Overview of Land and History 11line, as well as wading Andean fl amingos in hidden wrinkles
within the mountains where you don’t fi nd the usual llama or
alpaca tracks. I was told by one environmentalist that such
fl amingos are only found in the area of the Laguna Colorado
in the south, but I saw them with my own eyes. (Getting
lost in the mountains has its advantages, though I wouldn’t
recommend that anyone go off the trail as I did, for it took
me seven hours to fi nd my way out.)
At this altitude are various ecosystems, including the dry
puna, and the mossy paramo.
The Price of Global Warming
Perhaps the greatest threat to this region are receding glaciers,
a product of global warming. Northern hemisphere oil and
automobile culture is one of the primary culprits. One single
country, the United States, accounting for less than fi ve per
cent of the world’s population, consumes 26 per cent of the
world’s oil.High Valleys
The second most populated zone, labelled high valleys, offers
an eternal spring setting where it’s never hot enough to fry an
egg on the pavement, nor cold enough to skate on thin ice.
The harsh highland terrain has given way to a more tender
and green ambience. Both Sucre (the nation’s symbolic
offi cial capital) and Cochabamba are attractive colonial cities
over the challenging 2,500 m (8,200 ft) level, while Tarija,
the other major valley city, is lower and warmer. High valley
cities are good for eating outdoors in the day and sleeping
under a cosy quilt at night.
The river that once fl owed through the city of Cochabamba
is now a dry bed, and what has been called ‘the breadbasket
of Bolivia’ now suffers periodic droughts.
Tropical Lowlands
The third primary region, the tropical lowlands, occupies
two thirds of the land, yet only attracts a small percentage of
the population, including a large contingent of masochistic