WHY BOLIVIA?

The realization that I needed a project to fill the void left by my decision to set aside my sea-going adventures led me to South America and to Bolivia. I knew that the sale of my little cottage in France would only yield sufficient funds for a project in one of the poorer countries so when I returned to South America in late 2008, my first try out was in Ecuador. A small but perfectly formed country with coastline, mountains and jungle, it seemed to fit the bill, but a steadily increasing stream of retired North Americans looking for a cheaper place to live not too far from the USA had driven property prices up. I wasn't interested in being part of a large ex-pat community, preferring to integrate into South America in all its parts. I spent a couple of months in Cuenca, going to Spanish school and looking at property but nothing inspirational was within my budget, so it was back to Bolivia with Ed in early 2009.

It felt so good to be back in what is sometimes known as 'the Tibet of the Americas' - Lake Titicaca, soaring mountains, jungles thick with wildlife, arid deserts and vistas of dazzling white salt flats to the horizon. In Bolivia there is a feeling of authenticity where life and culture have continue unchanged for centuries, juxtaposed with 21st century additions such as internet, mobile phones and huge 4 x 4 jeeps fueled with LPG. The climate is near perfect for me - spring-like temperatures of around 25C all year, although with the high altitude the sun is fierce and it feels more like 30C. June and July are the coldest months, but only at night when temperatures can drop to near zero. So it is possible to sunbathe during the day and enjoy a chimney fire at night. The rainy season runs from November to March, but Sucre doesn't have a lot of rain, so the skies are rarely grey for long.

Bolivians are friendly and helpful, calm by nature but extreme party lovers. Ed and I have received so much kindness as we start to integrate into their world - they are both puzzled that we should want to live so far from our country and delighted that we are so enamoured of Bolivia. There are a few ex-pats in Sucre, mostly European - some of them are running hostals, restaurants and bars, others founding or working in volunteer projects. A large part of our decision to live in Bolivia is to assist others less fortunate. On a very basic level it is possible to give very little but to make a huge difference to someone - sharing food with the old or disabled on the street or putting in time at one of the local centres for street kids. Leaving generous tips for the restaurant staff who earn so little, and paying above the average wage for workers.

 

On our first visit to Sucre our mornings attending Spanish school allowed free afternoons to volunteer in a centre for street kids, cooking them a nourishing meal at lunchtime followed by help with homework or tuition from talented volunteers with skills that would take them to a different place from shoe-shining in the Plaza. My Spanish was not that good so I ended up in the kitchen, chopping vegetables to cook in enormous caldrons.