Ahhhhhh we take a deep breath of the lovely familiar scent and smile at each other. We are in a beautiful conifer forest. Completely different from the landscape the day before. Tall large trees with long needles and cones on the ground. Such a lovely shade. And then the sweet smell. It's like being in Denmark. Except we are at an altitude of 2700 meters and about to climb another 1000 meters up the mountain. 

We have just started the day and after approx. an hour drive into this beautiful forest. Filled up with good experiences from the day before. Experiences which gave us flashbacks to our previous bikepacking trip to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan and which put our own culture into perspective. 

We spent the night in the tent on top of a hill with the most beautiful view over the mountains and the winding road up the mountain. Next to it, four cows were tied up for the night, and on the other side of the road lived the sweet elderly couple who let us sleep on their land. 

I was about to inflate my air mattress inside the tent when I hear something outside. I turn around and see the elderly gentleman holding out a bowl of mote (large edible corn) towards me. In a big smile. It was just so sweet. We both happily start eating the corn. 

The rest of the corn was saved for dinner, which otherwise consisted of vegetables that we had gotten from a lovely lady at the market in the town of Aiquile. We tried to buy two tomatoes and two carrots, but she didn't want money. Instead she smiled and gave us two more small hot peppers. 

In the middle of the day we had bought home-made peanut butter from a Bolivian woman at a large, beautiful farm on the road. When she saw we were on bikes, we were asked to sit down in the beautiful front garden. She was gone for a while and came back with delicious freshly squeezed grape juice and crackers with homemade cheese. At first we communicated in our broken Spanish until she asked if we spoke English? She was a former English teacher so she spoke perfect English and we got some great tips on what to see in La Paz. 

Bolivia has given us many such good experiences. We participated in the inauguration of a sports hall in a small town, where we were offered both food and beer while we watched football matches, heard inauguration speeches and observed the locals drinking fine spirits and chewing Coca leaves. Invited to coffee in La Paz by an eccentric woman we met in Cochabamba. Invited to Chicha by two rounds in a small village. Chicha is a corn beer that Bolivia is known for and is a specialty of the region where we are now. They really love it and it looks like they're getting some. 

In Chile and Argentina, it was largely the great nature experiences that knocked our legs out from under us. In Bolivia it is the culture, the history and the contentment that the people seem to have. Even if some don't have that much. According to the 'happiness research', Latin American countries are happier than they should be. And that is exactly what we are experiencing in Bolivia. People seem to rest in themselves and that a little is good enough. Not like in our modern welfare culture, where nothing is good enough and we are constantly striving for more more more (put on the tip). 

An example of that is the mining in the city of Potosi. Everything is done by hand. Even the carts with the stones are pushed out by hand. In our world it is not effective and it is debilitating for the poor men. For the miners, it is, among other things, that there is work for several people for a longer time before the silver escapes inside the mountain. 

 

Having said that, there are children and the elderly on the streets in the big cities who have nothing, and it hurts all the way to the heart. It is certainly not always easy to be Bolivian. 

South America is naturally heavily influenced by Spanish colonialism. Which is a long and sad story in itself. But in Bolivia it is really uplifting to feel how strong the indigenous culture still is. In short, the Spanish did not succeed in defeating the Bolivians. Which is pretty impressive. Think of Denmark and the introduction of Christianity. We don't have much culture left that can be called originally Danish. The same in large parts of the rest of the world. 

In Bolivia there are many things in everyday life that are associated with their roots. For example, 4 languages are spoken in Bolivia. In the larger cities, Spanish is the main language, but everywhere else is one of the indigenous languages; Quechua, Aymara or Chiquitano, the primary language and is taught therein. Spanish is secondary. Belief in Pachamama (mother earth), Inti (father sun) and the llama as the animal that connects them is also very strong. And it is not difficult to understand why. They are still very dependent on primitive agriculture and animal husbandry and beyond that it is simply the case that every culture has a belief. 

The cultural heritage is all expressed in rituals, such as pouring a little alcohol on the ground (pachamama) before drinking, hanging dried baby llamas over your kitchen door, sacrificing llamas and throwing their blood on the door of the mine, etc. etc. All completely normal parts of everyday life here in Bolivia, but rather exotic experiences for us Danes.

It therefore also cuts extra hard in our hearts that there is so much rubbish everywhere. It is incomprehensible that such a proud people, with such deep respect for gods who represent nature, throw their plastic, diapers, bottles, food scraps, whatever in the ditches everywhere. We wish Bolivia would do a national clean-up campaign. 

Food makes you happy. Everyone knows that. At least long-distance cyclists. All over Bolivia, even in the smallest towns, there are food stalls on every street corner, and every self-respecting town also has a market. In the markets you can buy all kinds of food. There are butchers with EVERYTHING from the animal. There are fruit stalls, potato stalls, nut stalls, etc.

There are food stalls where you can eat a large meal of meat, potatoes, rice and salad for DKK 10. And a soup for a starter costs DKK 5. After that, you can go to the juice stall and buy yourself a fresh juice of your own mix for DKK 6-8. Many tourists stay away from the food stalls because they are afraid of getting a stomach ache. We have certainly had stomachaches several times - because we have eaten too much. The hygiene is top notch. There is nothing to be afraid of. 

There is a rich food culture that goes back many years, and that makes full use of the different climates in the country, and thus opportunities to produce really many different types of raw materials. In the highlands it is llama meat, further down cows, sheep and potatoes (there are 200 different potato varieties in Bolivia). In the yungas, on the way to the jungle, there are lots of exotic fruits, papaya, pineapple, chirimoya, passion fruit and many others whose names we do not know. 

 

And did we mention dessert? Api and pastel. Api is a hot, red or white, slightly sweet, corn drink and pastel is a deep-fried pancake. And it tastes heavenly. 

 

We have been in Bolivia longer than expected. Because we really like being here. The landscape is so different. From the barren plateau at an altitude of plus 3,600 meters to the lush lowland with papaya trees and flowers in strong colors. 

But what has really taken us by storm is the culture and the people. And the experiences it has given us. The people of Bolivia remind us of our experiences in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan because of their cordiality. They are curious about us and they are happy to share with us. Like the man who brought dinner when we slept on his land. Although he didn't have much. It's like if you have less, you're better at sharing. In any case, it is a quality we will endeavor to take home with us. 

We would have liked to have taken more pictures of the meeting with the Bolivians in the beautiful traditional dresses and different hats depending on the region. However, they don't like being photographed so much, so of course we respect that.