diario sudamericano

Prowincja Santa Cruz to nasz pierwszy przystanek w Boliwii.
To obecnie najwieksza, najzielensza i najbogatsza czesc tego najbiedniejszego poludniowoamerykanskiego kraju. SC walczy teraz o oderwanie sie od Boliwii i wlasnie kiedy tam bylismy, 4ego maja, Cruseños zaglosowali w referendum za wprowadzeniem autonomii.
Nic dziwnego, bogatsi nigdy nie lubili sie dzielic.
Ten rejon jest rowniez znany z innego powodu. To utaj w malej wsi La Higuera w Vallegrande, 9 pazdziernika 1967, El Che zostal zlapany przez boliwijska armie i agentow CIA i rozstrzelany.
Teraz, oczywiscie go tu czcza.

Santa Cruz province was our first stop in Bolivia. It's the biggest, greenest and richest part of this poorest SA country. It also fight to separate and on the Sunday the 4th of May,when we where there, Cruseños voted YES for the autonomy in referendum.
It's no surprise, rich people don't like to share.
It's also known that in this area in little village La Higuera in Vallegrande, on October 9, 1967 El "Che" was captured by Bolivian army and CIA agents and executed.
Now, obviously he's worshipped here.




Z Santa Cruz, aby zaoszczedzic czas ( 35 min zamiast 16 godzin w autobusie) i nasze tylki, polecielismy do Sucre i Potosi. I tam, o zachodzie slonca po raz pierwszy zobaczylam Altiplano - ogromny plaskowyz boliwijski rozciagajacy sie na sredniej wysokosci 4000mnpm.
Gdzies po godzienie TO poczulam. Jak koszmarny kac. Czolgalam sie wzdluz ulic walczac o kazdy oddech i marzac zeby ktos mnie zastrzelil. Ale jeden dzien i kilka herbatek z lisci koki pozniej czulam sie jak nowo narodzona.
W herbie mista Potosi widnieje napis: " Ja jestem bogate Potosi, skarb swiata; krol gor i obiekt zawisci krolow..."
Ponad miastem goruje Cerro Rico, z ktorego ogromnym ludzkim kosztem, wydobywane bylo srebro. Podczas ponad 400 lat w kopalniach Cerro Rico, zginelo okolo 8 mln indianskich i czarnych niewolnikow, przeksztalcajac Potosi w najwieksze i najbogatsze w swoim czasie misto obu Ameryk.
Swiadek dawnej swietnosci stoi wciaz w centrum miasta: ogromna mennica w ktorej srebro bylo przekuwane na monety dla korony hiszpanskiej.

From SC, to save our time (35min instead 16 hours in a bus!) and our asses, we took the plane to Sucre and Potosi.
At the sunset I saw Altiplano - a huge plateau at an avarage altitude 4000m. After two hours I felt IT-it was like a hangover. I crawled along the streets, fighting for each breath, asking for someone to shoot me.
One day and a couple cups of coca mate later I was fixed.
The official shield of the Potosi carries the words, "I am rich Potosi, the treasure of the world; the king of mountains, the envy of kings..." Towering over the city is Cerro Rico from which silver was extracted, at an unimaginable human cost. During its 400-plus years of silver mining, devoured 8 mln of indigenous and black slaves as well as turning Potosi into the largest and wealthiest city in Americas. The witness of those days still can be seen in the centre of the city: massive mint where silver was melted into coins for the Spanish Crown.