202 CultureShock! Bolivia
There is nothing ordinary about travel in Bolivia. At least 13
distinct life zones, from the highest cities and lakes in the
world, to green valleys and gorges of eternal spring, to the
steamiest jungles, are separated by the roughest and most
inaccessible terrain imaginable.
To the geographic barriers, add human barriers: three
major nations within a nation, Hispanic, Aymara, Quechua
and a host of other smaller nations/languages, including the
Guaraní and the Afrobolivians.
Bolivia is only beginning to create an infrastructure of
highways, hotels and restaurants that will facilitate access
to many of her remote villages and stunning backlands.
The obscene altitude of Potosí, La Paz and Lake Titicaca
also discourages classical tourism. There are three broad
categories for adventure travel.
First, there are the virtually inaccessible parts of Bolivia
which contain Inca ruins waiting to be unearthed, prehistoric
fossils, yet-to-be-discovered bird, animal and plant species
and indigenous communities where savvy inhabitants have
deciphered many of nature’s mysteries. These are places that
proclaim ‘I dare you!’ to the most intrepid adventurers.Life at the edge.