WE TRAVELED TO THE LARGEST BOLIVIAN COMMUNITY OUTSIDE BOLIVIA

So the thumbnail is Photoshopped. We did not park our van on the Bolivian soft flats, but we took the picture. It is our van, and we felt like it was very accurate portrayal of today's video. It felt like we were plucked out of the US and dropped into the middle of Bolivia. Now that that's out of the way.

We are. Karen, Nick. We used to travel on airplanes. Now we live in a van as we're making our way to all 50 states. After experiencing an authentic crawfish boil in Louisiana, we made our way back to our hometown of Nashville, where we got our second dose of the vaccine before driving 10 hours east to our 30th state of Virginia.

Good morning. We got in late last night. We had all intentions of sleeping in the Walmart parking lot, but they had no overnight parking signs up everywhere. So we ended up at this random campground about 30 minutes outside of Washington, D.C. we are here in Northern Virginia because two brothers reached out and offered to show us around their community, which is the largest Bolivian community in the entire United States. We are both super excited about today because as much as we're loving van life, we definitely miss international travel. If you started watching our channel in the last year and you haven't gone back and watched any of our old videos before buying the van, we spent four years traveling to 100 countries, and now it's been 14 months since we've crossed an international border. So I'm hoping today is going to give us that international travel fix without having to actually go to another country. Plus, four years ago, in the very early days of this channel, we spent two weeks in Bolivia, and we have such fond memories of our time there.

Fond might be an understatement. Out of all 100 countries that we travel to, Bolivia is one of the places that surprised us the most.

We went there to check the Uyuni Salt Flats off our bucket list, which ended up being even more incredible in person than it is in pictures. This is so crazy. We only scratched the surface of this country's incredible nature, but we also saw a pink lake filled with flamingos, incredible wildlife, and an active volcanic crater. It is stinky, but the country isn't just limited to natural beauty. At almost 12,000ft, the capital city of La Paz is the highest capital city in the world. And in our opinion, it's one of the most fascinating. There's baby Guamo fetuses hanging everywhere. Plus, we just happened to be there during Carnival and we celebrated in true local style.

For some reason, I'm having A hard time sitting out of my goggles, which.

Involved taking to the streets with spray foam. No one was off limits.

All right, I know that was a pretty long intro into today's video, but we just wanted you to be able to appreciate why we're so excited about today. We are going to quickly get ready and go meet up with the brothers.

Little sink shower to start off the morning.

Nice to meet you, Nate.

Nice to meet you.

All right, for our first stop of the day, we're on a little bit of a secret mission. The most authentic food here is actually sold out of people's houses.

All right, so this is how we're going to specialize in saltenas and empanadas. And we have to call up ahead to, like, let them know that we're coming. So it's not, like, too much traffic at their house.

It's being done illegally, so I can't show you where we are. But it's also being done out of necessity.

It's a secret. The Bolivians here don't buy food from these underground restaurants because it's easier or even because it's cheaper. It's actually a lot more work. They do it to support their community members who have fallen on hard times.

This is one of the ways to get some money, because this time is very hard. They lay out they don't have a job anymore. It's one way to help together each other.

It feels a little bit like we're doing a drug deal right now. A drug deal for sultanias.

I thought with the sun. It's okay if you can go.

Yeah, we can. Okay. We've. We've gotten permission to film inside.

Smells like a bakery in here.

This is sultanas, the best one. We don't get caught because usually, like, one at a time, and they usually come in the house so it doesn't look like they're outside waiting.

Why do it out of the house instead of a restaurant?

We did have a restaurant. It went bank from 20, 2015.

Let's get out of here quick.

I don't know if you can call this illegal. I know they don't have permit, but I don't know. It's illegal because it's just food. Nothing. Nothing wrong that they serve.

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We've brought our incognito saltas and empanadas to a local park. It has been four years since I've had authentic Bolivian food. So from what I remember, you like, bite the top.

Oh, it's juicy. It's so delicious. I feel like people are staring at me.

So you shake it well first.

What?

Yeah, you shake the walls. Like all the soup.

Like that. Kind of just want to bite off the top.

Okay.

This is. It does taste like Bolivia. Hot. It's hot. It's like the most beautiful savory stew wrapped in a little perfect pillow that's easy to eat.

There's a myth over there where if you, like, drop the liquid or like, if you spill the liquid, it's bad luck.

Oh, no, I didn't fill my own table. Do you know why Virginia has the largest Bolivian community?

More than 80% or 70% of the Bolivian people work in the construction. In this area, the construction is big. I think this is why we are here.

Is this the empanada?

Oh, wow. This is like the best empanada I've ever had.

Kind of like Bolivian grilled cheese, but better.

The cicada infestation is beginning every 17 years and they're coming back.

So we've driven over to a local middle school, to a soccer tournament to meet up with Nicholas's brother. We're gonna watch the game and also get some more food.

Did you win your game?

Yeah, we won. Three, two. So it was good. It was our first Win.

So the lady making this, she's freezing it just by spinning a pot inside of a cooler that filled with ice. And that's how the concoction is turning into a frozen slushie.

All right, we're trying our next Bolivian traditional snack. This is Elado de Conela. Elado de conela. They say it's pretty much like cinnamon ice cream. Kind of looks like a cinnamon slushy.

Mmm. Like if I had my eyes closed and took a sip, I would think it was like an iced cinnamon tea. It's very refreshing. We're surrounded by hundreds of Bolivian people watching a soccer game. I feel like we're traveling internationally. This is awesome. Every weekend, hundreds of Bolivians gather here. But apparently it's less about the game and winning and more about community.

This whole thing is basically to fundraise or everything is community based. So you gotta pay. Even though, like if you get a yellow card, it's a five dollar fine. If you get a red card, it's a ten dollar fine.

The locals put their own time and money into the upkeep of the field. And all the money that's generated in the league is sent Bolivia for a good cause.

Family is just a big, big bond for us.

This year the money is going towards building a soccer field for a less fortunate area back in their home.

If you haven't already picked up on it, we're learning about the Bolivian culture within the US through food. Today, this is the place to be. So now we're heading to a community fundraiser, once again in search of more food.

Alright, so we're a little late to the party. This was the menu. This is gone. This is gone. This is gone. And we're left with renga, which I'm told is soup.

It's a cow stomach.

You don't like it?

I'm full.

I'm full too. It all sounds good. The cow's stomach got a little.

And yeah, sometimes they poop rice.

Oh, yeah. It's always, I'm new here.

This came out of nowhere.

We're making memories eating cow stomach soup in a rainstorm in Virginia.

He said Bolivians love their carbs and thankfully I do too. So I'm going to load up on rice. Here we go. Look at that. Okay.

If I didn't know what it was, it would be great. Like, it's just a little bit bouncy.

I had to do when I ate.

It for the first time. My uncle told me it was calamari soup.

You should have told me it was.

Calamari I should have knew something was wrong because we don't even have a notion.

That was not a potato and takes slightly longer than I would like to chew. Yeah.

I feel like usually when I have some kind of meal that has a bunch of cow parts in it, it tastes very animal y. But the taste really isn't bad. It's a texture thing.

Why is he hosting the event?

After talking to the host of this backyard feast, we learned the reason all these people are here today is to raise financial support for his nephew, who was a victim of a tragic hit and run back in Bolivia.

So he basically said that's what family is here for, just to help.

After multiple surgeries, his nephew couldn't afford the medical bills.

The Bolivian community is just that united. So if something bad happens here in Bolivia, they organize money because to send it here and vice versa. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

That was really special. During our time in Bolivia, we could tell that it was an incredible country with really friendly locals. And even though these Bolivians live in the U.S. now, it's been so touching to see how strong their bond is with each other, both here and with the family they have back in Bolivia. Like, in their minds, there's no question whether or not they're going to help support this man, even though they don't even know who his nephew is. And it's raining.

We learned on the way over here that there are actually a lot of different international communities here in Northern Virginia. This shopping mall that we just arrived at is almost completely Vietnamese, except apparently there is one Bolivian center tucked inside that has some very authentic Bolivian food that's going to maybe push us a little outside of our culinary comfort zone.

I feel like I was plucked out of the US and into Bolivia, and now I feel like we're in Vietnam.

Wow.

I feel like I'm at a market in Vietnam. I love it. You buy me instead.

Welcome back to Bolivia.

This is Mo chinche, Moco Tinche, and it's a piece of peach juice with a dried peach at the bottom. What is this?

So that's that fried cow trip. What is the intestines, I guess like the guts?

Yeah.

Yep.

So this is basically another drunk food type in Bolivia, especially the potatoes and the peanut sauce after a long night. Yeah. It hits different.

Cheers, guys. How do you say cheers in Spanish?

Salud.

Salud.

Salud.

Salud.

Salud.

It's better than the cow parts that were in the soup. Still not my favorite. This is called silpancho, and it's a super Typical dish, very basic. It's just rice, potatoes, steak, fried eggs on top, and some chopped veggies. And apparently you can get it on two pieces of bread. And the name translates to clogged throat, clogged chest, breadcrumbs, clogged chest because it's just so many carbs. Oh, yeah. How is the steak cooked?

It's fried steak.

It's like chicken fried steak. I feel like we're in Tennessee. I'm gonna get a bite with a little.

M. It's amazing. This is probably the most familiar thing I've eaten all day.

So the Bolivian restaurant that we just ate at is right beside a Vietnamese radio station. Just like that, we're back in Vietnam.

All right, everybody have one more in.

Them we can do.

I need more enthusiasm than that. All right, we have one more stop to finish up what has become a gigantic Bolivian food tour.

It's like the competitive eater thing where you got to wiggle it down and make more room.

Is that what they do?

All right. Different restaurant, same setup. We have our last three dishes. I'm extra excited about the first one because we actually had these in Bolivia and we called kunyapes. We actually learned they have very interesting translation, and they basically translate to boobs. In Bolivia, there's always two of them. We're obviously in America because they only brought us one. Oh, yeah. Oh, it smells like macaroni and cheese. It smells like cheesy potatoes.

That's fabulous. I don't need any more carbs today, but I'm gonna eat this. I'm oblivion for the day.

So this is pico lo macho. Pica comes from everyone just being able to, like, pick some and then pick it. Yeah, just pick it.

This dish came to me pretty much because some guys were hanging out at a bar. The kitchen was already closed. It was like 10 or 11 at night. And he went back in the kitchen, and he was like, hey, I'm drinking with my friends. Give us something that we can all just kind of munch on while we're drinking. And all this food was all that was left in the kitchen. And now it's like a super normal dish that's in pretty much every Bolivia.

Gachapon. Based on the way everyone's grabbing for stuff, this is the most popular dish of the day. Without a doubt, there are lots of smiles at the table right now.

This is the final dish of the day. It is the sandwich de chola, and we had this on the streets of La Paz. I have very fond memories of it.

Beautiful And I'm excited to get to try it again. Look at that.

A wonderful finale. I love it. The, like, salty pulled pork with the crunchy, fresh veggies on top. It's beautiful. Nicholas, of everything we ate today, what was your favorite?

Probably the sulfanious.

I think mine was sultanious, too.

You didn't get to have them have.

The salt, but mine was probably that canela. After my game.

Roberto.

Hello.

The pique, without a doubt. The beautifully spongy, salty, cheesy empanada.

Yeah, that was hard to beat, too. That saltana, it just hit the spot. I need another one right now. I really would.

The only way today could have gotten better is if we would have found an underground cholita wrestling match to end the day.

Apparently, that's not a thing that happens all around Bolivia. It's like central Till a paz.

Cholitas are a group of indigenous women who still wear their traditional dress, which includes big, goofy dresses and a black boiler hat. After seeing their reserved personalities on the street, you'd never expect to see them battling it out in an arena.

It was quite the spectacle.

What was the word? What did you call it?

More of a gimmick. Wwe. Bolivia.

Did it. Really? Yeah. I didn't see it. How do you know which house sells what food? Do you have, like, a Facebook group where you're like, saltania at my house?

Correct. And they sent by Facebook.

Oh, God.

These are the giant corns.

Tastes like a big piece of corn. Surprisingly.