The land-border crossing into Bolivia from Peru via Puno closed due to civil unrest.
Bolivian protesters have been paralysing trade and supply chains with blockades since early May. And so, a 7hr bus trip back to Cusco starting at 2:30am was required, followed by a flight to La Paz.
The old centre of La Paz is small but visually impressive.
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The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of La Paz and the Basilica of St Francis provide exceptional examples of El Barroco Mestizo, a hybrid cultural fusion of baroque forms and ornate decoration with indigenous artistic traditions and cultural symbols depicting local flora, fauna, and mythological figures.
La Paz is a city of cable cars because subterranean rivers and a brittle pebble and silt subsurface make it unsuitable for tunnelling. Consequently, one of the best things to do in La Paz is to take a cable car up toward El Alto at ~4,200m and take in the views over the city.
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In La Paz the extent of protests and civil unrest became more apparent. It was nationwide, a bit of a tinderbox frankly, in some places violent. The security situation was deteriorating rapidly.
Up in El Alto, shamans operate from rows of small colourful houses decorated with murals of Amazonian monkey frogs and other spiritually and medicinally significant plants and animals. All were closed due to the protests. They might be superstitious but they’re not stupid.
On a walking tour of the city, my party was forced to take sanctuary in a cafe. Later that day, protesters attacked my hotel with anything available they could throw.
I have a lot of sympathy for the protesters.
This is the country where, in 1999, they privatised water, sold it to a foreign consortium and made it illegal for Bolivians to collect rain.
In 2008, the democratically elected Morales government nationalised natural gas (Latin America's second largest reserves) and lithium (the world's largest reserves). Consequently, annual revenue from resources increased from $173 million to $1.5 billion over 5 years, benefiting Bolivia with new highways, hydroelectric plants, broadband telecommunication networks, and social programs lifting millions out of poverty.
But this set in play a familiar dynamic, echoing the disastrous overthrows of democratically elected leaders during the Cold War - Mohammed Mosaddegh after he nationalised Iran's oil (1953), Jacobo Árbenz after he initiated land reforms to buy back Guatemalan territory (at market price) used by American-owned United Fruit Company (1954), and Salvador Allende in Chile (1973).
The reality of President Trump’s America First is a rejuvenation of the US military - industrial - intelligence complex, and Bolivia is on the frontline.
It's economy has been severely damaged since 2019 through trade penalties, aid reductions, diplomatic expulsions and allegations of corruption and election rigging (proved false by researchers from MIT Election Data and Science Lab), with the goal of regime change. The CIA put out a contract on Morales and he fled into exile. The current President has also gone into hiding fearing for his safety.
The country is a shambles. Inflation is soaring, labour protections are being stripped, and the nation's assets are being sold off to foreign corporations.
My hope is that Bolivians - the namesakes of Simon Bolívar and descendants of Che Guevara - prevail over this wanton, destructive foreign interference.
The old colonial capital Sucre is architecturally and geographically stunning.
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Unfortunately, to stay ahead of the evolving security situation, a planned 2 night stay here was reduced to lunch and an 11 hour hell trip by bus to Uyuni, including dusty isolated backroads to avoid blockades between Sucre and Potosi.
Uyuni is an old silver mining town and the gateway to a high desert plateau at an elevation of ~4000 - 5000m …an epic, strange, Martian landscape pierced by volcanic peaks over 6000m, of salt flats, lakes graced by flamingos, and sulphurous geysers. It must be tackled by 4x4 and it takes 3 days to get to the Chilean border at Hito Cajón.
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Bolivia profoundly reached me and I was sad to leave.
Apart from its mineral wealth, its potential for tourism is huge. So long as it is managed in an ecologically friendly way and Bolivians are its primary owners and beneficiaries.
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