Bolivia and Northern Chile

Karl first visited Bolivia in 1995 on the first of two mountaineering expeditions to the Cordillera Real. In many ways, Bolivia hadn’t changed much since then. The vast majority of its population is still indigenous and poor. But when we crossed from Peru into Bolivia in late September, we realized that Bolivia was different from the country that he had visited 25 years before. For the last 14 years, Bolivia had experienced economic and political stability and relatively low inflation under the leadership of Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president. Gone were the days of nightly curfews in La Paz and regular blockades on roads throughout Bolivia. Or so we thought.