Here is a synopsis of my Carnaval experience in Bolivia.

The Friday before Carnaval, I was working on Pro Mujer’s borrower verification (an entrepreneur audit we do for all Kiva partners) and it was obligatory to dress up in costume. Here I am in one of the Pro Mujer classrooms with the group Qantati, dressed as a pepina, a sort of clown, the character with the most spirit at Carnaval in La Paz.

On Saturday of Carnaval, I went with another Kiva Fellow, Adam Kemmis Betty (KF10, ProMujer), and a couple other friends to Oruro, which is renowned for the biggest carnaval in Bolivia. It was unbelievable. The costumes of the dancers in the parade were phenomenal. We got hit with water balloons and water guns and fired back with foam. We ate the typical dish from Oruro, charquekan, which is deep fried dried llama, for lunch in the parade stands in the main plaza of Oruro.  It was a blast!

Carnaval in Oruro

On Sunday, we returned from Oruro in the afternoon. Adam and I decided to see what Carnaval was like in La Paz. I dressed up in my pepino costume and we headed off. Two boys attacked me with water balloons down the back of my costume on the way over to the parade on the Prado (the main avenue in La Paz) and I got drenched. Other Paceños dressed like pepinos carried sausages (beads covered by material shaped like a sausage) with which they hit random people as they walk through the streets.  Ouch!   I met Adam in the center of the action and we bought a beer at one of the make-shift anticucho and beverage stands that were set up on both sides of the Prado. Even though I was dressed up and Adam wasn’t, Adam the Gringo (see Dan Malin’s “G-word” post) got attacked by Paceños sitting in the bleachers on both sides of the Prado. His face was completely covered by foam that he could barely see.

We had Monday and Tuesday off from work so we decided to go for a two-day hike near La Paz. As we walked though small towns such as Huni and Palca, the locals we passed—who were hanging out outside their homes after their cha’lla, an annual Carnaval-time blessing done to honor Pachamama mother earth that involves spraying beer, serpientes (streamers) and confetti—invited us to share their cerveza (beer).  We were also ambushed by a boy wearing a Scream character costume blocking the middle of the road and pummeled with water balloons. I should have brought my can of foam.

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and Carnaval should technically be over. BUT, the next Sunday, Carnaval in La Paz continues. At the end of the festivities, there will be a ceremony to bury the pepino to signal the end of carnaval. A mourning parade brings the pepino to the La Paz cementary in Tejar while the party continues. Pepinos, chutas and cholitas continue to dance down the streets. During next year’s carnaval, the pepino is exhumed and the festivities begin again.

Although Oruro is the biggest Carnaval in Bolivia, there are also wonderful authentic carnaval celebrations in Tarija and Cochabamba (Corso de Corsos). I asked other La Vida Idealist bloggers for their Carnaval stories.

• If you haven’t read Rob Packer’s Carnaval entry, check it out here.
• Dan Malin just sent me an incredible video that he shot of himself with a bunch of kids throwing water balloons at a bus. Carneval in Ecuador just seems to be an extended version of Cabbage Night.

Please feel free to share your Carnaval stories in the comments below!

In any of the major living areas, you will discover that the constant stream of buses and trucks makes for a very smoggy experience.  Transportation aside, oil exploration, logging and road building are all contributing to the increased environmental concerns.  Given Ecuador’s incredible biodiversity (1,600 bird species, 6,000 species of butterflies and over 16,000 plant species, to name a few) it makes me sad to see pollution threatening the natural beauty of Ecuador.

So what are people doing about it?  I took it upon myself to compile this below list of some great organizations here that are dedicated to protecting the environment in Ecuador.  For those looking for volunteer opportunities in Ecuador, these orgs are a great place to start!

EcoCiencia – Promotes sustainable management of natural resources through conservation efforts.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in Esmeraldas province.

Zoobreviven Foundation – Committed to conserving biodiversity through reforestation, environmental education and economic development for local residents.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in the Choco region (northern Ecuador).

Fundacion Cabo San Francisco – Focused on flora and fauna conservation.  Headquartered in Quito.

Fundacion Ecologica Condorhuana – Promotes environmental education, sustainable use of natural resources and alternative land and resource development.  Headquartered in Loja.

Fundacion Brethren y Unida – Projects focus on sustainable farming efforts in rural Ecuador.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in Pedro Moncayo, Columbe, and Intag.