Bolivian Book Exchange

Bolivia is a rather poor country. You can see it in the streets and on the price tags. But why is the country so poor if minerally-speaking, it's one of the richest countries in the world, nearly on par with the likes of South Africa and Australia.  And this is after the Spaniards raped the country of gold and silver for 200 years.

Frenchies hiking in Bolivia

You can't blame the dictators, entirely.  Everyone had 'em in Latin America. In spades.

Lack of tourism it ain't.  We saw enough of the French in Bolivia to wonder if there were any French left in France. And if more people knew about the natural beauty of Bolivia, they'd stop what they were doing to come here, too.

Copacabana

I did see one clear clue early into our Bolivian trip.  After finishing Watership Down, I was hoping to exchange it for another, slightly lighter book.  I was told that the national telecom company, Entel I believe it's called, had a book exchange in its office in Copacabana, on the banks of Lake Titicaca.

We entered. Not a book in sight.

-"Excuse me, señora, I'm looking for a book exchange, and I heard there was one here. Do you know if it moved or if there's another one ?"

-"What for ?"

-"Uhhh, well, I just finished this book," and I showed her the rabbit on the cover, "and I'd like to trade it for another."

-"To do what with it ?"

Wow, I had to resist the urge to give her a sarcastic or condescending reply. It would have been lost on her.

-"Actually, I want to read another book."

-"No, you can't do that here."

So I slunk away, a little saddened, as the señora returned to her business of texting someone. But in the end, I could only blame myself. The reason I ventured into Entel was because my guidebook informed me so. That's right, a book. What do I need that for ?