Thinking Aloud

In one splendid day-trip from La Paz, we were able to see landscape befitting the moon and scenery fit for the Himalayas, less than three hours’ drive apart from each other. To the south of the city is the “Valley of the Moon” and, on the opposite side, a winding mountain road takes one to the 5,100 metre high Chalcaltaya lodge.  Continue reading →

Now, if you saw a map of Bolivia, you would notice that the country is land-locked with no access to the sea.  Why, on earth, would it need or have a navy?

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Give them a hint of a job or the scent of a business prospect, and they will go anywhere, sometimes with the instinct of migratory birds, no questions asked, no maps required.

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At its height the Inca Empire incorporated a large part of western South America, around the Andean mountain range. Centred in Peru, it included large parts of modern Ecuador and Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and a small part of southern Colombia. Continue reading →

There are 67 indigenous tribes still living in Brazil who have had no contact with any outsider whatsoever, happily living in their own pristine – call it primitive if you like – little worlds, a few miles square!  Surely this earth, our home, is much more diverse and intriguing than Muslim, Christian and Jewish fundamentalists would have us believe.

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In a very horrific sense, they were the lucky ones, for every two out of five captives died while being herded overland to the African coast for shipment to Brazil. A further 15% met their deaths in the dangerous crossing in appalling conditions in sailing ships over the Atlantic Ocean. Continue reading →