Coffee, Coca & Thee - Los Yungas, Bolivia

Under a tin-roof in the Yungas cloud forest, I bought a round of cold beer. We sat, just me, a few farmers and their wives sipping & chatting on an afternoon of oppressive heat. Coca leaves were placed on the table for sharing; leaves that had been grown just up the dirt road. The chatter was predictably about banana, citrus and coffee, the principal crops of this subtropical zone. With a roll of the eyes, there was resigned commentary on the international report that coffee prices have hit a 14-year high. Looking around this little village and at the people who work the coffee plants, you might wonder where all the money is. For these small-scale producers, the topic of coffee means lean profit, hard labor and but one harvest a year. On the other end of the spectrum, the coca plant (which is coming into new prominence in this zone) provides three to four harvests in the same period. The price coca brings is higher than that of coffee and it doesn’t need much care. Harvest, dry and sell; that´s it. A simple process that provides more time in a day to work other crops.


The farmers say coffee is problematic. Good coffee requires nurturing ‘til the dry season when the coffee cherries become red ripe and can be harvested. Yet the cherries don’t ripen all at the same time so you must hand pick only the rubies from the branches, place them in baskets and carry them to processing. Then you continually return to the plants and pick only the red cherries until the year’s harvest is complete.

Now the work has only just begun… In the Yungas, they prefer natural drying which is the oldest method of processing coffee. The pulp of the cherry fruit is cleaned away by hand. Then the beans are spread in a thin layer on patios to be dried in the sun. They must be raked and turned and raked and in three to four weeks they will have dried nicely. From there the beans will be milled, hulled, polished, cleaned & sorted. At this point, the beans are bagged and sold to brokers for export. If destined for the Bolivian market they are then roasted, ground and packaged for local sale and consumption.


As we sipped they chewed their coca leaves. In front of each lay a little pile of discarded bits; the farmers were carefully stripping out the stem and the middle rib reserving only the sweet green leaf. With smiles I received assurance that this was the very best; the small tender Yungas leaf grown for chewing not the coarse, large leaf of the Chapare Region (infamously used for cocaine production). The leisurely conversation took a new turn. Roberto Zabala, secretary general of the Afro-Bolivian community, told me frankly the quotas for growing legal coca have increased since Bolivia's first indigenous President EVO Morales took office in 2006. And that they fully understand that EVO will eventually go and quotas will be lowered. And so they're reluctant to dedicate more land to coca plants even though they now earn more. The pendulum will swing the other way and the balance of coffee and coca and fruit will change once again. The on-going challenge for any person living on the land is to survive the intense sun, periods of heavy rain and even the unpredictable politics. Yet for now, they're happy there’s a little more money for buying children's shoes, for repairing houses and investing in equipment that will make future farm work a little easier. One of the wives said you've got to take the good times with the bad. And times are better. Even so, they're also putting something away for whatever is to come. "Things are going to change," another wife said. “They always do.”

All images by Mick Huerta. Taken in the legal Coca fields of Los Yungas, Bolivia.

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011.
All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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Death Road No More!!!

The Yungas, subtropical zone has been a reprieve from high altitude for many travelers over the years. It is low-lying and receives ample warm rains. Although isolated, the Yungas assumed economic importance in the early 20th century as a major source of rubber and quinine. Coca, sugarcane, and coffee are also grown. Currently, with improved roads the region has seen a boom in growth & visitors, especially in the more accessible areas closer to La Paz, which have been developed into resorts.

On a personal note, I´ve been trekking the South American tropics for 15 years. And I love The Yungas! It´s a great Get-Away! Wonderful culture & good food! I decided to make a quick jaunt to Coroico, visit with old friends and buy coffee from elderly Dona Maria and her sister Celestina who produce some of the most aromatic coffee in the world. I also wanted a break from the altitude of La Paz (12,000ft) and to relax in one of my fave pueblos while siping passionfruit juice. The impulse of going has always been balanced with the logistics of how to get there. In the past, the Death Road was the only route. That is to say, using the only road which climbs to a summit (15,300 ft) and drops into the Amazon Basin (3,900 ft) in just the 40 miles from La Paz to Coroico! What scenary! Seems simple enough, yet it was always necessary to do a bit of reconnaissance. "Had localized rains destabilized the steep mountainsides? Had there been landslides? If so, how extreme? Can the road be cleared? Was it possible once cleared that a re-occurance or a slide elsewhere along the way could trap travelers in the tropical zone?"

All those concerns now swept away. The route has changed. A new road has been opened which avoids the most dangerous precipices and shortens travel time (two hours instead of the 3-4 hours). I bought a ticket with great anticipation. Blah but safe, the journey was non-discript. The two lane concrete road was interrupted just once with a small slide; crews were working diligently to clear the mess. Down to one lane through the rubble, pulses of traffic were flagged forward. Absolutely non-eventful after becoming accustomed to the 1 1/2 lanes with turnouts on the Death Road over the years.

I missed the waterfalls of the old road pounding vehicles as we inched under them (as seen on Top Gear Program) and dramatic vistas (and the danger) but I shook the nostalgia. Really seems a shame that the "World´s Most Dangerous Road" has been relegated to Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking! Yet people from all over the world come to ride a mountian bike 40 miles dropping from 15,400ft to 3,600ft without peddling! Speaking to bikers at the bottom, in Yolosa, they used words like tired, dirty, stupendous and exhilarating! I think the smiles and laughter were endorsement enough. Next trip!

Once arriving at the new Bus Terminal, we took a taxi the short distance to our hotel up the hill. There´s a new taxi association that sets fares. No not much money really, just four times more then a taxi in the city. Evidently, with the new road a tourist economy has arrived. Checking into the Hotel Esmeralda had always been a bit of a homecoming, being I´ve been staying there for 15 years. New man at the front desk (6 days working). I asked after the owners (out of the country). All new personnel in the dining area (a few weeks each) with the exception of Elvis, who remembered us from earlier trekks. All prices have shot up. Only overhead lights worked in our suite. The reading lamps either side of the bed were useless. One fixture broken, the other lacked a halogen bulb (no replacement in stock). Dinner was a ($5) raw, inedible pasta. Breakfast included; eggs and pancakes in cold chafing dishes without Sterno fire underneath. The cut tropical fruit & juices were rather good. But weak dishwater coffee in a coffee growing zone? It was explained that the coffee was organic and was not black, black like inferior coffees. Ridiculous! In the past, the hotel had been good yet "lack of attention to detail" has rendered Hotel Esmeralda a poor choice. Many come off the high altitude trekker trail and are relieved to rest in a tropical zone with ample oxygen. There are better options for showers and cocktails.

The Residential Kory, just off the main plaza is loud. The Hotel Gloria is faded. Perhaps the poshest hotel in Coroico is Sol y Luna. Very reasonably priced cabañas w/ kitchen and bath en suite. Reservations recommended; I hadn´t one. Just outside of the pueblo, I inquired at the marvillous El Cafetal where I´ve stayed previously; booked solid, no rooms available. However, that didn´t stop us from having lunch. The owners Patrice & Dany are French and Chefs and their miracle is Souffle in the jungle. Also, an amazing well-rounded French & International Menu is offered, lounging at the pool is very restful, view from the hammocks incredible, and the beer cold. Highly recommended!

Without room at El Cafetal we decided to cut our stay short, one night instead of four. Regardless, the Yungas offers much more then just Coroico. However, for the International Party Backpacker Scene, the tourist packed Coroico is still best. The party can easily go ´til Dawn! And you party with the Argentinos, Aussies, Israelis, Kiwis, Germans, Espanoles, etc.. then for those who´d like a jungle experience that provides local culture and wonderful vistas there are the pueblos of Chulumani, Caranavi, as well as, La Senda Verde, Eco-Resort & Animal Refuge . You´d be shocked to learn that Yungas hotel rooms are available at USD $7-$40 per night. Another highlight are the AfroBolivian Saya Folklore Presentations put on most anywhere in the region. These are amazing when open to the public.

All in all, life is good in the Yungas! Next year I´ll see you on a mountain-bike riding the "World´s Most Dangerous Road", because we want it!!!