South America and South Africa

This is not the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro but the Copacabana at the shores of the Bolivian side of Lake Titikaka. It is a small town in an elevation of about 4,000 m and the atmosphere is very laid back. Lodging and food is really cheap and I enjoyed a lot staying here the last four days.

Yesterday morning I accidently spotted a women’s soccer tournament in the sports hall right opposite my hostel and when I went home in the evening around ten in the night it was still ongoing. Each team had their individual jersey which they wore over their complete traditional clothing. It appeared that they had at least four different layers of clothing and in their skirts they appeared like pawns moving over the chess board. The goalie kneeled down to catch a ball and it was caught in the seems of the skirt. Often lacking elegance it was visible when they were playing that they were doing regular training and at least prior to that tournament they had their tactics lesson as they were sticking to their positions. Also the spectators and the referees took the sports very serious.

The women had so much fun and it was very cute when they made a mistake and nevertheless smiled. I guess the life of a woman in Bolivia  is full of duties and that there is not much leisure or enjoyment.  Even more I was happy to see all the joy they had in their faces while they were playing. I think this is it about the things you are doing.

(The photos are far from being optimal or even good also owed to the difficult light. Nevertheless there is so much life in it that I publish them anyway. For those who like sunsets (and who does not?) there are more photos from Copacabana under photos “Evening at Lake Titikaka”.)