A JOURNEY IN BOLIVIA 1988
not waiting for by the way.
For Bs 15, we had access to a room with a tent canvas roof and two beds, which were neatly made up. There was even a hot shower. There was an electric heating system on the shower head, which could be switched on with a lever. Incorrect treatment could lead to electrocution, as it almost turned out to me. I was shaking on my legs. Was this the result of the shock or the fright?
At the square village court, the Plaza, we found an eatery, where you could have a cena (dinner) for Bs 5.
Thursday, August 4th
We were able to refuel in Punata. We went into town for a while. Behind the square Plaza, as all somewhat larger places seem to have, was the market. It was still very early, but we were already able to get coffee and a sandwich for Bs 1,. The coffee tasted like cinnamon, which surprised me a bit.
The road to Arani was good, they said, but we saw it differently. From Arani we tried to take the road to Tin Tin, but due to the absence of signs we made a mistake and at some point drove to Mizque. Between Punata and Arani it was flat, beyond Arani the mountains started. We drove through a number of hairpin bends, on a not bad road. After about three kilometers we made a stop. Below us entire fields were covered with opuntias. Above the road on a not too steep slope we found Lobivia obrepanda and another echinopsis.
We wondered how we could find our way to Tin Tin. From our stand we saw a bus driving south of Arani, which at one point disappeared between the houses. We drove back to the place and indeed found this way. First we had to cross a river, the Rio Pocoata, which was almost dry. After two kilometers we came to the first hill, where we found some parodias. On the next hill we found more. They were beautiful plants that looked healthy.
We had heard that the campesinos would not like gringos much. To put it to the test,
we greeted everyone. We received a friendly return greeting. The road was good. It
had to be a successful day. Kik ventured quite high up a hill, which afterwards was
more difficult to pass than it seemed at first glance. I saw a blue-
Then we came to Pajcha Pata. In built-
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