Culture Shock! Bolivia - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

Enjoying Bolivia 225

the preservation of distinct ways of life through bilingual
education. Fremen publicises Amazonian medicinal plants,
provides a market for local artisans, and celebrates the diet
and customs of the indigenous communities that host its
tours.
Profi ts from the sale of local artisanry to visiting adventure
tourists are divided 50 per cent to the artisan and 50 per
cent to community projects. Fremen’s ideology of authentic
tourism includes acting as an advocate for the original
community. On one occasion, the Mojeña village of Villa
del Carmen lacked four children to reach the minimum 20
students that would qualify it for services from Bolivia’s
Secretariat of Education. Fremen initiated and followed
through on paperwork that eventually allowed the settlement
to receive the teacher and supplies it required. Fremen set
aside a portion of its tour profi ts to build the school.
At a point on the Mamoré River which separates one
Yuracaré community of six families from another community
of three families, Fremen boats the children from the smaller
community to their school.
As with Island of the Sun tour specialists, Fremen’s
fi nancial self-interest coincides with the preservation of
habitat and customs.
‘In contrast to most of the Brazilian or Peruvian Amazon,’
writes Aimée Sullivan, ‘it is easy to see animals such as
alligators, turtles, capybaras (the largest rodent on earth) and
innumerable species of birds in the Bolivian Amazon.’
Fremen admits that sighting of reticent jaguars is not
likely, but it guarantees that tour clients will get within
20 m (65 ft) of caimans from 2–7 m (6.5–23 ft) long, sweet-
water dolphins, river turtles and various types of monkeys,
including the monkey-squirrel.

The Llanos de Moxos Tour

Fremen’s Llanos de Moxos tour combines trekking and nature
with cultural exchange. The main thoroughfare of the tour
is the Mamoré River, upriver from the site of the infamous
construction of the Madeira–Mamoré Railroad at the turn
of the century, built by indentured servants, including North