In Exchange For A Ham Sandwich…
26 November 2005 (Saturday) – Sucre, Bolivia
Not only I got my bus ticket changed, the lady at the bus company persuaded me to buy another ticket to Tarabuco tomorrow. Well, Tarabuco, which is the town with the exquisite weavings that I had been so fascinated with at the museum, has a Sunday market where the locals go, decked out in all their traditional wear. It would be interesting, I supposed. And since I am now leaving on Sunday, alright, I bought the ticket.
The Presidential Election of Bolivia is coming soon, mid-next month, I think. And all over Bolivia, you can see campaign posters, campaign parades, etc… Considering they had gotten rid of one president after another (nearly one each year) for a while now, whenever I asked the locals about this, I received only tepid cynical replies.
There was such a campaign parade today, with huge posters, a few cars with loudspeakers, lots of people walking down various streets, carrying flags and banners. I stopped to let the group pass me and had a good look at the people. Gosh, while some were decked out in synchronised colours, shouting slogans enthusiastically, the rest were campesinos, hardly murmuring the slogans, walking around with the flags, looking slightly bewildered even. Hmmm… these were really poor campesinos, in tattered clothes and shoes.
Later, as fate would have it, I passed by them again. This time, they had stopped on one street and some guy was giving a speech, to yelps of hoorahs and applauses ‘for a better tomorrow’. Meanwhile, I spied a queue of campesinos, a queue so tight, I could hardly get across. Oh, the campaign people were distributing ham sandwiches for lunch.
Ah… of course, one morning of flag carrying… in exchange for a ham sandwich for lunch. These were poor, hungry campesinos. Of course, they would carry the flags.
After lunch back at home, I was happy to sit in Wolfgang’s garden and continue to read my ‘Eva Luna’. Wolfgang asked me what I intended to do today. Nothing. He decided to take me out for a spin around the countryside. Why? To collect cow dung to help fertilise his beloved garden.
We drove just a few kilometres out of Sucre. Wow, here the gentle rolling slopes of the surrounding mountains were already captivating. Finally, he found a good spot with lots of cow dung and so, I spent a queer 20 minutes or so, surreally but happily picking up cow dung. Oooo… sometimes, I made a mistake and reached for one that was still semi-humid. Not nice.
Wolfgang is amazing. His eyes were drawn to the smallest flowers here on this desert land. He was continually fascinated by cacti, flowers, little herbs along the rocky paths. I really learnt to open my eyes wider to see such beauty, so many lives in such a harsh place.
Tags: 09) Bolivian Rhapsody, Sucre
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