20th Anniversary Dream Trip Contest

Great Travel Moment

Bolivia was once one of the wealthiest countries in South America. Its magnificent Inca heritage combined with rich natural resources imbued the nation with influence and power rivaling that of its colonized neighbors. Then, imperialistic greed stole Bolivia's treasures and land, relegating the indigenous people to the lowest class -- the sidewalk worker. Throughout my trip to Bolivia, the extremes of poverty, marked by grueling work in difficult conditions, served to remind me to respect their culture and treat both the individual and the country itself with the dignity is has long since been stripped of.