Singani is a distilled spirit made from the white Muscat of Alexandria grape which has been produced in Bolivia for nearly 500 years. Unlike pisco, its Peruvian cousin, singani has not been available outside of its traditional homeland until very recently. For this reason, tasting singani is a rare treat essential to any trip to Bolivia.
Bolivia’s main waterways consist exclusively of rivers, lakes and lagoons as the country is landlocked and has no seaport. Lake Titicaca in the western Andes region is the highest navigable lake in the world. To the North and East several major Amazon tributaries are used. In Southeast Bolivia’s Pantanal region, there are several small ports along the Paraguay River and its tributaries.
In Bolivia Christmas (Navidad) continues to be deeply religious, maintaining the original meaning and purpose of the holiday. Most families set up a “pesebre” (nativity scene) in their homes and churches usually have very large ones somewhere outside the main door. The word pesebre literally means "stable". Sometimes people call them "nacimientos" (nativity scenes).