Josh Renaud

PHOTOS: La Paz

Quick note: I have posted the following photo entries in such a way so that scrolling from the top of the page you'll go from our earliest to newest photos. The photos start in La Paz, where our trip began three weeks ago.

After arriving in La Paz, Yoli and I meet with a friend.

The Colorados at the Cathedral in La Paz perform a changing of the guard.

The plaza in La Paz has LOTS of pigeons. Kids love charging into groups of the pigeons, scaring a flock to take to the air.

La Paz started at the bottom of a "bowl." Now the edges of the city extend up the edges of the bowl.

Apparently word of the sword-wielding Bryan from Ferguson, MO has reached Bolivia.

Yoli's dad used to play a coin-toss game like the one she's standing next to here.

Jaén street is one of the few remaining links to La Paz's colonial past. It is home to four great museums, including one dedicated to Bolivia's lost Pacific coastline.

I thought my dad would appreciate knowing that "Dinosaurs" even made it to Bolivia. "NOT THE MAMA!!"

A view of the spectacular mountains outside El Alto (the sprawling city the spreads over the Altiplano next to La Paz) as we travel to our next destination. I wish we could have gotten a clear shot of Illimani, the main mountain that towers over La Paz. Oh well.

PHOTOS: Tiwanaku

A view of the temple at Tiwanaku.

The Tiwanakan culture made lots of weird-looking head sculptures.

A Bolivian taller than me!

Yoli standing at the Sun Gate.

A donkey and some sheep enjoy the grass in the city of Tiwanaku.

We pose on top of the other ruins.

Tiwanaku's church in the center of town. It's quite beautiful.

PHOTOS: Copacabana (Lake Titicaca)

Our bus crosses a strait as we make our way to Copacabana.

Lake Titicaca

When we reached Copacabana, I had the great idea of climbing the mountain. It was quite a climb, especially as we got close to the top. But once we reached it, we had spectacular views of Lake Titicaca, the city, and the surrounding mountains.

La Isla del Sol ("Island of the Sun") where the Incas believed that the Sun and mankind were born.

Yoli near one of the stations of the cross as we climb down the mountain.

Lake Titicaca isn't the only thing that draws people to Copacabana. Many folks make pilgrimages here to see the Virgin of Copacabana. They often bring objects they want to be blessed, including new vehicles, which you see here all decorated.

The church in Copacabana is unusual because of its Moorish-influenced design. Inside we saw the fake Virgin (the real one is hidden so she won't be stolen). Lots of people had swarmed to the front as a priest blessed everyone. Other folks didn't seem to mind bringing pets or talking on cell phones despite signs prohibiting these activities.

Taking a ferry back over the strait as we return to La Paz from Copacabana.

PHOTOS: Oruro

We hadn't intended to stay in Oruro more than overnight, but our train turned out to be leaving a day later than we expected. Here are some photos from Oruro.

In Oruro we took a tour of a mine, which was located right next to the church of the Virgen del Socavón (Virgin of the Mine). Yoli is standing by a train which we found in the courtyard next to the exit from the mine.

Just below the courtyard of the church is the Plaza del Folklore. Every year at Carnaval, Oruro's huge procession normally ends here (The Carnaval celebration in Oruro is probably the biggest in South America). But on this day, lots of folks had gathered to protest something. This was around the same time that campesinos set up blockades throughout El Alto to force the government to drop El Alto's water company, and also the same time that bus drivers in Santa Cruz were on strike protesting the government's hike of diesel prices.

A true Mac dealer in the heart of Oruro!

PHOTOS: Salar de Uyuni

Before we started our tour of the actual Salar de Uyuni, the driver first took us to see two nearby lagoons, which were right next to each other; one saltwater, the other freshwater. This is a closeup of the saltwater lagoon.

In the town of Colchani, people prepare salt for sale. Here you can see piles of salt sitting on ovens, which remove any moisture in the salt.

Now we are actually on the Salar. In the part of the Salar nearest Colchani, residents extract salt from the surface. They make piles of salt which they leave for days or weeks to let moisture get out. When the piles are ready, they drive out trucks and bring the salt back to town.

Our driver prepares for the drive across the Salar by putting some shrubbery around the radiator. He does this when the Salar is wet, because the salt gets all over the engine components.

When the Salar de Uyuni is wet, it's like you're on another planet.

Josh dips his hand into one of the Ojos de Sal ("Salt eyes") where water from an underground river bubbles up to the surface, forming new salt crystals.

The Salt Hotel.

When the Salar is dry, it looks like a honeycomb, covered by a never ending series of hexagonal salt formations.

A dry portion of the Salar.

Despite being surrounded by a vast salt lake, the Isla del Pescado (Fish Island) is home to several hardy forms of life, like these huge cacti.

Yoli and Josh eat lunch on the Isla del Pescado. We had t-bone steak, toasted bowtie pasta, salad, and soda.

PHOTOS: Potosí

Looking down this street in Potosi you can see the Torre de la Compañia de Jesus (a Jesuit tower) and in the distance, the Mirador

The front of the Torre de la Compañia de Jesus. We climbed up to the lookout point at the top of the tower to take the next few photos.

Cerro Rico ("Rich Mountain"), the main source of silver (and, therefore, wealth) for the Spanish Empire during the colonial times. Many poor miners still work in cooperative tin mines here, but the conditions are deplorable and life expectancy is extremely short.

Another look at the Mirador outside of Potosi. In the bottom left you can see the front of the Santa Theresa convent.

I poke my head around the corner of the stone stairway that led up to the lookout point. This tight, dark spiral stair is like something out of Indiana Jones or the Lord of the Rings.

The big white building on the left is the Casa de la Moneda, the royal mint built by the Spaniards hundreds of years ago. This building is HUGE and it cost a fortune to construct.

The main courtyard inside the Casa de la Moneda, including the famous face which has become the symbol of Potosi.

An old train inside the Casa de la Moneda. I think they said this was the first locomotive in the territory that later became Bolivia.

One of the huge animal-powered wooden presses, used for flattening the silver ingots into plates. These plates were later stamped and turned into coins.

A strongbox for holding silver that was transported by sea back to Spain. The lock on the front is a decoy. The real lock was on top and covered by leather. As you can see, the lock mechanism is intricate. You didn't just insert the key and turn it... You had to move it several times in certain directions and then it would open.

Steam-powered presses that replaced the older presses early in the 20th century.

After the Casa de la Moneda, we visited a restaurant built on the site of an old silver refinery. The ancient equipment has been transformed into tables and seats. What a cool place to eat a meal!

Yoli's uncle David (left) and other family members

The family took us to a restaurant to eat k'alaphurka, which is a spicy corn soup.

What makes kara-pulka so distinctive is that they drop a super-hot stone into it, causing the soup to bubble and belch like a volcano.

PHOTOS: Sucre

A view of Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia

The older part of Sucre is filled with white buildings like this cathedral, which is why people call it the "White City."

The Prefectura

Casa de la Libertad, where Bolivia became an independent republic. It was used for a while as the legislature building, until the legislature moved to La Paz.

The courtyard in the Casa de la Libertad. Before being pressed into service for liberty and government, the building was built as a monastery.

Inside the Casa de la Libertad, you can see paintings of Bolivia's heroes, including Simon Bolivar, for whom the country is named.

Just a few years ago, dinosaur tracks were discovered at a concrete quarry right outside Sucre.

The wall where the tracks was found is HUGE. The tiny figures there are people.

The next couple photos show various tracks on the wall. There are more than 5000, the most in one place anywhere in the world.

Yoli and I pose with our hardhats next to the "Dino Truck."

One of the best museums we visited in Bolivia was the textile museum in Sucre, where they have real artisans on hand demonstrating how they weave their beautiful tapestries.

PHOTOS: Santa Cruz

Photos from our time so far in Santa Cruz.

The road between Sucre and Santa Cruz is being paved. After a few hours, we reached a point where the road is closed for most of the day. Enterprising local folks have set up food stalls up and down the road for those unfortunate souls who get trapped there. We didn't know this was coming, so we were afraid we had come to a blockade. Thankfully we only waited about 15 minutes there before the road opened and traffic started to move again.

A birthday party for Rena, secretary at the studio at Hebron Seminary

Yoli's niece Abi and nephew Papicho

A birthday party for Yoli's sister Eliza (bottom with her two daughters)

Update from Santa Cruz

Well, just wanted to let everyone know that we are safe and sound in Santa Cruz. We arrived Thursday morning, and it is hot and humid here (it just rained tonight). We are staying at El Jordan, the same place where we were married in 2003.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, Yoli really wanted to keep our visit to Santa Cruz a surprise. Her family knew we were coming someday, but had no idea when. They didn't know we were in the country. We decided to visit her parents' house first. We took a bus, but the place it dropped us off was in front of her sister Noemi's place. So we were spotted, but we still surprised her. Then we arrived at her parents' house and surprised another sister, Sara. But her dad wasn't home, so we had to wait for him to arrive. Unfortunately, Sara spoiled the surprise by calling her dad and telling him we were there and were leaving (but that wasn't true). She told him that to make him come faster. But he was riding his bicycle in an area close to where a blockade was taking place, and he was forced to ride through some tear gas. He arrived looking tired and sweaty, and was quite surprised to learn we weren't leaving soon. Still, we had a nice visit.

We've stayed busy visiting Yoli's other scattered siblings. During my previous visits, they were mostly lived close together and we had frequent big gatherings. However many have since moved farther away, so it takes a bit of traveling to see everyone.

Yoli was very excited to see her nephew Papicho and nieces Jesse and Leya today. Papicho was a bit reluctant to spend time with us at first, until he got to the house of his grandpa. Then he became a Tasmanian Devil, whirling around the house and the yard expending energy furiously. He was a lot of fun and playful... but definitely a handful.

Besides visiting family, we have also visited many friends. We could only see Corina, who runs El Jordan, for a few days because she left on a trip. We will get to see her again, though, a few days before we leave. We are helping her with some computer and library-related work at El Jordan. We have had mixed success, fixing some problems, while a couple still have us confounded. Oh yeah, and I accidentally fried an old PC because of my confusion and ignorance about 110v verses 220v electrical outlets. I felt really stupid about that. But our successes have made up for it...

We also ran by Hebron Seminary the other day to get some discs we needed. While we were there, we ended up attending a birthday party for Reyna, the secretary at the recording studio there. That was a lot of fun, and we got to see other friends there. On our way out we were stopped by several different groups of people who were excited to see us... well, they were mostly excited to see Yoli, but they saw her because of me (gringos really stand out). Leaving the Seminary took us about 20 minutes. :)

We've got a busy day planned for tomorrow, but there will be a bus strike. We're not sure how that will affect us. We have to keep watching the news to make sure we avoid trouble and stay ahead of the commotion.

For unto us a child is born... err... will be born

For those who didn't yet hear, let me make it official: Yoli is pregnant. We will have a baby this year!

We didn't find out for certain until the day we left on this trip. That made it hard to get the word out. We didn't post it on this website because we wanted to surprise Yoli's family, and we didn't want this news to reach them before we got there.

Well, technically we aren't there yet, but we will be tomorrow. And I hope the news won't travel faster than we will.

Anyway, we've already started buying "baby things" like a miniature poncho we got here in Sucre. We are excited about the future!

Dinosaur tracks

Sucre has a relatively new attraction: dinosaur tracks. We decided to check them out on Tuesday morning. We went to the plaza to wait for the "Dino-Truck" which arrived ahead of time (a bit unusual for Bolivia!). It transported us outside the city to a concrete plant. Behind the plant were the tracks.

Apparently the tracks were discovered by accident as workers were detonating rock to use to make concrete. At first they didn't think they were anything, but some scientists and university students confirmed they were dinosaur tracks. And they weren't just little tracks. This is the biggest collection of tracks together anywhere in the world. There are more than 5000 spanning a huge rock wallface. The second biggest such find was in Germany, but that site has only 240.

We were fitted with orange safety helmets (they still do concrete work near the dinosaur site) and joined the English-speaking group. Our guide spoke pretty good English and was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The tour started with some basic information about how the tracks were formed: they were covered by a layer of volcanic rock, and successive layers of other types of rock. In the ancient past, two tectonic plates collided, forming the Andes. This huge collision shifted what was once horizontal layers of rock and made them vertical.

Our guide then showed us models of the different types of dinosaurs whose tracks we would see. Among them were triceratops, brontosaurus, and many others whose names I've forgotten. He drew in the dust to show us the shapes of their tracks.

Then it was time to approach the rockface. It is really huge. At first it's hard to see the tracks, especially in the morning because of the angle of the sunlight. But as our guide showed us the tracks using light reflected from a mirror, they became much easier to spot. The tracks were everywhere. Some were quite big and paths criss-crossed.

This rockface is apparently a goldmine of tracks. While the top layer has many tracks, the layers underneath apparently have tracks as well. Over the last 5 years, some parts have worn away, revealing new tracks underneath. This is both good and bad. The problem is that the Bolivians still haven't put together the money or organization needed to study the newest prints, or to preserve them. They have a dream of using silicon to harden the rock and preserve it... but that will take money.

But it sounds like many of the right key players are on board (the mayor, tourism board, etc). Hopefully it will all work out. And thankfully it seems the concrete company recognizes the importance of the site and has worked with the tourism people to minimize the impact of their work on the site.

Later in the day we visited with a missionary named Joanne who works here in Sucre that Yoli knew from her previous job in Santa Cruz as a secretary at the mission office. She was very accomodating and we had a nice visit with her.

From there we went to the Supreme Court of Bolivia. This is the one branch of government that calls Sucre home, while the other two are in La Paz. There was a big park nearby which we walked around in. It was very nice... Sucre has some of the nicest gardens in all of Bolivia's cities. In the middle of the park was an Eiffel Tower you could climb. But there were several couples already at the top making out, so we decided to skip that.

We ran out of time Tuesdasy to see the Casa de Libertad, so we went Wednesday morning instead. It was interesting to learn about the birth of Bolivia, and to see all the presidents. Bolivia became independent in 1825, but they've already have over 60 presidents thanks to numerous coups and assassinations. (For those of you keeping track, the U.S. is like 40 years older and has had only 40-something presidents)

We have managed to avoid being hit by any water balloons, but we see kids with them all the time. Another interesting site this morning was of some sort of protest. Apparently some people lost their jobs (we're not sure what the jobs were) and one person was being interviewed by a TV reporter. That marks the second TV interview I've witnessed in Sucre.

We also went to the cemetary here in Sucre, which is absolutely beautiful. Upon arrival, you get mobbed by kids who want to be your tour guide through the cemetary. Yoli chose the one who spoke most clearly. He showed us many burial places of former presidents and dignitaries, and told us their stories. It was a nice way to spend some time.

Later today we will ride a bus to Santa Cruz. The trip should take 16 hours or so, and we'll arrive on Thursday morning. While there are various blockades in the Yungas area near La Paz, the campesinos apparently haven't yet tried to block the roads between Sucre and Santa Cruz, so we should be all right.

Water bombs in the White City

Today was museum day in Sucre. We saw some interesting things. But before we get to that, let me tell you about something else we saw: an unsuspecting young woman (presumably a tourist) was pelted in the head with a water balloon as she walked with some friends in the plaza downtown. One thing we've learned is that around here you need to walk around with your eyes open, or if you're on a bus, keep the windows closed. Kids walk the streets with water balloons they throw as a prelude to Carnaval. But the guy today was no kid... he was probably college age or even older. Last night, a boy threatened to throw a balloon at us if we didn't pay him 50 centavos. We pretended we didn't understand Spanish (It was probably harder for Yoli to get away with that). This morning, on our way to our first museum, we saw a pack of kids roaming around outside a church/convent complex looking for targets.

Water balloons aside, we've enjoyed our time in Sucre so far. The most interesting stuff is pretty near where we're staying. And we found out our hotel has breakfast included, which is a nice bonus, since they didn't tell us that when we initially got our room.

We saw three museums. The first was the Convento de Recoleta. It was a nice place, which reminded me a bit of the convent we saw in Potosi, without all the weird details of the nun's lives. This particular convent had lots and lots of religious paintings. Among the highlights were seeing the "millennium tree" which is over 1500 years old. It was the place Simon Bolivar and his army rested during the war for Bolivia's independence. It takes eight people holding hands to circle the tree. We also saw some hillside terraces where priests still grow the food they themselves eat. There was also a beautiful choir room with carved wood seats and wall panels. Originally it was much larger (around 101 seats) but a fire forced them to consolidate the seats and make it smaller (around 51 seats now). Our guide through the convent was a young boy, which was a bit surreal. He seemed like he was in a hurry to get the tour over with. And he couldn't answer most of Yoli's questions.

According to our travel book, Sucre makes Bolivia's best salteñas. So we decided to get some to eat for an early lunch. They were quite good, but I think I still like Yoli's better. But she likes these ones, which she considers "perfect." Salteñas are pastries stuffed with meat, potatoes, peas, etc. They are baked not fried, and they are quite juicy. I like to eat them for dinner, but in Bolivia they are considered a breakfast or midmorning snack.

Next up was a visit to

Eating etiquette

Sunday morning we had been scheduled to visit the thermal waters in Potosí with Yoli's Tio David and the rest of his family. However, this didn't work out because they had problems with their car. Instead they invited us to lunch.

We got to see his house, which us undergoing some major construction as they add a second story. We also got to meet two of his children: Karina (with her husband) and Daniel. Daniel is studying linguistics and speaks some English, so we had interesting conversation with him.

But something gave me a feeling I was getting into something over my head.

Tio David played some music on DVD for us, which was very beautiful (and much more affordable than in the states, thanks to DVD copyists (or pirates as the RIAA would call them)). We then tested his dvd player to make sure it would play Region 1 discs, since we hope to get a disc for him that he can't find in Bolivia.

Then it was lunch time. Yoli and I both knew there would be trouble when we saw the soup David's wife Norah brought out. They were huge. And of course they tasted great. But by the time I finished my soup, I was full. I was desperately praying that soup was all that we would receive for lunch. But my mind knew better.

Out came the plates ... two plates piled high with chuño (a sort of dehydrated potato that is quite tasty), picante de pollo (two pieces of spicy chicken), two potato halves, and tomatoes with onions.

I knew I was in trouble. I looked at Yoli desperately, but it was no use. I had to try to eat as much as I could. I didn't want to offend Tia Norah. But that wasn't the only trouble.

Apparently the family knew the folks who owned the bus company we were using for our trip to Sucre in the afternoon. So they offered to call the company and have the bus pick us up. This would let us spend more time with them, which was a good thing. But in the back of my head, I knew that this would mean we would have to bring our giant backpack inside the bus again. I was dreading a repeat of our bus trip from Uyuni to Potosí.

I began eating the food, but it was clear I wasn't going to get very far. Yoli advised me quietly in English to try talking and wasting time so that when the bus arrived we could just get up and leave our plates. She followed this plan better than me since I didn't know this family that well, and my Spanish isn't that great. This wasn't conducive to starting conversation. But Daniel wanted to practice English and asked me lots of questions. For that, I am eternally grateful.

When 1:00 time, I happily stood up from the table and hurried to put on the backpack. I still don't understand how, but Yoli ate more than I did. Thankfully Yoli was also able to talk with Norah and explain that we normally don't eat very much. During this trip, we have been frequently splitting lunch and dinner meals between the two of us, because they are so large.

It was time to say goodbye. We had a nice three days getting to visit this side of Yoli's family. I'm glad we took the opportunity to meet them. They were very kind and generous to us.

When the bus pulled up, my fear was confirmed. They wouldn't put the bag on the roof. But it turned out this wasn't such a problem after all. The bus wasn't nearly as crowded as the Uyuni trip, and the road was paved. Bonus!

We are now in Sucre. Our hotel room seems quite nice, with a good soft bed, cable, a working phone, etc. And the weather is great, much nicer than Potosí. This is the white city, the official capital of Bolivia. But in fact, most of the power is really in La Paz, the "other" capital, though Bolivians don't call it a capital. They call it a "government seat."

Chew on that one for a while. We'll share more soon. :)

Churches, convents, and crypts, oh my!

Saturday morning we headed over the San Francisco, an old church in Potosi. The guide was young and energetic and showed us lots of interesting things. We started by looking at paintings on the four walls surrounding a large courtyard, mostly on the subject of San Francisco de Assisi. Then we went into the main church sanctuary and he showed us the miraculous image of the Señor de la Veracruz. It's a giant sculpture of Jesus on the cross made from one piece of cactus. It's really quite beautiful. The "miraculous" part comes from the story of its origin. The statue showed up unexpectedly on the church's doorstep one day, but headless. Then three guys came to town and offered to fashion a head. Not knowing these guys, they were asked to stay isolated in a room for three days, which they did. They never ate a thing. When the people went to the room to see why they weren't eating, the dudes were gone. The statue of Jesus suddenly had a head, and it looked as if it had been part of the statue from the very beginning.

We got to look at more paintings, including an interesting one that depicted what happens after death with graphic scenes from hell, etc. There was another interesting painting depicting the Catholic church as a ship with a crucified Jesus as the mast. Among the many enemies depicted dying in the water were various figures who represented Protestants, including one labeled "Calvin."

Our guide then took us into the catacombs, the crypt if you will, where the dead of the church were buried. There were four crypts: one reserved for the priests and the others for the people. We didn't actually see any bodies, because the crypt we were in is empty. It was flooded many years ago, and so all the bodies that were once there were moved to the other crypts and sealed.

From under the earth we rose up to climb numerous sets of stairs (including another Indiana Jones-esque spiral stone staircase) to reach a pinnacle of the church where we had another spectacular view of the city. (There must be 5 or 6 different "miradors" or "lookout points" around this town)

After San Francisco, we met with Tio David and family at a restaurant to eat a unique soup called K'alaphurka. It's a corn soup with crispy pork pieces, beans, potatoes, and lots of spices. It is served in clay bowls, into which is dropped a large red-hot stone. The result is a bubbling, popping soup volcano. It was very tasty and a unique experience. To temper the spiciness, a bowl of mote (a large white corn) was also available to eat between spoonfuls of soup.

After lunch, we went to the Convent San Teresa for a two-hour tour. Believe it or not, there was enough stuff here to truly fill up the two hours. The nuns in this convent led a life we would consider truly strange, maybe even cruel.

This was an exclusive convent. To get in, a girl had to be exactly 15 years old and her parents had to pay the equivalent of $100,000 in money or artwork or property. Once the girl was dropped off, she never got to see the outside world with her own eyes again. Not even her own parents. Even in death, they remained at the convent, where they were buried. And no family was invited to the wake. Yikes.

There was tons of artwork and countless figurines of various versions of the virgin Mary. When girls arrived, their hair was cut and their nice dresses confiscated. The hair and dresses were later used to produce costumes and hair for the figurines, as well as robes for the priests.

And mirrors were forbidden. The girls never got to see themselves again. They lived in an insular world. This didn't change until sometime in the 1960s. Now the nuns interact with the outside world and have a three-month trial period before becoming full-fledged nuns.

There is apparently a room in the convent that displays metal chains the nuns used to inflict pain on themselves as a means to overcome temptation and evil thoughts. We didn't get to see that room, because 7 years ago some Mexican writer came and took photos of the room and wrote a fantasy novel based on this one room. For a while after that, people came to the convent only to see this room because of that book. So they closed the room and haven't reopened it to the public since then.

Obviously, despite the oddities of this life, the nuns were fiercely dedicated. They spent every moment of time productively, whether it was embroidering, baking the communion wafers for the city, copying manuscripts, or whatever.

While we were touring the convent, it began to rain. And it didn't stop until we went to sleep later that night. Consequently we got soaked. Neither of us brought many winter clothes. And honestly, we haven't much needed them before coming to Potosi. But it is cold here. I would hate to be here in the winter (it's summer now). And since it's summer, nobody uses their heaters. So every building is cold. There's no escaping it. Oh well.

But we ship out later today (Sunday) for the lower-altitude and sunnier Sucre. Hopefully all will go well.

Potosí, highest city in the world

After a very late check-in, we slept in and started our first day in Potosi around 11 a.m. At first we were thinking of switching hotels since the one we were at was a bit pricey and not everything was working as it should (tv, telephone, toilet, lamp, etc). But eventually these problems were fixed and we decided to stay.

We went to the Torre de Compañia de Jesus and climbed to the top where we had a spectacular view of the city and Cerro Rico ("rich mountain"), the mountain that made Potosi wealthy and famous. You see, silver was discovered in Cerro Rico, and that led to a mining boom. The truth is that during colonial times, Potosi was the largest city in the Americas and the source of enormous wealth for the Spanish empire. This led to the construction of tons of beautiful churches and buildings across the city. But all this came at the expense of the lives of Indians from across the region forced to work as slaves in miserable conditions in the mines.

The stairs leading to the top of the Torre were unbelievable tight and tiny. It was the sterotypical dark stone spiral staircase from the movies. All we needed was a torch and the movie set would have been complete. That made it all the more fun, though.

We spotted several churches from atop the Torre that we later decided to visit. After leaving the Torre, we walked down the street and saw the Convent of Santa Theresa. We then walked further south to the Arco de Cobija, a stone arch which original marked the entrance to the Spanish city from the Indian neighborhoods outside. We continued down this street to find another arch called Mejillones, and eventually another church, Iglesia de San Benito, which was in the process of being restored.

I am not exaggerating about the number of churches in this city. There are tons of them. And most have their own unique decorations, often in the mestizo-baroque style.

We ate dinner at Sumaj Orcko (the Quecha name for Cerro Rico, meaning "beautiful mountain"). What did we have? Llama steak with egg and mashed potatoes. It was quite good! Llama is lean and tasty.

Then we took the long walk back home. As we walked the city over the course of the day we noticed something different about the air. It was somehow ... cleaner than in the other large cities we'd been in. Later we learned the reason: the micro buses were on strike. The truth is we've only used a bus in this city once. There is so much packed into the city center, that we can walk anywhere we want to go. This is quite a bit different than in La Paz or Santa Cruz.

Friday morning we took a tour of la Casa de la Moneda, the royal mint built in Potosi by the Spaniards. It is an enormous building covering an entire city block with towering walls. It looks like a fortress from the outside, and in a way, it was. They didn't want anyone stealing gold, silver, or finished coins.

Cerro Rico produced vast quantities of silver, which is what enriched the Spaniards and made Potosi such an important city. This silver was minted into coins in the Casa de la Moneda. We got to see the huge machines that originally made this happen. Casa de la Moneda minted coins until 1953, and now it is only a museum - but the best museum in all of Bolivia. They have a vast array of artwork, coins, archaeological artifacts, mineral displays, and more. We enjoyed the tour, though the guide seemed a bit rushed and unfriendly. But she spoke English, which was a definite plus.

The guide showed us an example of an iron chest used to transport coins to Spain. The lock mechanism was very complicated and had bolts all the way around the lid of the chest. There was a fake keyhole. Even if you had the key and knew where the true keyhole was, you had to turn the key in a certain pattern to open it.

There was an enormous two-story room for squeezing silver ingots into thin plates suitable for stamping coins. In the lower level, a series of mules would walk in a circle turning a large central axis. This axis powered the machines above into which were manually fed the ingots. Each ingot had to go through 12 different presses which would make it successively thinner.

The coins were minted by hand using two dies and a hammer. Obviously this process was time consuming. But they still made 3,000 coins a day.

We also saw more modern machine introduced over successive eras, powered first by steam and then by electricity. While this machinery was smaller and simplified the process, the machines themselves were still huge.

Well, I could go on all day talking about the Casa de la Moneda, but anyway, we decided to eat lunch at the restaurant/museum San Marcos. The restaurant was built on the site of a 16th/17th century silver refinery. Several of the large machines have been converted into tables you can sit at. We had a different type of llama here, and again it was quite tasty. After eating, we climbed to the top of the refinery and had a nice view of Cerro Rico and the southern part of the city.

After lunch we decided to visit the Merado Artesanal, where you can by artwork and handicrafts. But most of the shops were closed on this day. As we were leaving I heard some music. It sounded like a parade, and I wanted to find it, so I talked Yoli into walking toward the music with me (through the slight rain). After walking quite a way and running into some dead ends, we discovered the music was originating in a military base and we couldn't see inside. Thus foiled, we decided to head back to the hotel to meet with Yoli's uncle David, who lives in Potosi.

Tio David was very nice and he took us to the house of one of his sisters. We met her and another sister and spent a good three hours talking and swapping stories.

After that it was time to wind down the evening, so we headed back home. The micros are back on the street, so the air isn't quite as nice and you have more to dodge when you cross the street. It's a bit cold here, as well. But I still really like Potosi.

The greatest salt lake: Uyuni

Sorry, Utah, but Uyuni has you beat. The world's biggest and highest salt lake is the Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia. We went there, and it was a wonder to behold.

We came to the city of Uyuni by train. The train ride was wonderful, very roomy and comfortable with friendly conductors and waiters. The only problem is that their movie selection was a bit on the violent and sex-saturated side. (Everything was R-rated on the entire trip, despite lots of kids being on the train)

Anyway, Uyuni was a nice little town. Our schedule was tight so we had to locate a hotel quickly upon arrival, sleep, and then get up early to book a 1-day excursion onto the Salar. We managed to find a nice tour agency (there's 46 in the town) called Cristal Tours.

Anyway, we piled into a Toyota 4x4 with three Bolivians, an Argentine, and a French woman. First we trekked to two small lagoons. One was salt water, stained red. Right next to it was a blue-green freshwater lagoon with birds flying and plants growing. What a contrast!

The landscape was stark. No trees to be seen anywhere. From the lagoons we went to Colchani, which is a salt processing town near the Salar. There is a large mechnical processing facility which operates sporadically. But in the town most folks help with manual processing. We got to see the process in action. Salt is gathered in piles from the Salar and brought to the town. The salt is placed over a series of small ovens that take out the moisture. Then a machine grinds the salt into fine crystals which are mixed with iodine. The salt is then bagged individually and sealed for selling in markets around Bolivia. In the town there were folks selling all sorts of trinkets made of salt.

From there we drove out onto the Salar itself. It had rained the day before, so most of the Salar was covered with water. When it's like that, the Salar becomes like a giant mirror, reflecting mountains on the horizon and the sky above. The Salar itself is about 7 meters deep, and most of that is salt.

We moved on to a place where we saw "Ojos de Sal" or "Eyes of Salt." An underground river causes water to bubble up to the surface, like a spring. But the water is quite cold. Around these Ojos new salt crystals form. People who have rheumatism often come here for a week to bathe themselves in the saltwater, and leave feeling much better. I heard something similar when I visited the Dead Sea in Israel.

Our next stop was a hotel made entirely of blocks salt. It was interesting to look at. Even better was that here, there was no water covering the surface, so we could see the bright white salt itself. The salt surface develops cracks in hexagonal patterns. New salt from underneath oozes to the surface, creating a raised ridge. So from above it looks something like a honeycomb. And man is it bright. It's a good thing we got sunglasses, because you could quickly become blind as you drive across the white landscape.

After taking photos and looking around, it was time for the long drive to the Isla del Pescado, which is in the center of the Salar. Along the way we saw the extinct volcano Tunupa not far away. When we had been looking at tours in the morning, one agent offered a tour which would have taken us to the volcano. As it turned out later, it's a good thing we declined.

The Isla del Pescado (Fish Island) was amazing. It is shaped like a fish half out of the water, hence the name. The island itself is covered in jagged coral reef-like rock. It is also home to a special variety of cactus that covers the island. It was a strange site to see all these cacti amid the vast, bleak, empty wilderness surrounding us. We decided to take a climb to the top of the island (it's essentially a mountain in the Salar) and the views we got along the way were amazing. I also scratched up one of my new shoes. Oh well, it was worth it. We had read in our travel book that these cacti flower around this time of year, and sure enough we saw one with a beautiful white flower.

We climbed back down to have lunch, and boy was I surprised to see it was going to be a full-blown traditional Bolivian lunch with a t-bone-like steak, bowtie pasta, veggies, and bananas. We sat on seats of stone at a table made of salt. Wild.

Time was getting short so we hopped back into the 4x4 and headed back to Uyuni. Yoli and I had a 7 p.m. bus to catch to Potosi. Unfortunately, because of the water on the Salar, our driver had had to drive much slower than normally he would have. As we neared Uyuni it appeared we might not have enough gas to make it. We stopped at a station to refuel, only to learn the station had no attendant. "¿Que hacemos?" our drive asked. ("What will we do?")

Well, we just drove on. And we did make it, but we cut it really close. We grabbed our backpacks from the travel office and hustled across several blocks to find our bus. Two guys were finishing putting the luggage on top of the bus. Yoli ran inside to make sure it was our bus. As it turned out, our bus had already left, but they gave us seats on this bus. While she was inside I was yelling at the guys on top of the bus trying to get them to take my unwieldy backpack. They refused and told me to take it inside with us. I was not happy.

We ended up on the bus and the backpack would not fit under our seats or in the overhead compartment. So it had to sit upright next to Yoli's legs. That wasn't the worst part. The bus was filled with young Argentines who were determined to stay awake all night being loud, shining lights at each other. Thankfully I didn't understand all the cursing they did each time we encountered problems along the ride. And like most buses in Bolivia, this one was packed like a can of sardines. There were many people standing (and eventually sitting) in the aisles. The bus roared to life and we headed to Potosi along an unpaved and violently bumpy road. The bus had several problems along the way which required us to stop while the driver attended to them. As night came on, my neighbors in the aisle decided to use my leg as a pillow. Yoli and I were cramped on every side.

The ride did eventually come to an end, an hour and a half late. It was 2:30 a.m. and it was time to find a hotel. Our first visit was unsuccessful (they were full). We decided to head toward a second choice from the book, but we walked in the totally opposite direction by mistake and ended up at a different hotel. Well, they had rooms, but they were pricey. But we didn't care, we just wanted to get some sleep.

The adventure continues.

Down a mineshaft ... and into a Mac store

After having found out that we would have to stay in Oruro an extra day before moving on, we decided to check out some local attractions. The first place we went was the Faro, a sort of lighthouse or beacon set on top of a huge rock near one of the edges of town. From there we had a spectacular view of Oruro. The city begins against several yellow-brown mountains, and then spreads across the plain below them. It was a long walk to get there, but from that high place we spotted some interesting buildings far off that we later walked past.

We tried to visit the Casa de la Cultura Patiño but could not because the workers there were on strike (though curiously they were still conducting tours for groups of five or more).

So we then went to the Museo Etnografico Minero, dedicated to the miners that made Oruro. Oruro was, at one time, a tin-producing powerhouse. But then came the 1980s and the tin market crashed. The museum itself began in a building adjacent to an old church. We descended into a real mine shaft, and a tour guide showed us around. He began by talking about the Tio, an idol-looking fellow with horns to whom miners give gifts of cigarettes, coca leaves, alcohol, or money, as a means to secure protection while working in the mines. The guide explained that the Tio was not meant to be the devil, but was rather a caricature of the Spanish overlords who forced the Indians to work the mines in cruel ways they never had before. (for instance, under the Inca Empire, the Indians only built tunnels as far as sunlight would go, because the sun was their god. The Spanish didn't care and forced them to dig very deep) It was a very interesting experience. You could smell the sulfer and other smells. You could feel the mine floor tremble as dynamite was exploded in another nearby mine. There were also lots of pieces of old equipment and photos on display, including a display on how Indians would smuggle minerals out. A miner would put the minerals in a baby bottle and bring them to his wife outside the mine. She would pound it, and then put it into a roll of cloths meant to look like she had a baby. She would put this "baby" on her back and take the minerals into town. All in all, it was probably one of the coolest museums we've visited so far.

Outside the mine museum, we heard loud noises and saw lots of people gathered in the amphitheater-like plaza below the church. This is the area where Oruro's world-famous Carnaval procession finishes each year. We went to check out what was going on... it was a protest in support of the transportation strikes going on in La Paz and Santa Cruz right now. Thankfully we made it out of La Paz in time to avoid any delays or hassles. We saw on the news this morning that not all tourists were so forward-thinking. Many of them hiked from La Paz to El Alto and then walked or rode bikes to the airport, hoping to get someplace else. Wow... I would hate to have had to endure that walk with all the luggage.

One other thing we did was to buy some sunglasses in preparation to our trip to the Salar (salt lake) de Uyuni. Unfortunately we couldn't find anything good that would clip onto my glasses. So I bought some ridiculous early-90s style sunglasses that will fit over my regular glasses. No, friends you will never, ever get to see me wear them. After this trip, they will be donated to our nephew Papicho.

On our way back to the hotel, I spotted what appeared to be a genuine Apple computer dealer. I should explain that stores here liberally use logos people recognize, whether they really carry products from the company or not, or whether they are legally authorized to use it or not. So computer stores often have the rainbow Apple logo on their signs, but never sell Macs. But this one appeared to be genuine. This morning, we went to check it out. And it was very cool... This store has all the latest Apple stuff, and it's all legitimate. They don't sell pirate software (unlike 95% of the other computer vendors in the country). And somehow they've stayed in business 12 years, despite the fact that 35% import tax makes the computers quite expensive. My hat is off to these folks for their hard work and their genuine love of the Mac.

Surprise in Oruro

After returning from Copacabana to La Paz on Sunday, we scrambled to get to the bus station and buy a ticket to Oruro. We made it in time and arrived Sunday night around 9:30 p.m. We found a comfortable hotel (Hotel Bernan) with hot water (and no "electric showerhead of death"!).

Monday morning we had nice showers and some delightful breakfast (api, a thick purple corn drink; and buñuelos, a pastry). Then we set out for the train station to buy tickets to Uyuni, a city next to a giant salt lake... One of the wonders of Bolivia, and something Yoli has never seen. We expected to leave around 11 am. Oruro was just a transportation stop-over.

Ah, but Bolivia (or life, however you look at it) threw us a curveball. They have changed the train schedule since our travel book was published. The Monday train to Uyuni is now a Tuesday train to Uyuni.

So we will stay here overnight and find some things to check out. The advantage of this change of events is that we got to catch up the blog on the past few days.

One quick unrelated note: We are both still checking email, so if you want to get in touch, PLEASE feel free to write. (In other words, we have no idea what's happening at home, so please get in touch!)

Copacabana and Lake Titicaca

The bus ride took longer than we thought it would. The most interesting part of the ride was when we had to disembark from the bus to cross Tiquina Strait. The bus went across on a ferry and, after paying a fee (of course), we were herded into motorboats and went across. Once on the other side, we petered around the plaza and waited for the bus to arrive. Once it did, we got back onboard. But not everyone realized the bus had come. The driver didn't seem to care. He began driving off after honking a few times. Some passengers began yelling "Faltan! MUCHOS faltan!" (Missing, there are many missing!) So he relented and went back to pick up the stragglers, who were still unaware of their plight.

When we reached Copacabana, it was getting dark. We had selected some hotel possibilities from a travel book, and immediately headed for them. I knew things were looking bad when both hotels were fully booked. Copacabana was packed with tourists because it was a weekend. It's summertime in Bolivia, so some children are still on vacation. We, of course, hadn't thought of that. Also, we had bumped up our trip to Copacabana a day because of the transportation strike we knew was coming on Monday.

We literally walked up and down the streets of the city looking for any place that at least had a room with a private bath. Yoli said she felt like Mary in Bethlehem, looking for an inn. Eventually we found something, but it was a room for three people and they made us pay for three people.

After leaving our stuff in our room, we tried to find a good restaurant. We were famished because the bus ride had taken longer. We found a good one, with waiters in ties. They served trucha, a fish caught in Lake Titicaca. It was delicious!

A quick side note: A challenge I dealt with for a day or two was my eyes and nose... I seemed to have had a bad allergic reaction. I think the air in La Paz irritated them, but I don't know for sure. So we sought an open pharmacy to get some artificial tears to irrigate my eyes. We found one but didn't have enough money. So Yoli ran back to the hotel to get some more. When she came back, the pharmacy owner showed us that we had a counterfeit 20Bs bill. So she ran back yet again to get more money. And then it rained. But we got our eye drops.

The next morning it was time to explore a bit. We knew from the start we didn't have enough time to do the most popular thing in Copacabana - sail out to the Isla del Sol, where the Incas believed the sun and moon were created. Instead I had the idea of climbing a nearby mountain that overlooked the city. This mountain has a steep trail to the top, called the Calvario (Calvary). At the top there is a big cross. Well, it was a long walk, and definitely not easy. But we were glad we did it. It was very satisfying to climb to the top and look out over the city and the lake. The view was amazing.

Along the way to the top, we saw many Indian priests (I can't think of a better word) performing various rites of blessing for families. (We want a new car, I'm starting a new job, etc) The rite involved shaking up bottles of beer and repeatedly swinging them in the air, spraying the beer onto the ground as an offering to the Pachamama (mother earth). At the top of the mountain there were many Cholas selling model cars, houses, wads of fake dollars, etc. There are also stone altars for offerings of incense, etc.

Many pilgrims come to Copacabana because of the Virgin, who is enshrined in a beautiful Moorish-style Catholic church in the center of the city. There are two festivals a year in her honor, and these draw thousands of pilgrims. Outside the church we found the street filled with cars and buses, adorned with flowers. A priest came out and blessed all the vehicles and there was a lot of popping of fireworks.

Inside the church was extremely ornate. A crowd gathered at the front to receive a blessing from the priest who had some holy water. We also obsertved many blatant offenders of the posted warnings ("No pets allowed" "Don't take photos" "No cell phones").

From a personal religious perspective, all these scenes fascinate and yet also disgust me. The truth is that Catholicism in South America has blended with the old pagan religions, and the resulting amalgam completely misses the truth of what Jesus came to earth to do. I had a conversation along this line with the guy in the pharmacy, though I couldn't articulate myself very well because of my bad Spanish.

When it was time to go, we boarded a bus. There were many there in the plaza, because it was Sunday and most folks were leaving for home. But it turned out we were on the wrong bus. So we quickly had to get our luggage and find the right bus. Everything worked out, and we made it back to La Paz. But the bus ride was very long. The traffic was awful in El Alto. If it hadn't been for an ambulance behind us, we never would have gotten through.

Leaving La Paz

On Saturday morning we hoped to have clear skies so we could get a good photo of La Paz with Illimani in the background. But the clouds foiled us again.

So we took a bus to Calle Jaen, a quiet historic street in La Paz, which is home to four municipal museums. We wanted to see these museums before we left later in the afternoon for Copacabana, where we would see Lake Titicaca.

Getting to the museums was something of a challenge. Calle Jaen is cut off from some streets, and there was an extremely long street of stairs to climb to get there as well. But it was worth it. Calle Jaen was quiet, which was unusual in La Paz. The look of the street was Spanish colonial, with balconies and a very tight street.

The museums were nice. Museo Costumbrista was filled with paintings, nativity scenes, miniatures, and dioramas.

My favorite was Museo Litoral (Museum of the Coastline), which is dedicated to the memory of a strip of land along the Pacific Ocean, which Bolivia lost to Chile during a war in the 1800s. Bolivia's history is replete with such territorial losses in war, but this seems to be the one they feel most passionate about. They even have a patriotic song they sing called "Recuperemos nuestro mar" which means "Let's recover our sea!" I have been fascinated by this whole thing for quite some time, so when I found out there was a museum dedicated to it, I had to check it out. The museum was full of maps documenting Bolivia's former coastline and ports. There were authentic uniforms worn by Bolivian soldiers in the war, photos, and information about some of the heroes of the war. We didn't look at it, but there was also a section with tons of documents relating to the issue.

We were running out of time, so we dashed through the Museo de Metales Preciosos (Precious Metals). It was a fascinating look at the use of gold, silver, etc in pre-Spanish times, mostly by the Tiwanakans and Incans. The gold exhibits were understandably contained in a giant vault.

Yoli was mistaken for a tour guide several times in these museums. One mother asked Yoli how her daughter could become a tour guide. After correcting this notion (we are married, and she's never been to these museums anyway) she told the mother to make sure her daughter learned English. Then while Yoli was away the mother engaged me in conversation.

We wanted to see the final museum, but we were out of time. We had to check out of our hotel, take a taxi across the city, and catch a bus to Copacabana, the Bolivian city on a peninsula jutting into Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake on the face of the earth.

Walking, bus ride, walking, walking, bus ride, walking, walking, bus ride...

We awoke early this morning feeling much better than yesterday. We both slept fairly well, though the beds are a bit....bowed, I guess. My neck was still a bit sore from the plane ride, too.

We changed our plans for Friday because we heard about a transportation strike scheduled for Monday, the day we originally intended to leave La Paz. Travel will probably be impossible that day, so we realized we would have to leave for Oruro on Sunday night instead of Monday. That forced us to push up our excursions to the ruins of Tiwanaku and Lake Titicaca. On tap for today was Tiwanaku.

Our hope was to visit Tiwanaku and get back to La Paz by the afternoon so we could meet up one more time with Carla. A noble goal, to be sure, but it went unfulfilled.

After a nice breakfast (mate de coca included), we rode a bus to the cemetary. A very nice cemetary, I should add, on the edge of the city, high up on the sides of the "bowl." From there we caught a bus to Tiwanaku. But we had to be picky, because most of these buses are actually minivans with a lot more seats than a minivan normally has. Thus, legroom is non-existant for a tall guy.

An hour and a half or so later, we had crossed the altiplano and made our way to Tiwanaku. Unfortunately, the bus driver didn't take us directly to the ruins as we thought he would. Instead he dropped us on the highway at the road that led to Tiwanaku. We walked about 1.5 miles, passed by many buses and SUVs filled with tourists. It was a nice enough walk until we went around a curve and came face-to-face with the wind. I had forgotten my wool hat (but I did remember to wear jeans), so my ears were freezing. But eventually we reached the entrance to the museum. As we walked inside, one of the tour bus operators asked me "estas cansado?" (are you tired?) But I thought he said "estas casado?" (are you married?) referring to Yoli at my side. So I answered "yes." But I guess the "yes" worked for both questions.

The bus fee to Tiwanaku had been much less than we expected. But the fee to see the museums and ruins was much higher. They wanted to charge us 25 Bs apiece, but Yoli inquired if they had a separate price for citizens, and they did. That saved our skin, because we hadn't brought much money.

The museums were very interesting, with a few signs in English but mostly Spanish. It would have been nice to go through it with a guide, but I think we came away from it with a bundle of knowledge anyway.

Tiwanaku is an ancient Andean culture that became an empire centered around this city. It's amazing the food surplus they could generate (more than enough to feed 100,000 people) given that they were based in the Andes, and today the Indians living there have to work very hard to eke out an existence. With all this surplus food and wealth, they developed a stratified class system and went to work building incredible temples, pyramids, and monuments.

We saw some of the larger monuments, and they were impressive. There were several excavated temples and pyramids, but not all of them were very complete. In fact, much of the site is totally unworked. There is probably a wealth of archaelogical treasure waiting beneath the surface.

Before we went to the last site (which was some distance from the other parts of the ruins), we decided to travel into the Tiwanaku town to find a place to eat. The restaurants near the ruins and museum were tourist-oriented and high-priced. We knew would barely have enough money to get home. So we found a place called Utama Restaurant about halfway between the museum and the city plaza. The host and hostess were extremely nice and the restaurant was very nice (including the bathrooms). The food was also very good, and reasonably priced. They also gave us a shortcut for walking to the final ruins site.

After seeing the last ruins, we walked back to the city plaza, which was nice. They have a very old church built from stones recovered centuries ago from the ruins. We knew this would be the place to find a bus home. We also knew we were cutting it close on time. It turned out we were cutting it TOO close.

The driver was friendly and a Christian, but he drove fairly slowly. In fairness he didn't have many passengers and was hoping to pick up more. Along the way, I started to notice dogs. LOTS of dogs. They were almost all on the right-hand shoulder of the road. At first I reasoned they liked the warm asphalt given the cold wind and the intermittent rain. But the driver told us that passengers coming from a place called Desaguadero like to throw bags of leftover food to the dogs from the windows of their buses. A few minutes later we witnessed this. And a few minutes after that, we saw it again. Suffice it to say, there was no shortage of dogs along the road all the way home.

We arrived in La Paz 45 minutes later than we had hoped. We then hopped on a bus to go meet our friend. But this bus was even worse... though that was mostly due to the unbelievable traffic. Imagine highway 270 at rush hour, with buses and cars crossing two lanes of traffic over and over to pick up and drop off passengers. Imagine hordes of pedestrians walking in the streets, taking up whole lanes. It was bad.

Our friend had understandably gone home, so we decided to walk around a bit more and explore the city. Yoli took us on a walk which passed through a very nice part of town. She brought us to the Bridge of the Americas, which spans the lowest part of the city, a ravine with trees on either side. Halfway across the bridge you get a great view of one wall of the city to one side, the high-rise buildings on the other side, and in the middle, Illimani mountain towering in the distance. Unfortunately clouds blocked us from getting the "perfect" photo I wanted. But it was still a good view.

Looking directly down from the bridge, I also spotted some strange things. At first I thought they were white and brown rats. But then I realized they were too big to be rats; they were pigs ... with babies. I have no idea why they were down there, but it was amusing.

Tomorrow we hope to see some of the museums we haven't yet visited, we also hope to get a photo of Illimani, and in the afternoon we'll embark on an overnight visit to Lake Titicaca.

Altitude gives us a headache

A quick update on how the rest of Thursday went. Basically we were able to meet our friend Carla for lunch. She was waiting for us at a theater on the main avenue in La Paz. We went to a restaurant called "Dumbo" (yes, that Dumbo) and had a nice time talking, showing pictures, eating, etc.

After an hour or two we walked to the main plaza in La Paz. It was a very nice place ... a bit quieter than most of the streets in the city, which are bustling with pedestrians, cholas selling their wares, buses whizzing by with kids screaming the destination and fare price, etc. There were lots of people, but no vendors allowed on the main part of the plaza. And there were pigeons. TONS of pigeons. Enough to cover the entire plaza, practically. We enjoyed watching children chase the pigeons, jumping to scare them into abrupt flight. One enterprising fellow even brought a remote-controlled car to drive around the pigeons. We also enjoyed watching a couple boys who would ride belly-down on a skateboard on one of the streets adjacent to the plaza. They did this over and over and over. I never knew there were so many ways to use a skateboard. Who needs complicated computerized toys?

We wanted to visit the historic church near the plaza, but it was apparently closed. The national museum of art on the corner was also closed. So we decided to walk several blocks to find the Museum of Ethnology and Folklore, which is supposed to be really good. But we found a computer printout informing us it was closed until February. We were tired and didn't have enough money left for a bus, so we decided to walk home... on our way we passed the museum "tambo kirkincha" which is also supposed to be good, but it cost 1B. And we didn't have 1 B.

Eventually we made it home, extremely tired and light-headed. We tried to take a 2-hour nap (I never really fell asleep, but it was still nice). Later we went out and found a restaurant to eat dinner, and we asked for mate de coca. Not only did they have it, they had the best kind... made only with boiled water and straight coca leaves. (Other kinds come in a teabag and the coca is one ingredient among many) This mate made a big difference for me, it really cleared my headache and took away the symptoms of altitude sickness. So we got another round.

All in all, we didn't accomplish a whole lot our first day in La Paz... but we never expected to. Not only did we have to acclimate to the altitude, we also had to acclimate to all the walking. We do a bit from our apartment in Ferguson, but not near as much as we'll be doing these four weeks.

We arrive ... in a bowl

We arrived to El Alto (a city in the altiplano adjacent to La Paz) this morning around 7:30. No problems with the flight, other than a couple delays. In fact, I was amazed we weren't selected for a "thorough" screening when we went through TSA at Lambert. That was the first time that's happened since we got married.

Surprisingly we had no problems going through customs in Bolivia. Yoli filled out all her forms with her married name, and they accepted it. We have had a fear that the Bolivian government would not recognize her marriage since it occured outside Bolivia. We've heard of others to whom this has happened. So maybe there is a glimmer of hope for us.

The altiplano around El Alto is somewhat level with a few hills and mountain peaks in the distance. But La Paz is situated in a bowl in the altiplano. As we drove from the airport to La Paz we came to a point where we were on the "rim" of the bowl, looking down into it. It was an amazing sight.

We chose two hotels that sounded interesting in a travel book. Our first choice was available. Yoli says it's really cheap (around $8 per night for us both). But the accomodations aren't bad.. it has a bed, tv, shower, sink, closet, and best of all... toilet paper and towels (you don't always find those at the inexpensive hotels).

Anyway we plan to spend this day sleeping (we are TIRED!) and adjusting to the higher altitude (3500m above sea level, we think). We'll also eat with a girl who we encountered through this very website. She is engaged to an American, and we have talked with them often about our own experience.

New year's resolution: return to Bolivia

Well, there's only two days until Yoli and I embark on our first trip to Bolivia since marrying.

Unlike my previous extended trip, this time we will pack very light because we intend to do two weeks of travelling before heading to her hometown, Santa Cruz. If all works out, we plan to visit La Paz, Lake Titicaca, Uyuni (a huge salt-covered lake/desert), Sucre (the white city), and Potosi (once the biggest city in the Americas because of its silver mine).

We'll use this weblog to talk about our adventures, so please keep checking back every few days. Feel free to leave comments, too.

If you aren't familiar with our story, you can also read the archives here to learn more. You'll learn about our cross-cultural adventures in becoming engaged, getting a marriage visa, marrying, and getting Yoli's green card. It's been quite a ride!

Of course if you need to reach us while we're gone, just send an email.