Bolivia celebrates Carnival the week before Lent every year and it is a huge, splashy affair. Thousands of people go to Oruro, a 3.5 hr bus ride south of La Paz, every year to see the majority of the parades and dancing. The carnival festivities represent the combining of Christian and Andean beliefs and much of the activities supposedly show thanks to Pachamama, or mother earth. However, people drink liters of beer and it gets crazy down there so I thought I’d stay and enjoy the festivities in La Paz.
Which meant that I got bombarded with water balloons, super soakers, and soap spray cans! Back in the day, people poured the inside of raw eggs out and replaced them with water to throw at others in celebration of Carnival. Now, they (mostly kids) use water balloons, and they are RUTHLESS! All I wanted to do was watch the parade – I wore a long poncho, thinking I’d have nothing to worry about. Nope, these kids deliberately went up and sprayed soap foam in my FACE probably 5 times. I cinched my poncho hat so it completely covered my face, only to be dumped with water from a bucket unleashed from a balcony above me. Hundreds of kids crowded the street in ponchos running after each other with water guns, soap sprays, water balloons, and other arsenal – sometimes in groups chasing down others – it was chaos!
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