Suprising thoughts about Bolivia

After leaving Bolivia and feeling a little sad to leave such a lovely country, here are some thoughts that suprised us about a country which we´d had such bad reports about:

1. Everybody said that the toilets would be awful and they weren´t. Lots of loo roll, clean and plenty of them - although you had to pay to use them, they were much better then the public loos in the UK.
2. Everyone we met said that Bolivia was really dangerous with frequent robberies, especially bag slashing. We actually felt really safe in Bolivia. The people were quite timid, but always really lovely. The only scam we came across was gringo prices and the odd short-change tactic by street vendors.
3. There is more black market activity then official business in Bolivia. The street kiosks, market stalls and street vendors all make up this section of the economy. They´re everywhere, they don´t pay tax and we were told they make more money then middle class professionals who tend to have high rents and taxes for their businesses. Recently, the Bolivians elected their first indigenous president, who previous to this role, had worked in the black market.
4. The diversity of landscapes in Bolivia is amazing. From volcanos to salt plains and cities at high altitudes to steamy jungle towns and villages - there are so many different landscapes, each incredible.
5. Almost all the women in Bolivia dress in the traditional dress with knee length skirts and hundreds of petticoats, shawls to keep warm and bowler hats. It´s hard to find a woman in non-traditional dress.
6. Finally, high altitude seems to affect the liquidity of deodorant making it difficult for the liquid to come out. That is, if the rollerball hasn´t already popped out!