[Above: A llama-crossing sign along the Bolivian highway.]

Journal by Justin Mounts

One thing I’ve learned on this expedition is that I wish I had studied Spanish in high school.

Seriously.

Each day on the expedition, I’m given an opportunity to practice my Spanish-speaking skills. Now, these opportunities often come with a great of pain inflicted on the ears of whomever I am speaking to and it usually involves a considerable investment of their time to figure out what I am talking about. Regardless, most of the time communication does occur. Let’s review how far I’ve come with my Spanish skills on the expedition.

When we left, I knew enough Spanish to say hello, goodbye, how are you, and where’s the bathroom. I could also order a drink and say things that would most likely get me involved in a fight or make my mother blush. So, suffice to say my knowledge of the Spanish language was roughly equivalent to a high school freshman.

Now, however, I can order food, get set up at an internet café, shop and bargain almost like a pro, and carry on a relatively civil conversation with someone I meet on the street. Not too bad. Plus, I can still stay hello, goodbye, how are you, where’s the bathroom, and all that other stuff that still has my mother blushing. One of the problems I run into now is that the little bit of Spanish that I do know, I can now deliver with such confidence, I frequently trick people into thinking I know a heck of a lot more Spanish than I do know. Which is fun, and often leads to a learning experience for me. But the other problem I run into is that often times I will deliver the entire 20-30 minutes of Spanish I know in about 2 minutes. The conversation goes like this:

Me: “Buenos! Como estas?”

Them: “Bien, gracias. Que paiz?”

Me: “Los Estados Unidos. Mi en es groupo manahara todo del mundo….blablablabla blablablablablablablablablablablablablabla volunterio lablablablablablablablalbablabla blablab dinero lablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablabla se llama Parkinson’s blablablablablablablablablablab El Papa y Mohammad Ali lablabl abla lbablablabla cinco dias lablablablablablablablablablablab lablablablabl ablab labl ablablablablablablbalablbabl Si! M me gusta Sur America blablablablablabl ablabla

Them: Ay! (Insert incredibly complex conversation-piece in Spanish here at a pace so fast that even native Spanish speakers couldn’t understand what they were saying).

Me: Uh….Lo siento. Una veces mas, por favor. Me habla poco espaniol.

(Repeat the same exchange with no further success)

Them: Ay, bien. (Then they stand there nodding for a second pondering what to do next, then…) Ciao!

So, you can see how premature delivery of my Spanish vocabulary can lead to a shortened conversation and quite honestly an unsatisfactory encounter with a local from the country I’m in. Not to mention it leaves me feeling very frustrated because quite honestly, I should know more Spanish than this. Don’t get me wrong, my guerilla, phrase-book tactics for learning Spanish are quite respected among my team members. In fact, I’ve been told that I’m fearless and that my Spanish has improved the most of anyone so far. That’s quite a complement in my eyes, but I don’t want to kid you. I am still barely a half-step above caveman Spanish.

This week, I had a great opportunity to practice in the company of a new friend. Our 5th Take Me With You! guest, Mairo Moya was very friendly and helpful when it came to practicing my Spanish. It also helped that he was bilingual, so anytime I couldn’t continue in Spanish, I could talk to him in English. As a native Peruvian, Mairo is very proud of the Incan traditions, and we spent a great deal of time not only talking about Peruvian history, but we also talked about different goals and aspirations. Mairo is a 28-year-old tour guide for Isla de los Uros, the famous reed island communities of Lake Titikaka (always with a “k”, never with a “c” he insists). However, he is also in the process of building a new house for his family (first son is due in about 2 weeks) and in the process of trying to start a charitable organization that will provide alternative housing for orphans in local communities.

Mairo met us at 6:30 am for our departure for La Paz, Bolivia. Given the supposed risk of riots in Bolivia during our stay there, we both agreed having him along as a cultural expert could benefit us. The drive to La Paz was relatively uneventful, however I had my head buried in my laptop most of the day preparing information for an article that will run in the Feburary 8th edition of the Orlando Sentinel. I did look up long enough to see the sparkling blue waters of Lake Titikaka before we crossed into Bolivia. It was absolutely breathtaking. Several miles in the distance, a small range of mountains skirted the edge of the water, gently reflecting their beauty off the water as if it was just for us to see. Immediately in our front was a cliff that dropped off about 300 feet to the water’s edge. A few dozen meters out into the water you could make out the silhouettes of 6 different fishing nets and cages, clearly set up to pull in the freshest fish and shell fish to be taken to a nearby market.

We continued into Desaguadero, a bustling little border town on the very southernmost point of the lake. We were pleasantly surprised when it only took us about an hour and a half to complete the full process of exiting Peru, canceling the temporary import paperwork for each vehicle, then registering our Land Rovers for driving in Bolivia, and completing the individual paperwork necessary. We were very lucky, and the border personnel were very friendly. Although they yelled at me as someone was filming me standing in line to have my passport stamp, when I returned to the cars to work security detail, one of the other officers called me over and we had a good conversation in Spanish.

But the best part of my conversation with the border guard was that it lasted more than 5 minutes.

Logbook for January 17th, Day 78
Start: Puno, Peru
N: 15* 50.480'
W: 70* 01.706'
Finish: La Paz, Bolivia
N: 16* 30.162'
W: 68* 08.133'
Mileage: 153
Notes: We departed Puno at around 9 in the morning to head to the Bolivian border. With us is Puno resident and native, Mairo. He was our tour guide during our visit to Uros, and he came with us to find the latitude/longitude intersection last night. He had so much fun, and we had so much fun with him, that he agreed to join us for the drive to La Paz in Bolivia. The border crossing from Peru into Bolivia was less than an hour-and-a-half, and it was the easiest yet. No car search, no VIN verification. Bolivia is pretty laid-back. We arrived at the border at noon, left at about 1:30, and arrived in La Paz at about 4 p.m. A wonderful local woman named Catalina helped us find a nice hotel with good parking, and we settled in. Catalina had studied for two years in the U.S., and she easily recognized gringos in need of assistance. Driving in this city is NUTS! Tomorrow, more fun in Bolivia.(N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.