Daniel (tourist guide), Coroico

Daniel is an Aymara man with the body of a fifteen year old and the face of a fifty year old. His real age must be somewhere in between but I wouldn’t want to guess. Daniel takes us on a five and a half round walk from Coroico to the Vagante river, discussing everything from the local fiestas, to every species of plant with medicinal purposes, fruit (papaya, tangerine, orange, pineapple banana…), coca plantations… Did you know that the sacred leaf’s birthplace is precisely the yungas and that the coca from the Chapare region does not taste the same? “You can tell a coca plantation because it is planted in square plots and the leaves have a much lighter green”. So now you know. The plant also produces leaves three to four times per year which is obviously unlike any other harvest. And the price of good coca leaves is much higher than that of any fruit. Are there any incentives to plant less? Of course not.