act as crossing guards during rush hour. The colonial streets of Sucre are narrow and there are lots of universities and K-12 schools getting out plus regular pedestrians. At first I thought why zebras, but then figured out the white lines of the pedestrian crossing resemble a zebra. A creative way to keep people safe and add to the character of the city.
I can’t wait to explore more of the countryside on Day 3 as we are going for a full day excursion. We finished the day with a walk about the 25 of May Plaza and pizza.
The flight from Santa Cruz to Sucre is only about 30 minutes, but the difference between the two cities is vast. Sucre is the judicial capital (home of the supreme court of Bolivia) and on my birthday, May 25, 1809, the first call for independence from Spain was declared here. Ironically, Bolivia was the last South American country to be liberated from Spain after 14 years of war in 1825. Most likely that Bolivar was a Venezuelan and started there. I need to re-read the history of Bolivia and to read the latest biography of Simon Bolivar.The city is named after Simon Bolivar’s right hand man, Antonio Sucre. It is cool to think that Bolivar was here The historical center of the city is a UNESCO world heritage site and is known as the “white city” or “cultural city” by the Bolivians. They kept the Spanish Andalusian colonial style with most of the buildings being white.
The hotel that we are staying at, Parador Santa Maria La Real. The hotel is a 17th century mansion of the Spanish court, when Sucre was known as Real Audiencia de Charcas. The owner beautifully restored it to its past glory and it is a pleasure to stay in. The Spanish loved the inner courtyards, which were open air and the center of life in the house. Rooms built off of the courtyard, like rooms of a motel, were used for sleeping, clothes cleaning, the kitchen, etc.. When they were restoring the place, they found a basement that they are unsure what it was used for. The owners turned it into a museum/dining hall with his collection of colonial antiques
Nadia and I have fond memories of walking up to La Recoleta Church when we visited in 1998.
As with most of Andean Bolivia, the city is at altitude, over 9,200 feet (2,800 meters). If Denver, Colorado USA is the “mile high city”, then Sucre should be the “two-mile city”. It is so bright, with blue skies and it reminds me of a Mediterranean look, but drier and higher. It is a small city, with a population between 250,000 – 300,000 people and has a small town feel. Lots of European backpackers coming through the city, as this must be on the South American circuit. Altitude gives me a headache the first day and today I had a slight one. We are also a bit sluggish and it was a slog up the hill to spend the late afternoon at La Recoleta Church. There is a nice cafe there and some good views of the city. Nadia and Ale enjoyed the shopping in the markets and bought some beautiful rugs/textiles. The prices are so cheap here in Sucre. I am glad to show the children the Andes and they can learn about dealing with altitude.
Nadia shopping for textiles in the central plaza of Sucre.
I wonder how these mountains looked like before the Spanish arrived, or maybe for that matter, before the Incans came. I guess there were probably more trees and vegetation which helped for a wetter climate. Sucre is at 19 degrees south latitude and most of the deserts and arid areas are found around 30 degrees latitude like the Atacama, Sahara, etc.
Sucre is being touted as a place for globally mobile foreigners to settle and live or for a place to retire. The cost of living is incredibly low (contrasts with the drug-boom bubble economy of Santa Cruz), there is nice sunny, dry, cool weather, and the third piece, which I question, is it is a culturally rich place with lots to do, both intellectually and outdoors. We will be here for a few days so I will be weighing in on this topic.
Owen and Sebey playing chess above Sucre.
I finished the night playing cachos with my nephew, Oliver and Ocean in the hotel bar. I tried a local drink called a chuflay which is made of the Bolivian spirit singani, which is a type of brandy distilled from wine,and ginger ale on the rocks. It was OK, but nothing special. I preferred the kids’ chocolate submarines, hot milk poured over a bar of chocolate. We laughed a lot and it was a great way to end our first day in Sucre.
This was one of the last photos taken of Severiano Chavez, the great grandfather of my children on Nadia’s side of the family. It was taken around 1965 at the finca Brasilia near Warnes, Bolivia. Behind Severiano is my father-in-law, Hermes, who was around 25 years old at the time and his sister, Graciela (around 30 years old). Severiano died in April of 1968.
Hermes told me a couple stories that I wanted to save for the family history I am building on my blog. The first takes place in around 1909. Severiano at age 26, left the ranch to go to Argentina to buy mules. He returned with 90 mules and went to the Pando department (an Amazonian state north of Santa Cruz) and traded the mules for rubber. He put the rubber in a boat and sent it to Manaus, Brazil where he sold the rubber for 4,500 libras de Queen Victoria in gold. This whole adventure took almost a year and he returned in 1910.
On the estancia there lived about 20 families, all part of the Perez family. They had fled another estancia where the patron was mean. They were not slaves, being paid a wage, and they were free to come and go, but they were at the mercy of land owner. They are referred to as peones, peons, which is a Spanish American agricultural worker. Severiano treated them well and there was a total of around 80 people. He even built a school for the children and hired a teacher. My father-in-law remembers going to school with them.
Hermes told me when the Chaco War started, the population of the workers increased with people fleeing from being drafted in the war. Severiano gave refuge and work to them. During the war years, he became richer because of the increased workers and he sold rice and corn to the army. Severiano later had a sugar cane production mill and made molasses to sell and make aguardiente, a distilled alcoholic beverage. Severiano bought a 1935 chevrolet 3-ton truck.
I will try to get more stories from Hermes while I am here on holiday in Bolivia.
This morning Nadia, Owen and I ran in a 6.5 kilometer race here in Santa Cruz. It was a charity event to raise money for the Santa Cruz Special Olympics delegation. The Special Olympics are taking place later this month in Los Angeles and the funds generated from this run will help defray the transportation costs for the athletes.
The run was very well organized! It started on time, there was an aerobics warm up, police were out in force to stop traffic, several water stops placed on the route and the race finished with a folkloric performance. Many of the special olympic athletes were at the race and it was a touching moment when one awarded Nadia her finishing medal and gave her a big hug. The race start and finish was in the southern part of the city, in the Plaza Blacutt. With a cool breeze and temperatures in the mid to high 70s, conditions were excellent.
It was rewarding to run with my son Owen and we finished the race in about 31 minutes. I’ll have to check the times online to get the exact timing. Nadia finished a couple minutes after us.
Distance running is new in Santa Cruz and it has become somewhat popular, especially with the upper class. There are events almost every weekend and I am sorry we won’t be here for the SC Marathon taking place in September.
Participating in the World Special Olympics will be a wonderful experience for them and I wish them best of luck!
We are now almost adjusted to the jet lag here in Belgrade and I wanted to wrap up our holiday in Bolivia with one last blog post. Above are my three “angels” in last week’s family photo shoot.
It was great to see family and friends again. I would like to thank Popa, Aunt Silvia, Modesta, Horacio, and Alejandra for their hospitality for making our time in Santa Cruz so nice.
For example, Nadia is shown below getting measured for clothes. It is nice to have a relative who is a fashion designer! We both got tailored clothes for this year with Silvia’s label. It was like the tropical Savoy Road in London.
Bolivia is always an interesting place. The amazing growth (city doubles in population since we last lived there 10 years ago) and President Morales’s reign have certainly changed the city. I came to the conclusion that Santa Cruz is better off within Bolivia for the long run rather than going independent. I know that the Andean immigrants cause resentment, but it helps the Crucenos to have a bigger market to sell to and the diversity offered by the Andes, makes Bolivia a better nation. I don’t like the influence of the drug trafficking and I foresee more crime and violence coming to the city. Santa Cruz is a bit of a intellectual wasteland, but it has a beautiful countryside. Unfortunately, the way it looks, there is no planning with the development of Urubo across the river and what could have been a Coral Gables tropical bucolic paradise, will turn into a developing world garbage dump.
Despite the challenges, I still want to have retirement roots in the area however. Living is easy in Bolivia and it will serve our later years well to have a place there to call our own. Right now there is a “narco housing bubble” as I call it and we’ll have to wait to find a piece of land.
I forgot how delicious the food is in Bolivia. The housekeeper for the family Modesta, is from a small town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. She is an excellent chef and has been providing us with excellent and exotic meals daily during our holidays.
Mo’s specialty are dishes from the Altiplano, or Andean region. Pictured above is “Tunta.” It is prepared by harvesting a type of potato known as a Papa Nuki. There are over 8,000 different species of potato, and close to 3,000 in the Andes. Because they can grow in such a harsh climate of the Andes Mountains, Modesta’s ancestors domesticated potatoes thousands of years ago.
The tunta is prepared by first setting the potatoes outside in freezing temperatures overnight. The next day, they are peeled and place in a bag and dropped in a cold, mountain stream. They are left there for several months.
Modesta served them with chicken and they were absolutely delicious. I heard of the more popular freeze-dried potato, the “chuno” which is not place a river but in a freezer instead. For more on Andean potatoes, this pdf document is an excellent survey.
Also pictured below is a lowland Bolivian dish called “majao” which is ice and pork. I like the fried egg on top especially. It is served also with fried plantain, which is a good sweet contrast to the salty dish. .
While I am on holiday in Santa Cruz, I’ve asked Hermes about his father and found some old photographs. Severiano is the great grandfather of my children and I am doing a series of posts on our family’s geneology. It will be good to capture these stories for future generations of my family.
Severiano Chavez Justiniano was born in 1884 and died in 1968. He was born in Santa Cruz, Boliva. He inherited from his father, a land holding of 2,500 hectares (over 6,000 acres) located north of the city in the province of Warnes. He owned 300 head of cattle, and also produced sugar and molasses for the city.
He was not the simple farmer that many immigrants were in America. Severiano belonged to the high society of Santa Cruz and was the governor of the province. He also belonged to the 24 of September Club.The club is named after the date of Santa Cruz’s founding. This is the oldest association of Crucenos dedicated to running of the city and socializing.
Severiano, like many “patrons” of the age, had a rich family life. He was married four times and fathered 9 children.
His first wife was Ester Cronenbold, who died while giving birth to their daughter, Ester Chavez Cronenbold. His next wife was Castulia Zabala and he had three children with her. They were Meri, Mari, and Saul Chavez Zabala. His third wife was my children’s maternal grandmother, Leocadia Chavez. She was very young (born 1926) and despite the same last name, they were NOT related. She had four children, Graciela, Silvia, Hermes, and Ever.
Leocadia sadly fled the ranch when Nadia’s father, Hermes was only 2 and 1/2 years old. She left in the middle of the night with the baby son, Ever. Leocadia ended up in Brazil and it was not until many years later that she came back and saw Hermes again. In recent years, Herme’s brother Ever, came to Santa Cruz from Brazil to stay with Hermes on occasion. He recently died of cancer. I’ll write more about Leocadia and the others in later posts. I wrote previously on Silvia Chavez Chavez.
Severiano at 70 years old married a fourth woman, Sara Pizarro and they lived together for 12 years before Severiano died of pneumonia. Severiano sired a ninth child, Ana Maria Chavez Pizarro.
Because Severiano was so old when he fathered Hermes (age 56), Hermes didn’t really have much to say about his father, although he loved him dearly. Things obviously were much different back then. I wonder what it would have been like here in Bolivia at that time. I’ll try to find out more about him when I come back to Bolivia. I imagine being a rich, land-owning, Creole in the former Spanish colonies had its advantages. Below is a photo of Severiano with some other 20th century gentlemen, most likely the 24 of September Club.
Last week we spent the day at the El Guembe BioCenter. It is a 24-hectare environmental complex located across the Pirai River just outside of Santa Cruz.. They have a nice little reserve of tropical lowland forest and we spotted this sloth, high up in the trees. The sloths used to be in the plaza downtown, but as the city is growing, it was best to put them in a nicer place.
The owner has a really nice place and I recommend a visit! I appreciate their committment to environmental education. They have several museums, and their aviary / butterfly dome / orchid garden are the best I’ve ever seen! They combined it the standard tourist facilities and there is a nice hotel, restaurant, and swimming pool. It is a great day out for the kids and they keep wanting to go back. The nice thing about the winter season is we have the place basically to ourselves.
The center is the closest to what I would have if I was a multimillionaire. It really adds something different to Santa Cruz.
An Andean Indigenous Immigrant Walking Through the Upper Class Suburb of Las Palmas in Santa Cruz
I just finished reading “From Rebellion to Reform in Bolivia: Class Struggle, Indigenous Liberation, and the Politics of Evo Morales by London professor, Jeffrey Webber. The book gave me the opportunity to catch up on Bolivia since I last lived here (1999) and put some of my thoughts together in a coherent manner about life here in Santa Cruz. Although the book is geared towards academics, there is enough “real life” anecdotes and background to interest the non-academic who is already familiar with Bolivia. I recommend Webber’s book.
I also spent a lot of time with the book and thinking about Bolivia because Nadia and I are considering places for retirement. Bolivia is nice because it has much cheaper cost of living than the US and if we are on a retirement income, it will go further. The life is pretty comfortable here as well with tropical weather, low cost domestic help, and both Nadia and I love playing tennis and gardening. We do have friends and relatives down here as well as citizenship for her and our kids. There is a great private hospital here where both Owen and Ocean were born. I also have a big interest in neotropical biology and with Santa Cruz being on the frontier of the Andes and Amazon, it is a paradise in that respect. The cons would be the crime, and the lack of intellectual and cultural stimulation and the question of the cocaine industry, and finally, an indigenous, socialist government in power for the foreseeable future.
Bolivia is really two countries. There is the more internationally famous part – the Andes, and the lesser known eastern lowlands. My wife’s family is from Santa Cruz, the economic capital of the country and the unofficial capital of the eastern lowlands.
Bolivia overall is a very poor country. Close to 70% of the people live in poverty and with a GDP of $974 per person, makes it one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. It is a land-locked country in the center of South America and is one of the few indigenous nations, with almost 2/3 of the population declaring themselves as indigenous. Bolivia also has one of the biggest income differences between rich and poor, especially in land distribution. For example, 400 individuals own 70% of the productive land while there are 2.5 million landless peasants. There are also no labor laws and the underclass is exploited with long working hours and little social benefits.
Those statistics do not show the differences, however between the two Bolivias. The Andean region consists of the western half of the country and is divided into 5 departmentos (states) which make up 2/3 of the population of Bolivia (6 of the 9 million total). The average indigenous population of the Andean region is 75%. The western Amazonian part consists of 4 departmentos, including Santa Cruz, which is the name of the state as well as the city. The 4 eastern states roughly form the shape of a half moon, hence they are sometimes referred the media luna. These four states have roughly a 25% indigenous population, with the majority being a mestizo (mix of Indigenous/Spanish).
The Media Luna states have been protesting and calling for more autonomy from the centralized Bolivia government headquartered in the Andean capital of La Paz. Hundreds of thousands of Crucenos the past few years have been gathering in the streets in the cause of this eastern lowland state autonomy. One of the biggest organizations in the autonomy movement is the Nacion Camba. The term “camba” was once a derogatory term for the eastern lowland indigenous tribes, but has changed to a self-appelation referring to the special racial mix of Spanish and indigenous blood. The people of the Media Luna Statesare known as “cambas.” Precisely, the Camba Nation sees autonomy as follows:
(1) the state control of 2/3 of tax revenues generated by the state
(2) the state control over natural resources and
(3) the authority to set all polices except defense, currency, tariffs, and foreign relations
This has been a growing concern since Evo Morales was elected president. Amazingly, he is the first indigenous president in Bolivian history. It is amazing because 2/3 of the country is indigenous. This shows the historical dominance of the mestizo/business community control of the country. When I was here in 1997-1999, Hugo Banzer, a Cruceno former military dictator, was the president. Morales is an Aymara Indian originally from the Oruro Department. He grew up in extreme poverty and four of his six siblings died due to lack of access to proper health care. He ended up moving to the coca growing region in the Cochabomba Department and showed leadership skills to eventually lead the coca growers (cocaleros) union. With the election of Morales, and his political party, M.A.S. (Moviemento Al Socialismo) , there was a lot of concern that he would push the government in the Venezuelan model of Hugo Chavez.
Evo Morales has made many radical speeches in the international realm as well as speaking to indigenous crowds. However, his actions have not matched his words. Although he has political power, he has not taken on the business establishment of media luna, and has in fact, been very conservative in his presidency. He did strike a much better bargain with the international petroleum companies and increased revenue to the state up to 4 billion per year, by giving them a 50% royalty tax. This compares to the 18% “giveaway” negotiated by the preceding president, Gonzalo Lozado. Who by the way, was run out of country by protesting Indians in La Paz and he had to escape to Santa Cruz to avoid prison or lynching. A lot of presidents in Bolivia have been killed by indian mobs. He is exiled in the US and is wanted for corruption in Bolivia. Morales has not taken the extra revenue and put them towards social spending, and actually the percent of the government budget going towards health and education has dropped. He has invested in infrastructure and eliminated the budget. He is a darling of the IMF and World Bank! For someone with his background and the fiery speeches, I would have thought he would have tried to nationalize everything and route most of the GDP to the extreme poor like Chavez. But, he has taken a very moderate approach and with his upper class Vice President, is talking about putting socialism in place in 50 – 100 years. They also talk about an Andean-Amazonian Capitalism model, whatever that means. Morales won re-election in 2009, this was also a first in the history of Bolivia. He won with a 62% majority, the biggest in history for a presidential election. MAS also gained a majority in both the houses of congress and they have 6 of the 9 governorships. I guess he found the right mix of pleasing the capitalists with his policies and the indigenous masses with his speeches.
He should really take this majority mandate to do more for the poor. It pains me to see how good, working class citizens eke out a living. I am not only talking about subsistence agricultural peasants, but policemen, nurses, teachers, etc. Especially Evo’s strike busting stance with the teachers really disappointed me. The schools and hospitals are in a horrible state and average people, can’t make a decent living.
The big issue underneath all of this is the horrible economy of the Andean states. The mass immigration has caused problems for the media luna states, in addition to Argentina, Chile, USA and Spain. The Crucenos are characterized by many as being extreme racists. It almost feels like they are like the Boers of South Africa. They were identified with the Aparthied policies and were international martyrs. It is not quite as extreme here in Santa Cruz, but there are similarities. I’ve noticed that every time I come back, there are more Andean indigenous immigrants seeking jobs in Santa Cruz. This has generated resentment from the Crucenos. Since the 1950’s, the influx of Andean immigrants has slowly changed the character of the city.
The Crucenos are very different from the Andeans. They have an ethos of “ wealth, competition, fame, ostentatious living, with agro-industrial/petro at the top of social pyramid” according to Mr. Webber and that is in big contrast to the immigrants. These differences and the resentment it generates are manifested in many ways. The international media and the book portray the Crucenos as racist, but I don’t see them being any more racist than the Spaniards, Italians, or any other upper class Latin Americans.
The Andean immigrants are referred to as “shitty collas.” The term “colla” is traced to Kollasuyo, one of the five departments of the Inca Empire. Along with cholos and indios, all of these derogatory terms are common language with Crucenos. One anonymous elderly Crucena the other day thought that the Andean government was poisoning the fruits and vegetables to make the Crucenos sick. She said that the “indios” are not affected by the poison because they are so tough that nothing could kill them. Another example of this racism is back in the 1980’s, it was common for the upper class teenagers to get their thrills, they would go out and “patear cholos” which means to beat or kick poor indigenous immigrants. There is also some strong right wing groups, similar to soccer hooligans that formed in Santa Cruz to defend the rights of Santa Cruz and harass Andeans moving to Santa Cruz. Another joke is the statue of Christ that is located in the north of the city in the center of one of the big roundabouts. It was facing the west and it was basically saying, with his arms spread out forward, “no more cholos.”
I also think it is the same problem that affected Yugoslavia. Slovenia and Croatia were the richer parts of the federation and much of the tax revenue went to the poorer republics like Kosovo and Macedonia. Basically, Santa Cruz and Tarija are supporting the country. Living in Serbia, I know it is possible to have very small countries, but is it ideal? I don’t know what the answer is, but it should be concentrating on figuring out why the Andean Departments are so poor and what can be done to reverse the migration trend.
UPDATE – In speaking with friends, one who works in the Cruceno government, he is quite pessimistic about the future of Santa Cruz. He sees the huge effect the narcotraffikers are having with many laboratories and fields in the department. He also hinted at the army controlling the cocaine trade and also he sees a stepping up of land reform to a Venezuelan level.
I would like to see the Media Luna states go independent and be called “Cambalandia.” This is a step further than the Autonomia movement has stated, but I don’t see a drastic change in the Andean states. Is there an organization here that promotes a break from Bolivia?
Ale and Nadia sample some coca leaves to relieve the soroche.
View of Sucre from the roof of our hotel.
The fifth cascade made a refreshing water hole.
Sad to see the tough life of the poor of Sucre.
Bill's Blog 