Mountains, Dust, Buses, and More

Well we have been on the road for a full week now and are taking a few days in Sucre to rejuvinate...and do some laundry. After Sucre we are headed to Peru to enjoy our last few weeks there. So much has happened in the past week that would take forever to type so I will go over some of the highlights.

Salar de Uyuni
We spent one day in the massive salt flats and the other two days of our tour in Southwest Bolivia visiting a national park and the other amazing sights. It is one crazy mountainous and dusty place. I am pretty sure it is almost all dirt but incredibly beautiful. It is for sure high plains and desert. We were in a jeep with our driver and tour guide Enrique and four others. Three South Koreans who are spending two years volunteering in Paraguay and also a guy from Switzerland. It was definitely an ecelectic group but we had a great time sharing stories and learning from each other. I will try and share picture soon so you can see the amazing sights and get a picture of it. Our companions on teh three day journey were definitely a highlight for me....and they invited us to South Korea as well! Highlights of the southwest....the hot spring, the salar, and the people. Riding in the jeep was great but very bumpy and dusty.

Bikers
I saw seven people biking through the mountains...presumably on the Pan Am trail. I was able to talk to three of them. They were biking from Ecuador all the way to the south end of Chile. Driving on these roads was terrible so I can´t imagine how they did it on bikes. Very inpsiring to me though and made my little dream of wanting to bike the pan am trail a little bit more of a reality.

Road to Potosi
We arrived back in Uyuni were we started our three day trek through the Salar and national parks. We stayed the night and hit the road the next morning for Potosi. It is about a 6 hour bus ride on some of the most terrifying roads I have ever been on. I thought our first bus ride was bad...that one paled in comparison to this ride. It was paved sometimes and otherwise just dirt. We gained over 500 meters of elevation on the tiniest of mountain roads with construction...seriously I stopped looking out the window and just listened to music to distract me. No less than 10 times did my heart jump out of my chest. We made it though...thank you god...Potosi is at 4000 meters which is probably the highest elevation I have ever been.

Elevation Issues
I am doing just fine with the elevnation other than not sleeping well. I have read that insomnia can be a side effect and I have definitely been struggling with that. I have probably only had two good nights of sleep the whoel time I have been here. Bridget has more troubles than I but we are making it. Just have to slow down and take things easy.

Hacienda Cayara
In Potosi, we stayed in the Hacienda Cayara. I still think it was in my imagination....something like Narnia. It is about 9 miles outside of Potosi in this beautiful valley with farms and amazing scenery. We were welcomed by Coca and Arturo who run the hacienda. They asked Rene to accompany us. Rene is I think 21 and lives there but isn´t from there. Wonderful young man. He took us on a tour of the whole grounds and a waterfall in the back of the valley that feeds the entire valley with electricty. We climbed up the side of the waterfall and walked back down on a long winding dirt road. We got caught in a rainstorm and hid under a tree for about 10 minutes. Rene also took us to the Lecharria to see the cows. These cows supply milk for the whole area which also makes cheese and ice cream...which we tasted all of it. While we were there, we met Eduardo who was the veternarian for the animals on the hacienda. That morning he helped deliver a new baby cow and showed us the little guy. So cute...we got pictures with the cow which we will hopefully share later. The milk man, which I like to call Eduardo, was great. He took us on a tour of the farm and answered all our questions. Bridget and I both walked away with crushes on him. Again if I can figure out how to post pictures I will...

They served us an amazing dinner at the Hacienda with wine made on site. Arturo is a historian and the hacienda is a little piece of Bolivian history. Potosi was pretty much the center of the world in the 1600s because they found silver in the mountains. The city quickly grew to 200,000 people including many slaves. They mined silver for a few centuries and still do but the production is much much smaller than it was...The hacienda was owned by very rich people from Spain way back in the 1600s and has only changed hands three times. It is now owned by the Aitken family of which Arturo is a grandson (I think). He has perserved the Haciendia as best as he can with orginial furniture, paintings, books, etc. I literally was staring at books there were 300 and 400 years old in their library. He gave a long tour and I was so impressed by the amazing history preserved here. The whole place was amazing and beautiful but the people were probably the best part. Arturo and Coca were incredibly hospitable and Rene accompanied us for most of the day. He taught us a Bolivian dice game which is a lot like Yahtzee. We have amazing pictures from our time here to be shared soon.

And Now
We left Potosi and are now in Sucre which is really the cultural capitol of the country. It is very colonial looking. We have only been here 1 day and are going to stay until Tuesday probably. So far we are having a good time and enjoying the history.

Our travels are going well and we have met a lot of interesting people. I am getting to the point of being able to understand some basic conversations and can even order and pay for my own food. Bridget is a great teacher.

More to come soon and I am sure I have left out so much. I am convinced all should travel to South America at some point.

On the road again

We are officially on the road. You could probably tell from my radio silence. It has been a busy few days since I last posted. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Nuestra Casa...which was a real treat for more reasons that I have time to write here. Let me just say the turkey showed up 3 hours late because the person bringing it got in a car accident or a motorcycle accident or something like that involving a dog. I still didn´t get the full story but it was quite enjoyable.

Our host family made an awesome meal for our last meal with them on Friday. Seriously I couldn´t get enough. We all ate together and even had some wine. I am already missing Albina´s cooking. Before we left Cochabamba on Saturday we had lunch at the house and she packed us tomato and cheese sandwhiches for our bus ride (which they were seriously the best sandwhiches I have ever had). She also walked us out to the road, hailed a cab, haggled for the price, and wanted to pay...but we wouldn´t let her do that. Seriously this family is so generous and hospitable. I was overwhelmed with their kindness. Pablo told us to be careful of anyone selling candy or anything on the bus because it is sometimes laced with a drug to put us to sleep so people can steal from us. He wanted to be sure we knew this. This kid is awesome.

Our bus ride was beautiful but I thought we were going to die probably 15 times. I decided it was safer to not look out the window. We gained about 3000 feet in elevation and the whole way was on a narrow road and it rained about a third of the time. Our bus driver was passing people constantly...and you would frequently see the road drop off on either side. Seriously scary....but we made it.

We are in Oruro now...well just for the day. We got in last night and found a place to stay. We toured the town today and have a 7pm overnight train to Uyuni where we are going to tour Salar de Uyuni which are huge salt falts. If I understand correctly you can see them from space.

More to come next time we have internet. Sorry this ins´t more detailed. Just know we are doing well and enjoying the trip. The colors, people, smells and so much more are amazing.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you are finding a place to celebrate with family and friends this Thanksgiving. Bridget and I along with others from the language institute are going to Nuestra Casa which is a home for girls. I am pretty sure there are about 10 girls living there. Each of the language school students are bringing something traditional to Thanksgiving including a turkey and we are having dinner with the girls. I am really looking forward to it. Again I will probably be the only one there who speaks little Spanish but it will still be fun. There won´t be any football but I am getting over it. Go Lions!!!

Yesterday Bridget and I went to the Cristo de la Concordia. It is a huge statue of Christ up on a big hill in Cochabamba. It is actually bigger than the one in Brazil by a few centimeters. Here is a link to the wikipedia page so you can get a sense of what it looks like: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristo_de_la_Concordia. I took some pictures as well which I will add later.

We are leaving on Saturday for Sucre. Before leaving Cochabamba we are also going to the Cancha which is a huge market and a convent that has been in existence for 100s of years. Both should be fun and interesting.


A few corrections to yesterdays post about transportation:

1. Taxis - They are called Trufis here and I forgot to mention that in my post. Also there are absolutely no seat belts which is sometimes terrifying. And the front seat always has room for three people so a small 4 door car will pack in 6 people. It is really quite impressive.
2. Party Buses - Well they aren´t actually called party buses. Their real name is Micros. I found out from Bridget that she alone calls them Party Buses. I laughed out loud when I realized my mistake. They do look like a party though with all their bright colors.

Transportation, Yoga and some other things

Don´t get used to me posting everyday. I am lucky enough to have access to the computers while Bridget is in class so it is easy to check email and write a post.

A few notes on transportation in the city. Not many people own cars and there really isn´t public transportation in the city. There are a few options for getting around though:

1. Taxi
2. Party Bus
3. Walking

Taxis come in a variety of types. Some are literally folks who have just put the word taxi on their car and pick you up on the side of the road.  These are definitely not the cars you want to get in. They are not officially sanctioned and you could easily get ripped off. The official taxis have numbers on them signifying the routes they run...almost like a bus system. You stand on the side of the road and look for the taxi with your number, signal for them and hop in. This sounds easy and it is....but it really becomes interesting when you get in the taxi. Most taxis are small cars or small vans and they cram as much people as possible in them. If there are five seats, every seat will get filled. I was in a small van the other day with probably 10 people and you just sit nice and close.

The Party Buses are about the size of small school buses and are painted in many colors. They also run basic routes and you let the driver know when you want to get out. I don´t know why they are called party buses...my only guess is because they are brightly colored. They are a little cheaper than taxis and run a little slower.

There are no official pick up and drop off points for taxis or buses. You just stand on the side of the road and hold out your hand. This can cause drivers to pull over suddenly and pick up somebody on the side of the road and there is always a lot of movement in the car itself to make room for somebody or let someone out. These rides are not for the feint of heart. The drivers can move pretty quickly and make fast turns and stops.

And there is always walking...

Today I went to Yoga with Bridget and her other classmates. Two things I knew about myself and quickly relearned...I am not good at Yoga and I still don´t know Spanish. The instructor was incredibly patient with me as I was sweating a rediculous amount for doing nothing but stretching my legs. She kept wanting me to push my stretch more...mas mas mas...and I would say no no no...already thinking I was going to pull a muscle. Yoga is Yoga no matter where you are but yoga in Spanish is interesting when you don´t know the language. Bridget translated some for me and I understood some of what the instructor was saying...and again sweating way too much for yoga.

I haven´t been sleeping well for some reason. I literally woke up at 1:45am on Tuesday morning and 3:00am this morning and couldn´t go back to sleep. Needless to say I am thankful for the audiobooks I downloaded before coming because they are keeping me company in the middle of the night.

More to come later...

Hello from Bolivia!

I arrived on Monday morning and my friend Bridget was waiting for me at the airport. I was pretty wrecked from the overnight plane ride so I slept for about 4 hours while Bridget went to her language school classes. She is in her last week and finishes up on Friday. This gives me about 4 hours everyday to do whatever I like...but I don´t stray too far from Bridget because well I would be hopelessly lost in the city and have no way to get home without a lot of pointing and pretending I know Spanish.

So a quick recap of my travels so far...I flew out of Detroit into La Paz, Bolivia and grabbed a local plane to Cochabamba. I am here for about 6 days while Bridget finishes language school. This is giving me plenty of time to read, enjoy the area, and also figure out where we are going next. We are most likely headed to Sucre and Uyuni and then onto Peru.

For those of you who don´t have the patience to read long blog posts (which includes me), I am writing short sentences on a few highlights and will expand further for those who have the insane desire to read everything. I hope to include pictures at some point as well....I have to figure out how to upload from my camera.

1. First impressions...good food, good people, and much to learn.
2. Our Host Family is wonderful and Albina, the grandma, makes the best food in copious amounts.
3. I don´t know Spanish
4. Cinnamon ice cream is not my favorite

1.  First Impressions...I love stepping off the plane, train or whatever into a new country and culture. I am initially overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells and just trying to get my bearings. This was no different when I landed in La Paz. I made my way through customs with no problem and found my connecting flight on another airline. I was paranoid I was in the wrong place and tried to sneak a peek at other passengers tickets to make sure I was in the right line without looking like a creeper. I didn´t feel solidly convinced I was on the right plane until the friendly German gentleman sitting next to me confirmed this plane was in fact going to Cochabamba. It was very hot when we first got in and thankfully Bridget was waiting for me. I loved the taxi ride through the city and all the new sights and sounds. And the mountains are incredible...stunning views from the airplane. We were literally flying past a stretch of the Andes and not looking down at them...literally flying right next to them.
2. Our Host family is amazing. There are two parents, two kids and their grandma who lives there. I have interacted with Albina this most. She makes each of the meals and is very gracious with my lack of Spanish. Her cooking is amazing as well. We have fresh fruit and freshly squeezed orange juice everyday along with huge lunches that not even two people can eat. It sometimes seems strange being in another person´s house like this but at the same time I feel very comfortable. I have only known the family for less than 24 hours and I am incredible grateful for their hospitality. And there is nothing like being able to take a nap after a long flight and a hot shower.
3. Spanish...well I don´t really speak it. I somehow managed to have a conversation with Scarlett our host mom. I used a lot of hand motions and about 5 of the spanish words I knew. She was amazing and helped come up with the words I couldn´t remember or think of or most likely didn´t know at all. I am excited to be here  but at the same time I really feel like a fish out of water when everyone around you can have conversations...and you are often left to figure out the small bits you know. I am very glad Bridget knows Spanish and get us around...otherwise this trip would not have happened for me. I have almost five weeks here though so I will probably pick up some as we go. I am also alone in Lima for two days after Bridget flies out...so I am desperately hoping to pick up a few choice phrases to get what I need those two days after she leaves. And I am further motivated to study a language. 
4. Bridget and I walked around the city yesterday evening after I got in and just took in the sights and sounds. I  saw some folks with ice cream and well really wanted some. We stopped at Dumbo´s which is really just a chain and nothing authentic. After much perusing of the menu (read...Mari was looking at the pictures to determine what to order), I decided on an ice cream float with what I thought was strawberry.  Upon my first swig, I realized quickly it wasn´t in fact strawberry but cinnamon flavored. It honestly tasted like Big Red gum. I could only get through about half of it before I had to give up. Needless to say cinnamon ice cream is not my favorite. I am hoping my other forays into actual authentic cuisine go better than this one. We haven´t gone out much because our host family takes care of all the meals but we will more as the week goes on and especially as we hit the road.

Until next time...oh and no I haven´t had an digestive problems...but it is only day two.

Tonight I saw the documentary "Freedom Riders" with my sister. We went to the Marquette Public Library and went to a free showing. I came back home only to find out you can watch it online for free. Here is the link:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/watch


I obviously didn't grow up during this time but I find all of the movies, books and other information about it so interesting. This was a well done film and very informational for me. Leah and I were two of about 10 people in the audience and by far the youngest. Everyone else looked old enough to me to have lived during this time and it was interesting to listen to them comment throughout the film. I strongly recommend watching the movie and sharing it with others.


Here is a short description of the film: FREEDOM RIDERS is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.

Catching Up

I am trying out a new template here...let me know what you think. You can also change how you see the blog by clicking on the template options on the top left. You can follow the blog by hitting the rainbow looking symbol in the top right.

Well this is yet another attempt on my part to keep folks updated on my comings and goings. As most probably know, I am traveling around the country and eventually to South America over the next few months. I left my job in the middle of September, loaded up my car (yes everything fit...the car was riding very low to the ground), and started driving. A quick peek and where I have been:

• Left Washington, DC on September 22nd
• Baltimore, MD
• Overnight with a friend of mine from the Lasallian Volunteers
• Philadelphia, PA
• For a week visiting friends who I met during my time as a Lasallian Volunteer
• New York, NY
• I was actually staying in The Bronx for a week. I toured NYC, went to a fantastic Broadway musical (The Book of Mormon - I highly recommend it), and attended a friend's wedding at the end of the week.
• Tolland, CT
• Overnight with a friend of mine from high school and her fiance
• South Deerfield, MA
• Randomly discovered a good friend of college was living close by and made an impromptu trip north for the night.
• Erie, PA
• Finally headed back to MI (yes my car is still loaded down). I stopped in Erie to visit a dear friend of mine from DC who just moved there. She taught me that you can make fruit leather from scratch.
• Lansing, MI
• Finally arrived back in Lansing on October 12th. I stayed with my family for a few days and headed to see my sister and her family in the UP.
• Marquette, MI
• CURRENT Location

I am currently in Marquette, MI with my sister, her husband Pete and their three kids (see photo at top to see two of the kids). I will be here for a week or so. Needless to say my sister's life is incredibly different than mine or at least what it was. I am really enjoying spending time with her and getting to know my niece and nephews better.

I am currently not on the job hunt and won't be for a little while. I am enjoying traveling and looking forward to traveling to Bolivia and Peru at the end of November. I am hoping to keep this blog more updated.

For pictures of my travels, check out the following: