Into Obolivian

Bolivia has been pretty epic so far.  It is a bit of a wild ol country with safety being a little backwards and organization being a fleeting dream.   Hell it is cheap though!  In plodding our way around over these last 3 weeks I have been electrocuted in the shower, hit my head on many non-regulation building awnings and eaten in some very questionable premises.  

Here are a few observations I would like to share with the reading public.

1. I don’t believe there is such a thing as electricians in this country.  All the wiring around the place is basically speaker wire with no positive or negative brandings.  Best of all there is no such thing as earthing and insulation is any kind of tape you can wrap around a joint.  Fixtures hang directly off the wiring and junctions, be them high tension, external or even in the bathroom are completely open to the touch.   
2. Bolivia is cold at altitude, really cold and showers are made to match.  Cold!  WHY!
3. Drivers here know how to fix cars so that they can hop in them and drive them like maniacs.  The only problem is the fix it when it is broke mentality rather than preventative maintenance.  When you are flying along a dirt road at 80km/h looking out the windscreen to see only 10m through the dust, the thought of the bald tires bulging on the front of the car are not reassuring. 

There are so many things like this that crop up and play on your mind here in Bolivia.  It helps to be a man of faith or simply naïve if you want to sleep at night.

Another funny quirk regarding this country is the monkey see monkey do mentality of the local entrepreneurs.  If one guy has a good idea, 15 look alikes pop up.  And they copy everything, except the proper levels of organization.  This applies to shop stalls, tours and all manner of businesses.  How can 15 mandarin stalls all next to each other be viable?  HOW?  

But we have observed the craziness, marveled at the workings and saved some money along the way.  Unfortunately, Bolivia has another memorable point.  It is the place where the Dutch-Didi team has ended.  Annalie and I have decided to call it quits here after 4 months of travels together.  We will each be going our separate ways from here on.  With her goes the computer and my means of easily writing blogs.  I do plan however on keeping up with my travel observations so keep tuned and maybe I can still provide some insight to my traveling world.