Bolivia, the poorest country in south america - too poor to consturct a sewer system that can consume toilet paper - is land to quite a few extraordinary sights. It is also home to quite a few extraordinarily stinky people.

It took me a week to adjust to the vast delta between progressive san francisco to ice-carried-in-a-wheelbarrow bolivia. i was quite in shock. prices dropped dramatically, the weather peaked up and down, i knew not a word but ´donde los banyos´ (where´s the bathroom), altitude diffrechianted like i never knew before, and there was barely any hot water in the shower.

after being picked up in santa cruz airport, we made our way south to sucre; the most european city in bolivia. this air cushioned my rough landing a bit. i paid 25 bolivians a night for what it considered a suite in bolivia. that´s 3 dollars.

everyone in bolivia is a businessman. it´s not worth your while to work for somebody else, so you´re running your own business from your first pubic hair until your last day. markets are everywhere. streets, alleys, buildings, fields, are full of colorful markets.

sunday special is the palm tree celebration for church. palm tree leaf baskets, flowers, stars and other decorations are sold on the streets by the hundreds and given as a gift to the gods. maybe if they used meat like the jews they would have got somewhere in life.

speaking of jews, passover was coming up. a hop from the border with argentina is salta. the very european argentinian city is where i spent the seder with long-time-not-seen friends. the excellent steaks were a good excuse for the long, exhausting and stinky ride down there.

think you know what stinky is? let me tell you something about Stinky. bolivia is very proud of their massive coca production industry. coca, the leaf from which cocaine is produced, is a numbing and soothing drug when chewed raw. coca leaves are easily accessible and very cheap, especially for locals.

1) meet mr stinky. mr stinky has been chewing coca leaves since he got his first bolivian from the latin tooth ferry. as he´s been chewing every day, the majority of his body cells are constructed of coca. he smells like coca inside out. as a matter of fact, road kill can sense him miles away and will hope to be promptly run over again.

2) meet the bolivian bus. usually over populated, having more seats than space in the bus, and having more people than seats. this could be demonstrated by transferring the chinese into japan. forget about AC, personal lights, obeying windows, or room for your feet. if you´re looking for those, go home. a ride averages to 11 hours straight, with only a stop or two for banyo and food. note that under 5% of the roads in bolivia are paved, if ´road´ is a suitable term to use. best case scenario, you arrive at your destination a little cranky, hungry and tired.

now for the math. add 1+2. put mr stinky in the seat behind you of the 11 hour long bolivian bus ride. it makes you wish you could be that ice in the wheelbarrow.

anyway, back to salta, argentina.

the prices in argetina rise, but so does the quality of life and the quality of people. i made new friends instantly. i was both impressed and surprised by argentina. it seemed like any advanced european country, the premier differences being a bad economy and excellent steaks.

as a goodbye gift to myself from argentina, after a short stay, i decided to hike a few mountains in the area. since i´m too lazy to hike them by foot, we hired a company to slide us across mountains with an omega. some cables were 500 meter long, and i didn´t want to know how high.

back to bolivia, we stopped in a small village named tupiza valley. their we formed a group of 8 israeli travellers, bought cowboy hats, practiced our YEEHAA´s and hopped on a pack of horses.

two full days of horseback riding are quite enough for an urban slick such as myself. it made me appreciate cushioned seats a whole week afterwards. putting aside my aching rear, i had an excellent time touring through authentic bolivian villages built of mud and hay, gorgeous canyons of powerful dimensions, and powerful streams of water which cut the desert-like terrain into pieces of a puzzle.

as we were chewing on our post-horse-ride dinner in tupiza valley, we felt that there was some salt missing. so we decided to take a jeep tour in salar de uyuni, the great desert of salt.

just 420 breathless moments away, the horse ride group upgraded its mode of transportation to a couple of big bad toyota jeeps. the three day tour included salar de uyuni and spectacular sights of south bolivia. of course, the sights are even more spectacular thanks to my incredible photography talent.

on our way to the terrain of salt, we past by fields of incredible rock settings..

.. gaizers which were formed by lava movement from nearby active volcanoes ..

.. the stunning laguna verdre (the green lagoon) ..

.. romantic sunsets on mountain tops..

.. 5000 flamencos which dominate and feed off micro-organisms in laguna colorado..


... and the famous rock tree. which is a rock that is supposed to look like a tree. (just another bolivian made-up attraction to feed another mouth or two).

the third sunrise brought us to the real shpeal. salar de uyuni. 12,000 square kilometers of salt. now we will never again lack salt in our well cooked meals.

on the fringe of the desert, a couple of inches of water flourish above the salt, producing a natural mirror which allows exotic shots.





the endless terrain of snow white salt causes a lack of perspective of what´s ground and what´s sky, as there is no colored point of reference around. this is bad for those manually flying magic carpets around, and good for perspectiveless photography.

a few nights before the salar, i thought it would be a good idea to bring along a colorful kite. so i brought along a colorful kite. just for some shits and giggles.




we caught a bus directly from the sea of salt to la paz, the unofficial capitol of bolivia. about 10,000 tails high (2.5 tails = 1 meter. dont go deep, i just made that up), la paz is definitely the most spectacular city i set my paws on yet. the city welcomed us 3 days ago, so pictures and stories will appear next post.

and now, for last post´s riddle. the correct answer was presented by several readers. a lottery was drawn, and the winner is Ohad Nachum. Sachtayn ohad!

the correct answer was http://www.theyseek.com/waldo.php, which should have been found through http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com.

ohad, the prize is on it´s way:

mate cup + mate, a chola (bolivian woman) to entertain you while you drink your tea, and finally a lama for some shits and giggles