The Final Weekend - Cochabamba, Bolivia

Days 17-19
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Sustainable Bolivia - CONSES and Gaia Pacha

The pollution haze settling over Cochabamba - air pollution is just one of the region's problems

Cochabamba was made famous for the its water crisis. Movies like Tambien la Lluvia and documentaries like Our Brand is Crisis and Leasing the Rain have illustrated Cochabamba's lack of water and the government's attempt to privatize water. And water continues to be the city's greatest challenge. The city's lake, the city's river, are nearly running on empty. In the southern part of the city water is shut off without notice and many poor people must make due with buckets of tepid water (if they're lucky to have them).

On Friday I had the great opportunity to visit two organizations in Cochabamba. First, I met with Julio and several others from CONSES. CONSES constructs ecologically sanitary toilets. According to CONSES nearly 50% of Cochabambinos do not have access to the city's water and 40% does not have access to sanitation services. To combat this problem CONSES's civil engineers developed a toilet that does not require water. The toilet's require no water and convert waste to fertilizer. Many children face extraordinarily risks to their health and physical safety as they have to travel several hundred feet to outdoor, public latrines. Julio and his team are looking to build more toilets and bring them to those in need in the most impoverished barrios of Cochabamba. Take a look at CONSES website for more info as well as the video below for more info. Spread the word ...

The eco-friendly latrine 

Feces is treated with lime to kill the odor - you really can't smell anything

The solar even (seen here on the right) is used to heat up and kill pathogens

A close-up of the oven and the poop bucket inside.

Make Shit Better - how eco toilets can revolutionize a neighborhood

Later on in the afternoon I met with Gaia Pacha's Executive Director Rodrigo Solaria. It's difficult to know where to start when talking about Gaia Pacha. The educational foundation works on so many levels. Gaia Pacha advocates for change through the power of education on the primary, secondary, and university level. Rodrigo and his dedicated staff both in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz (Bolivia's biggest city, which is located in the Amazon region) gives young people the agency to take on issues such as: global climate change research, climate change education/activism, the trafficking of exotic animals, urban forests, and so much more. I spent a couple of hours with Rodrigo and walked away completely impressed by the breadth of Gaia Pacha's work. Next year we'll be collaborating with Rodrigo and his team by sharing podcasts and class projects related to environmental justice, climate change, and sustainable development.  

PC with Rodrigo outside of Gaia Pacha's office

A video on Gaia Pacha's work on climate change as an environmental justice issue. 

Cochabamba is a beautiful city.  It has a lot of NGOs based within in it, which creates a really vibrant climate for ideas. You can also find the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world (El Cristo del Concordia) and South America's largest open air market called La Cancha.

Outside the beautiful Palacio Portales in Cochabamba

A peak inside the Palacio Portales

Look familiar? An illustration from an art gallery in Cochabamba

Cochabamba at sunset 

It's hard to believe that I am nearing the end of my trip in South America. There will be one more wrap up post. Until then, nos vemos.

PC

Lake Titicaca

Days 15-16

Cocacabana and Isla del Sol - Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

We visited beautiful Lake Titicaca for 2 days. It was too quick. I wish we had stayed longer on this beautiful island. It was a quick stay. I wish we had stayed longer.

From an ecological perspective, there isn't a lot of flora or fauna in or around the lake. Lake trout was introduced to the lake by Canadian fishermen a few decades ago. As an invasive species, it has driven many of the smaller, less aggressive local fish to near extinction. Some other bad news is effluent being piped into the lake from Puno, Peru (Peru's largest town on the lake) and from El Alto, Bolivia. But, the good news is, both governments are working hard to clean up the lake. Native grasses that absorb the sewage are being planted near the effluent pipes. Navigation permits are limited. The lake looks clean. See for yourself. The rest of this post is in pictures ...

PC and KD after a long hike across Isla del Sol to its highest point

The sun setting on Isla del Sol

More sunset action 

The sunrise on Isla del Sol

More sunrise action - different vantage point

Some flowers outside of our hotel on Isla del Sol

Neighboring Isla de la Luna from our hotel 

A narrow exit 

PC and KD on their way to Copacabana

La Paz City Tour

Day 14
July 19, 2016
La Paz City Tour

La Paz is an interesting place. Based on a recommendation, we took a city tour. Our guide knew a lot about La Paz's underlying geology and riverine system.

Three underground rivers run underneath the city. The waterways, in some places, are only 5 to 10 meters from the surface. The underlying bedrock of La Paz is sand, clay, and siltstone. Some residents take advantage of this and pump water directly from the underground rivers into their homes.

A view of La Paz from El Alto

It is not very stable. In some areas, where the high rises are located, granite underlies the city and makes it stable. Fortunate for the people of La Paz the shield and composite volcanoes that surround the city are in hibernation. In addition, the faults near the city do not act up often - though there was a quake in 1994 200 miles from the north side of La Paz - the quake happened along a very deep fault (Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/EO076i002p00009-02/abstract).


The guide told us that the government has recognized that increased population and traffic is leading to increased pollution in La Paz (which is in a valley flanked by mountain barriers). In response, the government is planting trees along the foothills of mountains). There is a cable car system called the Teleferico hovers above the city, which is solar powered and incredibly quiet.

An extinct train - near Bolivia's famed salt flats called Uyuni there is a whole train cemetery (in an economic downturn the government shutdown all of Bolivia's passenger trains - they are still shutdown)

The Teleferico's solar panels

The Telerferico cable car in action

We visited Valle de la Luna or Valley of the Moon, which is a series of sandstone structures that rise from the Earth like some lunar landscape. The rainy season destroys the vertical spires of moon valley. The three underground rivers converge at the Valley of the Moon. In some places the rivers come very close to the surface and results in sinkholes (in some areas the waters allow for plants to grow). Also, the world's highest golf course is located near the Valley of the Moon. There are also several large houses. Our guide says that the government has been trying for years to move these houses.

The Valley of the Moon and its spires

KD and PC at the Valley of the Moon

Check the sediment - sand, silt and pebbles are visible. 

We also visited very arid and fast growing El Alto, which is now Bolivia's 2nd largest city and growing fast. We checked out the sprawling food market and the infamous witches market where you can do all sorts of magical things.

Two of the 400 varieties of potatoes found in Bolvia

PC and our guide on the arid slopes of El Alto city

Look out for another post tomorrow. I'll shout out two great organizations that I visited yesterday.

Best,
PC

La Paz and Huanya Potosi Mountain Trek

Days 11-14
July 16-18
La Paz and Huanya Potosi Mountain Trek

The day after we arrived to La Paz we woke up early - very early - and met our guide for the 3-day Huanya Potosi trek.

Image from http://www.boliviaclimbinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/North-side-of-Huayna-Potosi-Routes-1024x527.jpg

Our guide looked over our gear and gave us some tall, heavy boots for trekking. There are few photos for this blogpost because (a) it was very cold (b) we were being taught how to climb a glacier. We had to learn how to look out for potential crevices, breaks in the ice, and how to properly use crampons.

The mountain and where glacial ice used to be

Our guide is freezing, but having fun 

Google satellite image of the Zongo valley glacier's retreat on Huanya Potosi Mountain. Source of image: https://glacierchange.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/zongo-laguna.jpg 

All that being said, our guide explained just how much ice the glacier has lost. He didn't know the exact figures, but he has been guiding treks for close to ten years and has watched the smaller glaciers simply disappear. According to reports, "Since 1991 the [Zongo] glacier [on Huanaya Potosi] has lost more than 5 m of thickness and has retreated significantly," (Retrieved from: https://glacierchange.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/zongo-glacier-retreat/).

The water flowing into the Zongo Hydroelectric Power Plant near La Paz is running out (Retrieved from: http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/the-cia-boliviana-de-energia-eleca-sa-zongo-hydroelectric-plant-picture-id97020333) 

Water levels in the reservoir at the Zongo Hydroelectric Plant are extremely low - this is La Paz's drinking water supply (Retrieved from: http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/water-levels-remain-low-at-the-milluni-zongo-reservoir-which-is-fed-picture-id97020540) 

This is a troubling sign for many of the large Andean cities (Bogota, Quito, Lima, and La Paz) that depend on runoff from glaciers for their drinking water. In Bolivia, La Paz's sister city, El Alto, is the country's fastest growing city. It's population is estimated to be nearly a million (850,00) and all it's residents depend on the glaciers of nearby mountains like Huanya Potosi for their drinking water. If these glaciers are lost, there will be no water. Already, tens of thousands of residents lack access to drinking water or any kind of sanitation system (Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21977447/ns/us_news-environment/t/glaciers-shrink-andes-cities-run-out-water/).  And if you think that's it for problems, unfortunately there are many more. The rivers that run through and El Alto are drying up and essentially act as the sewage system for residents without running water. And, Bolivia has proposed several hydroelectric dam projects. Captain obvious would like to point out that you need water to have a hydroelectric dam and that the water is running out.

Small countries like Bolivia generate a mere fraction (less than one percent) of the world's global carbon. China and the US are the primary contributors. Yet, it's the poorest nations that have to pay the ultimate price. We need our elected officials to take action. Fast.

Best,
PC

The Salkantay Trek - Machu Picchu

Day 9
July 14, 2016
Machu Picchu

Word can't describe Machu Picchu. I'll let the pictures make an attempt ... a llama will show you the way ...

The Salkantay Trek - The Shortest Day

Day 8
July 13, 2016
Aguas Calientes or Machu Picchu Pueblo

Final day of hiking. But first, a cab ride to the trail.

A curvy road along the Ullantambo River.

It's a long way down - drivers in Peru don't seem worried 

KD holds onto my hand tightly as the cab beeps, minibuses careen toward us, and the driver, unmoved, takes hairpin turns at high speeds. There are no guard rails to be found and the drop off is several hundred feet.

Finally we reach the trailhead. We sign in with a Peruvian ranger in a massive sign-in book that looks out of the Lord of the Rings.

Our trail for the day starts along the rail tracks. Litter covers nearly each segment of rail and timber cross tie. A sign of things to come.

The tracks where only the shade can hide much of the waste 

Julio and Valentino have to wait for 6 hours for a train to take them and the trek gear into Aguas Calientes. And we complain about MBTA or MTA train times. Only 2 trains pass through this station each day.

Bags of trash line the walk to Aguas Calientes. Nearly 90% of the waste, according to our guide, is plastic drinking water bottles bought and brought to Machu Picchu by tourists.

Waste off to the side of the train tracks

We pass a lot of Argentinean and Chilean tourists. They refuse to move or acknowledge the existence of anyone else along the track. According to our guide, much of the waste on the ground can be attributed to these tourists in particular.

Thanks Argentinians - just because your best player is named Messi, doesn't mean you have to be

Machu Picchu reveals itself - it sits like a resting Incan ruler on a green ridge. Machu Picchu mountain serves as the crown.

We learn that the man who discovered Machu Picchu did so by accident. His name is Melchor Arteaga. All history books or National Geographic specials give the honor of discovering Machu Picchu to Hiram Bingham, an American explorer and politician. Melchor, who led Bingham to the site, had been preparing his crops for harvest. Using a traditional slash and burn technique, he set his previous year's crop on fire. But, he made one major miscalculation. It was a windy day. The fire he lit spread quickly until it burned nearly one entire side of Machu Picchu Mountain. When the ashes settled, he saw a series of Incan stone terraces. For one Peruvian Sole (or 31 cents) Melchor guided Bingham to the site. Now, all that's left to honor Melchor is a faded sign next to what had been his house by train tracks made invisible by trash.

The true discoverer of Machu Picchu 

Entering Aguas Calientes, we are greeted by bags of trash. Bags of bottles stacked approximately twenty feet high and 100 feet across. Trash is only picked up Wednesdays and Sundays. Like the Spanish colonists who looted the Inca for their gold, the Peruvian government and the Chilean owned tourist bus and train companies do nothing to tackle Machu Picchu's major ecological issue: waste. It's a problem we share in the US where we consume "50 billion plastic drinking water bottles per year" and we only recycle 23%, leaving 38 billion plastic bottles in our landfills (for more info check out this site: https://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/).

KD stands in front of a big building full of plastic bottles

A shredded message of hope to protect our natural environment

Cute frogs, but their bellies are empty of waste

Well, tomorrow is another day. We see majestic Machu Picchu at 4am.

Best,
PC