Huffing and puffing is what we did mostly during our six day hike in the Bolivian Andes. The peaks and surrounding plateaus and lakes paint a tapestry of awe, jaw dropping beauty woven together by the threads of the mountain ranges crisscrossed by its hardy peoples and fauna. The three days of 'acclimatization' we did in La Paz, seemingly evaporated in a day-long trudge alongside llamas, some sticking their tongues out as if sneering at us :)
End of Day 1 at the refugio felt certainly like our last day in the mountains! Why continue this self-inflicted pain, while we can instead be goofing with props in the salt flats - Salar de Uyuni or be dazzled by the colors and sounds of the Amazon jungle in the lowlands. As our thoughts drifted into this stupor, our guide and cook jolted us back to life with boiling cups of mate de coca (Coca tea). A bowl of quinoa soup with vegetables fills in for appetizer and main course and we settled into night 1 of a week-long sleepless penance in the Altiplano.
In come a village of the Aymara people, and they file orderly around the dinner table and on the floor of the refugio, men, women and children. They shared a meal of mostly boiled potatoes and some fish over pondering of the day's happenings and mis-happenings marked by quiet laughter . without wasting a minute, they cleaned up and turned in for the night. As we learned over the next week, the Aymara (indigenous mountain people) of the Andes lead a hardy subsistence comprising of farming at high-altitude in nutrient-poor soils and herding llamas and sheep.
Over centuries, the Aymara have endured and suffered invasions by the Incas, the Conquistadors but now the modern-day plague of environmental disasters and climate-change induced droughts, displacements have challenged their livelihood like no other. They share the common humiliation and discrimination that spans the narratives of indigenous people across the globe. The people that revere the land they tread on, the people that live in harmony with nature, tread lightly, are trampled upon the most by the depravity and seemingly self-defeating advances of modern civilization, like in most countries.
Our cook Felix was stumped when we first announced we prefer vegetarian food and he couldn't wipe the confused look off his face for the whole week. He was challenged immensely to cook us different veg meals, settling on the same quinoa soup with veggies(potatoes) everyday and the saving grace for all of us was the tiny bottle of hot salsa we picked up at the supermarket in La Paz prior to start of the trek. A few drops in the bowl and the transformation almost made converts of both Felix and mountain-guide Rudy!! They were the first to reach for the bottle at every meal, albeit sheepishly and were crushed when we ran out a full day before the end of our trip. Enuf said abt the trail food :) Felix is Aymara himself, but he seems to have descended rapidly much further along from the basic rehydrated potatoes and fish diet of his people.
Our itinerary took us through some incredible scenery comprising glaciers, the notable among them being Condoriri or Kunturiri(head of the Condor), mountain passes, lakes inc laguna Khotia, Ajuani, Sistana, Jurikhota and the peaks - Pico Austria, Condoriri and Potosi. These are in the west, part of the Cordillera Real range which is 125 km length of solitude, snow fields and granite walls. The hiking seemed like the most challenging we've done on account of the unforgiving altitude but the views equally rewarding. I tried to project glimpses from the BBC series (I had seen as a kid) 'The Flight of the Condor' on to the vistas we encountered but alas, what we saw was missing both abundant ice and wildlife, lost to a mere four decades of 'advancing' civilization and climate change. It was a 3 part juggernaut of a nature series from the 80s that spotlighted the Andes, the coast & Atacama desert and the jungle(Amazon) in each of the parts. Those scenes from the documentary, forever etched on my mind are mere snapshots of 'what once was' contrasted with our trip, a 'what is today', though still stark and stunning.
Evo Morales, the first Bolivian president of Aymara descent passed some landmark laws uplifting indigenous voices and in 2010, enshrining Mother Earth's rights to clean air, water, biodiversity, and the like. He proclaimed “Humanity can either save capitalism or our Mother Earth". But as we continue to learn the lesson to this day- nothing is binary. Binary is not a choice, our choices aren't binary and life itself is a lot more complex and the solutions and approach need more nuance.
After the hike, we spent a couple of days in Isla del Sol, the island on Lake Titicaca, which sits atop the Andean plateau bordering Peru and Bolivia at 12,500 feet. So we resumed our drifting among the clouds, enjoying the company of several donkeys with toothy smiles. Sunrises/Sunsets are spectacular here, evoking the island's Incan Gods in a divine dance of light rays.
We carried on chewing coca leaves to counter the effects of the altitude and life choices in general:) Coca leaves are harmless and a mild stimulant, contrary to what the DEA would have you believe, classifying it under the Schedule II list of substances. Schedule II, my foot! Coca leaves are loaded with vitamins and iron. The leaves' benefits are many and constitute a giant miss by the authorities with its misguided war on drugs, being fruitlessly waged for decades now. For more on this topic, check out the National geographic anthropologist Wade Davis' essay titled 'Divine Leaf of Immortality' on coca leaves and the accompanying cultural suppression.
One last day in La Paz, which is a study in contrast between its indigenous traditions and modern urban life. Telefericos or cable cars traverse the dizzying heights of the canyon walls that the city is laid upon. Surrounded by the peaks of the Illimani, it paints an imposing picture of an ancient culture leaning into modern conveniences, while keeping its soul intact and colorful. To discover Bolivia's culinary range beyond the 'quinoa soup con potatoes' prepared by chef Felix, we chanced upon 'Gustu', an ambitious restaurant project by the co-founder of the hugely popular 'Noma' of Copenhagen. It was revelatory, a blend of ingredients and flavors from the Amazon, the highlands, and the farmlands. The kitchen staff were all bubbly, aspiring local youth ready to experiment and blew our minds and taste buds but not the wallet!
We left, as always humbler for the peek into the unrivalled grandeur of the Andes mountains and the beautiful people who worship and safeguard the "Earth Mother", Pachamama🙏
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