Adventures in Bolivia

Adventures in Bolivia!

You have been given the mission of a lifetime as you are getting ready to go on a virtual reality trip to Bolivia. A Victoria based organisation called “World Fisheries Trust” (WFT) is asking you to investigate the state of fisheries and aquacultures in Bolivia and to make some recommendations. You will have to find out about the challenges and problems faced by a fishing community. This might be a town on the famous Lake Titicaca, or on the shores of the BeniRiver in the Amazon forest region of Bolivia. Upon your return to Canada, you will write up a proposal to help secure funding for a project that would benefit one of those communities. WFT will be the NGO (non-governmental agency) responsible for the project and the application for funding will be made to CIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency, which is part of the Canadian federal government.

Before you embark on your mission and virtually fly to Bolivia, you need to prepare yourself. Here is a list to help you with your planning.

How much money will you need? You will have to submit a proposed budget to WFT.
Find out about flights to La Paz where you will be flying to. Consult some websites to inquire about flights and prices.
Money: find out about the Bolivian currency and its worth compared to the Canadian dollar. How much money should you be carrying with you? Are traveller’s cheques a good idea? Using an ATM? Carrying American dollars, which is the main world currency? Getting a good money belt would be a good idea in order to keep more safely your money and your travelling documents.
Health issues: find out about vaccination requirements and malaria protection; prevention of illnesses such as food poisoning anddiarrhoea; learn about altitude sickness as you will be landing at the highest airport in the world at more than 4,000 metres in altitude where the atmosphere is thinner. With less oxygen in the air, how can you acclimatize to being at such high altitude?
You will need a passport: what do you have to do to get one?
Find out if Boliviarequires you to get a travel visa. How long would you be allowed to stay there?
The main language spoken in Bolivia is Spanish. Try to learn a few words as people would appreciate your efforts to speak their language. The people of Bolivia mainly belong to many different indigenous groups, whichis quite unique in the world. Try to learn a few words from the languages of the two main nations, the Aymara and the Quechua. Most people speak Spanish, too, and if you are not fluent in Spanish you should think about the cost of hiring a local translator with your budget.
Find out about the climate and the local temperature at the time of your travel. What kind of clothes will you need? Getting a good and sturdy backpack would be a smart way to travel!
Find out about the typical food. Is it something you will be able to eat?
Acquire a basic knowledge of the history and geography of Bolivia. Familiarise yourself with fishing techniques used in that country and where the main fishing communities are located.
Once in the field, you will need instruments to record your work such as notebooks, camera and video camera. Do you have those already or do you need to purchase or borrow them? You might be able to borrow some equipement from WFT and from your school.
Anything else that should be added to the list?

Once you are in Bolivia, you will have to send regular reports back to Canada, to your family and to the director of WFT, the world famous ichthyologist, Dr.Joachim Carolsfeld The reporting will be done in two different ways:

You will design a series of postcards. You will do the artwork on one side, based on what you have seen and write your impressions on the other side.

You will keep a travel blog.

We hope you will have a great time with your simulated trip to Bolivia and that you will learn a great deal about that country. It is a unique opportunity to become aware of how other people live, in particular those who are struggling because they are poor and don’t have access to all the things we take for granted here in Canada. Happy travelling!