Bolivian houses rarely come with furniture when you rent. After furnishing a house several times larger than the flat in London we had a lot of ‘stuff’ to dispose of when we moved. When we arrived our landlady gave us some chairs and small tables, but beyond that we had to buy everything else.
I mean everything: cooker, fridge, beds, mattresses, bed sheets, pillows, duvets, blankets, plates, pans, cutlery, glasses, cups, coat hangers, sofas, comfy chairs, bean-bags, rugs, outdoor furniture, mops, buckets, brooms, clothes pegs, towels and, of course, shot glasses. While we donated clothes and various things to orphanges and gave books and foodstuffs to friends, we still had a lot of ‘stuff’ to sell to help finance our travels.
Thankfully, our friend Roxanna, who was in the process of renting a house for her and her son, decided to take everything off our hands to furnish her new home. Bring on Bolivian removals…first, take the entire contents of a four bedroom house; second, pile everything into the back of a small truck; finally, keep two people in the back to hold on to everything.
House removals, Bolivian style, Sucre
House removals, Bolivian style, Sucre
So its “despedida” to Sucre and “hola” to the open road…apparently everything reached the other end in one piece, which meant I lost a bet.
Moving in foreign country can be a big deal! Luckily in Taiwan and Hong Kong my apartments came with furniture. Thank goodness for you for Roxanna!
Moving twice is above and beyond! I think I can wait a while before I have to do it again.
Oh… you had books.
Another thing why I regret not being in Sucre at moving time.
Sorry, I know how hard they are to get in Bolivia. I think books were the most popular items we had!
Hehe yeah, doesn’t surprise me.