Our pick up was at 7 AM so we just managed to get breakfast. Then check out of the hotel, all stuff gathered, Topoco arrived in a mini bus and we were heading out of La Paz. Same direction as everybody else. Heading for the Autopista towards El Alto but this time continuing beyond the airport. New territory - and a bit more chaotic that La Paz city. Rush hour traffic with no rules.
Eventually we made it out of El Alto city limits and then the clouds came obscuring the view a bit. After about an hour we turned of the main road and continued on gravel, going through a few small villages, the driver asking for directions a couple of times.
The clouds suddenly lifted and the landscape became visible. Hilly, dusty with the mountains in the horizon. We continued for a while, got lost, had the driver asking for more directions and eventually made it to the small village of Topocho.
After having said hello to everybody on the city square and having had good coffee we spent almost two hours on the local school saying hello to the kids having classes, hearing a few songs, pointing to a world map and trying to explain to them that we have come all the way from Denmark. The big sensation seemed to be Jes and his bald head (not usual here) and Malene with her blonde hair (even less usual).
Before leaving town we bought bread and local cola for later. Then we headed to the mountain top nearby and had lunch with the most spectacular view. Topoco telling a bit about the area and the people and their lamas.
We drove some more on dirt roads bringing back memories from our overland trip in Central Asia. Our next stop was even more in the middle of nowhere. On the ridge was a few red squares of clay - Chulpas. This is where we needed to bread and the cola as payment to the woman who lived here.
Topoco took us around the fields, up the hill and explained the chulpas to us. Grave sites dating back many millennia some even containing piles of human bones. They dotted the landscape around us, some in groups, some alone. We had the place to ourselves - the Bolivian government not bothering about the site nothing was done to protect or develop the place. What a shame.
It was getting late in the afternoon so we headed back to the car and towards Topocos house driving for one more hour on gravel roads. Then the car came to a stop on a hilltop and we could spot a small round mud house a the foot of the hill. This was Topocos place. In the middle of nowhere.
We unpacked the car going back and forth a few times. Definitely not going to run out of food soon. First problem - where's the key to the house? It turned out it was in La Paz, forgotten. So Mikkel tried something new today - breaking into a house, literally smashing the front door since there were no windows.
The sun was setting and being in a place without electricity darkness was coming fast so we hurried getting everything in place including the toilet bucket. Then we had dinner and went to bed after a long day with a lot of new impressions. One house, one room, three mattresses and the four of us.
Eventually we made it out of El Alto city limits and then the clouds came obscuring the view a bit. After about an hour we turned of the main road and continued on gravel, going through a few small villages, the driver asking for directions a couple of times.
The clouds suddenly lifted and the landscape became visible. Hilly, dusty with the mountains in the horizon. We continued for a while, got lost, had the driver asking for more directions and eventually made it to the small village of Topocho.
After having said hello to everybody on the city square and having had good coffee we spent almost two hours on the local school saying hello to the kids having classes, hearing a few songs, pointing to a world map and trying to explain to them that we have come all the way from Denmark. The big sensation seemed to be Jes and his bald head (not usual here) and Malene with her blonde hair (even less usual).
Before leaving town we bought bread and local cola for later. Then we headed to the mountain top nearby and had lunch with the most spectacular view. Topoco telling a bit about the area and the people and their lamas.
We drove some more on dirt roads bringing back memories from our overland trip in Central Asia. Our next stop was even more in the middle of nowhere. On the ridge was a few red squares of clay - Chulpas. This is where we needed to bread and the cola as payment to the woman who lived here.
Topoco took us around the fields, up the hill and explained the chulpas to us. Grave sites dating back many millennia some even containing piles of human bones. They dotted the landscape around us, some in groups, some alone. We had the place to ourselves - the Bolivian government not bothering about the site nothing was done to protect or develop the place. What a shame.
It was getting late in the afternoon so we headed back to the car and towards Topocos house driving for one more hour on gravel roads. Then the car came to a stop on a hilltop and we could spot a small round mud house a the foot of the hill. This was Topocos place. In the middle of nowhere.
We unpacked the car going back and forth a few times. Definitely not going to run out of food soon. First problem - where's the key to the house? It turned out it was in La Paz, forgotten. So Mikkel tried something new today - breaking into a house, literally smashing the front door since there were no windows.
The sun was setting and being in a place without electricity darkness was coming fast so we hurried getting everything in place including the toilet bucket. Then we had dinner and went to bed after a long day with a lot of new impressions. One house, one room, three mattresses and the four of us.
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| Ready to leave La Paz |
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| Lots of stuff in the back - including Jes |
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| El Alto rush hour traffic |
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| The clouds are lifting away |
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| Bolivian Countryside |
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| Driver trying to get directions |
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| Arriving at the tiny village of Topocho |
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| Old church |
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| School visit |
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| Saying hello to second grade |
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| Kids farming their own vegetables |
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| Headmasters office |
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| Blonde hair and "no hair" - very interesting |
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| Lunch stop at 4629 Meters |
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| Sandwich-view |
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| Heading down the gravel road |
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| Jes being overwhelmed by overland-fatigue |
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| Chulpa's on the ridge |
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| Ancient chulpa |
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| Lots of pottery and other evidence about human presence |
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| Burial chamber inside Chulpa |
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| Heading towards casa Topoco |
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| Our home for the next few days |
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| Everything unpacked |
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| Cooking dinner |
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