Last semester we had a guest lecture by a Bolivian scholar where he introduced tourism development in Oruro province of Bolivia and let us know how many natural and cultural wonders there are in this area. In his words, Bolivia is the heart of South America (which is no doubt according to me, both culturally and geographically) and Oruro is the heart of Bolivia (um, geographically yes). I remember he concluded that Oruro could be the heart of South America, I was seriously doubtful about it as I had not heard about this city before.

In the end, during my Bolivian trip earlier this year, I was forced to have a stop in Oruro unexpectedly.