The Uyuni salt flats, Potosi, Sucre, La Paz, Rurrenabaque and Copacabana may be the most popular backpacker destinations, but they’re not everything. The Sajama National Park is great for hiking in the altiplano. You can walk in a tropical forest in the Chapare region. And you even found out that Bolivia produces wine — in Tarija.
Those delicacies have nothing to do with the empanadas salteñas found in neighbouring Argentina. These take the whole empanada concept to the next level with their sweet crust and juicy chicken filling.
The principle is that you hail a minivan from any street corner, and you get off at any point along the route. It did feel a bit intimidating at first, but once you know your way around a city, it’s actually easier than having a formal bus system that usually runs late anyway.
It’s called chuño, and it’s a type of Andean frozen potato. Maybe not the tastiest thing you’ve ever had, but certainly edible.
Especially if that car is a shared taxi. You know there’s always room for more.
You don’t have a choice anyway, as most hotels or hostels in Bolivia can’t be booked through the internet. But you know that there’s always a solution.
Where else would they eat it?
You may even know a few words in Quechua or Aymara.
And you don’t care.
You know the fundamental difference between a colla — a person from the altiplano and the neighbouring valleys — and a camba — somebody who lives in the eastern part of the country. You know they dislike each other, so you just avoid talking about it.
You don’t chew them. You just place them in your mouth, under one of the cheeks. And forget about them for a while. 