Sorata

We spent the weekend in a small pueblo locked away in the mountains, four hours outside of La Paz. Sorata is an incredible quiet town with limited TV access (thankfully, after I spent a frustrating afternoon without cable, the local channels replayed a recorded version of the US-England game later that night). The main attraction of Sorata are the Gruta San Pedro caves, naturally dug holes in the rocky mountain face. Down under, the open caverns echo the screeches of bats and ripples of water. Many signs litter the entrance to ease tensions, stating the bats do not eat blood, only nectar (though I strangely didn't see any flowers around the dry outer landscape or inside the desolate caves).

At the bottom of the large, empty cavern, lit by a dim string of lanterns, lies a small lagoon, something right out of Pirates of the Caribbean. It is the type of place that, if located a little close to an ocean, I would have expected to find hidden treasure. As we took a paddle boat across the cool, crystal clear water, we kept our eyes open for any glittering gold coins at the bottom of the shallow pool.

(With the lighting it was hard to get a good shot, but I hope this gives you the idea.)

Although it was no Swan Boat in the Commons, floating along a hidden lagoon buried in an underground cave was quite surreal. I'm amazed that even after settling down as a working man, I can still manage to explore the natural wonders of Bolivia.

UPDATE: This week I started work in La Paz. I'm working on a project to install telecommunications infrastructure across the country. We hope to bring cellphone access to even the most remote corners of the old Incan Empire: the Amazon jungle, Andean mountain peaks, Atacama and salt flat deserts.

Sorata