a tale of two airports

“Amiga, do you want Machu Picchu?”
“Would you like a tour?”
“Seniorita, what are you looking for?”

“El baño.”

I walked out of customs in Cusco and into a virtual shopping mall of tour agencies. Each of them with large color posters advertising Inca sites or “cultural” offerings. I didn’t pause long enough to inspect them, and only after getting in a taxi did it occur to me I should have taken a photo (the one below is from another travel blog). But it was striking, especially, because it provided such a contrast with what I had seen at the La Paz/El Alto airport just an hour earlier (and as a side note, it was one of those amazing flights that left at 9:15 am and arrived at 9:05 am).

In trying to edit an article (which I’m beginning to think I can’t ethically write anyway), I’ve tried to compare tourism in Bolivia and Perú. However, I was last in Perú in 2006, and then only in Lima. But after having been in Cusco a mere 10 hours, I am amazed by the way tourism has inundated this city. I have no doubt this is not a recent phenomenon, though I haven’t looked into the history. I’m sure Annelou Yepij would know. In any event, the phenomenon is understandable. Cusco is situated with excellent proximity to several amazing Incan and pre-Incan sites. The city itself is a relic of an Incan history (and now I’m unfortunately starting to sound like National Geographic). La Paz, in contrast, boasts "death road” and “cholita wrestling.” Its close to Tiwanaku, but that doesn’t have quite the draw of the Picchu. 

And possibly, this is why I feel like I’m on vacation. Flying felt like a luxury this morning, especially since it wasn’t technically necessary. I bought the flight two weeks ago when the border between Perú and Bolivia was full of blockades on the Peruvian side. Essentially a Canadian mining company wants to start work on a site near Lake Titicaca and the local people are protesting because the Peruvian government won’t put a stop to it. For the last 2 months, periodically, the people have been blockading the border, even threatening to throw dynamite on any boat that tries to cross the lake into Puno. And so, having people to meet in Cusco, and a somewhat tight timeframe, I didn’t want to take any chances, and coughed up the $160 (plus $25 airport tax) and bought a flight. Hopefully, when I try to get back to La Paz next week the border will be open to busses and I won’t have to buy a return ticket. 

But this is not anything terribly new for the Andes. Protest seems to pervade everyday life. As Antonio once said “This is La Paz. There is always protest.” It’s something the more elite classes declare matter-of-factly, and the working class people who more often participate in protest proclaim with pride. Even the official slogan of the 200 year anniversary of the revolution (not liberation) claimed “Somos un fuego que no se apaga.”

And thus, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I arrived at the La Paz airport this morning and found it covered in protest posters. Many contained slogans of the huelga. Others provided reasoning: comparisons of salaries of government workers in different sectors, and demonstrations of the exploitation of miners, health workers, and teachers. There was even a mannequin with a characture face that I think is Goni, but if anyone has another thought, please let me know.  

And that for me, in many ways demonstrates a difference between the two countries. I in no way want to claim that Bolivians take protest more seriously than Peruvians. Obviously, protest all over the Andes is very committed and aggressive. But I think on a governmental level, while Perú encourages tourism and gains a great amount of income from its “national treasures,” the GOB has imposed visa requirements—I believe in protest of US and European visa requirements for Bolivian citizens—that tend to limit tourism rather than encourage it. And to a large extent, I very much agree with Evo’s de-neoliberalization strategies, as well as understanding the need for visa equity. And I am certainly not one to argue that tourism is necessarily a good thing that should be encouraged.

Or maybe it’s really just that I like keeping Bolivia a little off the beaten (Gringo Trail) path.