Does anyone know anything about the designs on the obelisks that the dancers are wearing in Ticatica? I'd also appreciate any information on the festival we saw taking place in Ticatica on Thursday, FEB 10, 2005. Your comments would be very much appreciated.

Thank you, Sharon

Continuing on with the trip report:

As we left Pulacayo our route switched to a northeastwardly direction. We passed a few small towns, stunning landforms, giant pampas grasses, flowering cacti and breathtaking vistas. We stopped around 1 o'clock for a picnic lunch along the road. After lunch Ray and I walked along the dirt road until our four-wheel-drive vehicle picked us up. The walk felt good and gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs. In the afternoon we made short stops for photographs. We saw flamingos on Chaquilla Lake and fields of alpaca and llamas grazing. In Ticatica we saw some carnival dancing by young men who were carrying ten to twelve foot tall, colorful obelisks on their backs as they danced. The dirt road was well maintained and had only one muddy river crossing. Colorful landforms continually changed: verdant green pastures, orange and red eroded mountain arroyos, blue-green mountains, still mountain lakes, burbling streams, purple mountains, variegated thrusts of rock mountains, winding dirt road, rock dwellings, adobe dwellings and more. Pure magnificent beauty was all around us. After 210 kilometers along this dirt road, we arrived in Potosí at 5:30 PM.

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Come visit with me at http://travelerstogo.com/ by posting your follow-up questions in the Carribean, Mexico, Central & South American forum. My alias is Sharon Mc1, and I am the destination moderator for that forum -- I love talking about travel!

I recently wrote a practical travel guide for the Peruvian and Bolivian high Andes. I had a great deal of fun writing it, and particularly enjoyed writing the restaurant reviews. Here is the link:

http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogofrm21.showMessage?topicID=40.topic

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Articles in this series include:

Miami, Jupiter, & the Everglades (Florida) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141804/index.html

La Paz, Tiwanaku & Valley of the Moon (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141500/index.html

Oruro Carnival (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141977/index.html

Sajama National Park (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/143197/index.html

Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143714/index.html

Train Graveyard - Uyuni (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141742/index.html

Train Graveyard - Pulacayo (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141647/index.html

Along the Road from Uyuni to Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143868/index.html

Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/145509/index.html

Sucre (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/182068/index.html

Tarabuco (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/182063/index.html

Jatun Yampara (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/169005/index.html

Lake Titikaka (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261030/index.html

Copacabana (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261498/index.html

Along the Road - Copacabana (Bolivia) to Puno (Peru) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261584/index.html

Cusco, Sacsayhuaman & Lima (Peru) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/270254/index.html