Dieter and Claudia´s wedding

Less than two weeks in Bolivia and what better way to learn the customs and meet people than attend a Bolivian wedding.

I am extremely grateful to Dieter for inviting me - he had only met me once the week before and our connection is extremely tenuous: he is a friend of a work colleague of my Italian friend Andrea. Dieter is half Belgium, half Bolivian so I had plenty of opportunities to mix up my Spanish, English and French with the guests.

Nor did they do things by half, the wedding took place in the grounds of a 5-star hotel in the countryside. I had to buy shirt, tie, trousers and shoes to look the part as I had not packed appropriately.

It was not in reality a traditional Bolivian wedding as it was a civil ceremony accompanied by what can only be described as an obra de teatro (theatre). Dieter`s wife is an actress and this was reflected in the ceremony, with depictions of their family life and games. The good quality red wine also aided my recovery! Girls very pretty too...