I must confess that when ATA board member Jennifer Moore casually mentioned over breakfast in her Santa Fe kitchen that Andean Textile Arts was planning a textile trip to Bolivia, I first finished my cup of coffee before I shouted “I’m in!” I didn’t need to read the itinerary. I knew instantly that this trip had my name on it. In 1988, my husband Kirby and I spent a year in the Beni region of Bolivia’s Amazon basin working on an environmental project with Conservation International and the Bolivian Academy of Science. It was a challenging but very magical year for both of us, and I always knew that one day I would return.
ATA’s presentation of people and culture, architecture and textiles, history and politics, and the natural wonders of Bolivia was carefully and impeccably curated. Our tour group was small, of varied and eclectic backgrounds, but instantly intimate and cohesive. Our daily itinerary was also eclectic, providing a hands-on and very personal experience with textile makers and their communities in the remote highlands as well as the deep lowlands. We crisscrossed the country by bus, van, and plane and our smart, oh-so interesting, and delightful guides made the distances seem short and fascinating. The food was delicious, graciously accommodating me, a life-long vegetarian, no matter how remote the location. Our hotels were lovely, and the balance between free-time and tour activities was excellent and very, very fun.
My trip highlights:
- The Great Salt Flats of Uyuni blew us all away. Our two days there were unrepeatable and frankly defy description.
- The intimate time spent with deeply accomplished artisans was instructive, humbling, and very inspiring. And the cloth . . . !
- Travel through the Andes was breathtaking. It never disappoints.
- On a personal level, our guides kindly and generously bent over backwards, without a moment’s hesitation, to get me where I intuitively needed to go on one of our free days.
- Thanks to the very fun birders on the trip, we all added some new and exotic species to our life lists.