Pongo, Chapter II

The Choquetanga Valley above Pongo. Note the glacially sculpted form.
A the bottom of a scree slope I just climbed down. I tried to get to the top of the ridge to look over the other side but the trail had been erased by a landslide and going was tough on the loosely packed rocks. I was also very tired after the long climb and time was getting close.


The ruins of an old gold- mining camp.

Looking down on the old mining camp


A water fall at the edge of a hanging valley


The nice thing about Pongo is the food stalls at the trail-head. Here is lunch after the hike: fresh trout with potatoes, rice and hot peppers. It is a good time to look up what birds were seen along the route. Riding back to La Paz in the back of a cargo truck. This truck was carrying empty beer bottles and propane tanks to be refilled in La Paz and then shipped back down the Amazonia.

Rural Tourism in the South Of Bolivia

We met some folks one Sunday on the Prado at a festival of Rural Products who were starting a Rural Tourism company. The idea was that the agency would be a solidary type enterprise with the communities and they would share in the profits of the tourism venture and would be a vehicle of sustainable development. The business model would be contrary to the current system where outside agencies visit the villages or the region with outside guides and leave very little for the local economies. This agency would be formed as a cooperative with various local organizations and the guides, drivers, cooks and hosts would all be locals.
We were one of the very first groups to take the tour and although there are still some rough edges, the trip was very nice. We met some great folks who opened their villages and their homes to us and were very happy for our visit. We were shown local customs, attractions and way of life.
Some of the highlights were the explanation of the wool thread making processes, dyeing and weaving in Livicucho; the explantion of the uses of medicinal plants and the hike in the canyon in Puqui; the meteorite crater in the middle of the desert; the ancient mummies; and the salt flats....





The Salar de Uyuni
Mummies.... hundres of years old.
The island of Cactii and the Salt Flats

Driving out to the Salt Flats


Livicuchans

Vicuñas
Weaving with Llama wool and natural dyes from Puno plants


Local garb

Making wool into thread


Typical scene in the Bolivian Altiplano.... expansive vistas, brillant colors and very uncertain weather. In the foreground is a thunderstorm while in the middle a mixed herd of sheep and llama.