I had never heard of Oruro or its Carnaval before arriving in Bolivia. But I heard so much about it in the month building up to it, including the fact that Lonely Planet ranks the carnaval in Oruro to be up there with the one in Rio as a South America highlight, that I decided to spend my last couple of days in Bolivia experiencing it for myself. And what an experience!
The city, which was dead when we spent New Years here, was totally transformed into one huge party. On the Firday night we danced into the early hours in the central plaza which was the scene of a battle of the bands. Multiple bands were set up on nearby stages, and they played loads of Bolivian and South American anthems which the crowd were loving. The Americans I was with were shocked by the lack of health and safety when a huge fireworks display was set off from right in the middle of the crowd.When we returned to the house where we were staying I found some space on the floor and fell fast asleep. Given that during Carnaval tens of thousands of people descend on this usually sleepy town, accommodation is in very short supply. So I slept on the floor of a room with eight other people in a house that held about 100 people that weekend.
Up at 8am on Saturday to watch the parade, which had already started a few hours earlier. This parade would put the best St. Patrick´s Day parade to shame. It consisted of thousands of fabulously-costumed dancers and it went on continously (literally non-stop) for the entire time I was in Oruro, i.e. all day Saturday and Sunday.
When gaps developed between dancing groups, the spectators on the two sides of the street attacked each other with water balloons and spray cans of foam. This fun battle lasted all day, so at all times there was the potential threat of being soaked or covered in foam or both.
What a way to finish off my two months in Bolivia. Next stop: Argentina.
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