Where to begin? I am in Bolivia. Jessica and I arrived here last Thursday...well, that's not totally accurate. We are in La Paz right now. On Thursday, we arrived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia at 7 a.m., and were prepared for our 24 hour lay over. We got up at 4:30 on Friday to get to the airport, only to find that our flight had been changed to 6:30 p.m. in stead of a.m. Maybe this is what you get for flying with an airline who charged half of what all the other airlines charge. So, we spent a very delirious, sleep deprived day wandering around Santa Cruz, which was cool because we found these 30 cent fruit salads in the market. This is pretty common throughout the country actually. Food is, in general, really inexpensive here.
So anyway...we wandered around all day, watched a little World Cup soccer, made some frustrating phone calls about Jess's lost luggage. Oh right, the luggage...it was sent from Nashville to Oakland instead of to Mexico City, which is where we met up. It was rediculous, but in the end, I think a momma interviened from Nashville, and we picked up the luggage in this little wearhouse building on Saturday at the airport in La Paz. We arrived here on Friday night, and after getting the back pack, we hopped on a bus with a few new friends that we met on various legs of our flights, and headed for Copacabana, which is next to Lake Titicaca. This wasn't the most efficient way of doing things, since we are now planning on heading south and the lake is north. But it was good to get oriented that way, and we had a lot of fun during our 2 days there. We climbed a big hill, which is no easy business at 11,000 feet. But it was worth it because there were some cool altars at the top, and an amazing view. On the first afternoon, I went for a walk on a dirt road that leads from Copacabana to another town where you can catch boats to Isla del Sol, which is a major tourist spot. I just wanted to see the country side a little bit. I met up with these two girls on the road, and started talking with them a little bit. The were aged 8 and 13, and were walking out to their family's field to play soccer and then herd their sheep to the place where they sleep at night. They were shy, but eventually asked if I wanted to go with them, and I did! We got to their plot and played for a while (I was totally out of breath after like 10 seconds). Then they showed me their llamas, and one of them almost spit on me when I petted it. Yes, llamas spit. They look cute and soft, but then they turn their heads toward you and pucker up. This made us all laugh a lot, especially when I ran away. Then they started untying the sheep, and hearding them together. These girls were tough! The 8 year old grabbed some sticks from cut down lima bean plants and started whacking the sheep. She totally dominated the heard of 11! I tried to imitate them, and it was pretty fun! I may have found a new vocation. So, this was really special to me. They asked if I wanted to come back the next day, because they are always there in the afternoon. I did go back yesterday to say bye and ask them if they'd like a photo. Their mom was there, and I asked her if it was ok. She was this really cute chola, she just laughed and said it was up to the girls. They were really excited about it. So, I am going to try and mail these photos...we'll see if it works!
Yesterday, Jess and I also went to Isla del Sol, aforementioned tourist site. It was...well, touristy. But it is a really ancient site. First, the Aymara speaking Tehuaneco (?) people were there, but the Inca's came and were the most recent culture to inhabit the island. In Inca mythology, this island is where the first two Incas were born. Also, the lake is so beautiful...I had no idea what lake Titicaca would look like, but it is so big and blue, and the sky is also a more vibrant shade than I've ever seen anywhere else I think.
Today, we chilled out in the morning, and caught an afternoon bus back to La Paz. From here, we will leave tomorrow for Uyuni, where we will visit these salt flats for a few days. Internet access is a little less existent here, but I will try to write about it soon!
So anyway...we wandered around all day, watched a little World Cup soccer, made some frustrating phone calls about Jess's lost luggage. Oh right, the luggage...it was sent from Nashville to Oakland instead of to Mexico City, which is where we met up. It was rediculous, but in the end, I think a momma interviened from Nashville, and we picked up the luggage in this little wearhouse building on Saturday at the airport in La Paz. We arrived here on Friday night, and after getting the back pack, we hopped on a bus with a few new friends that we met on various legs of our flights, and headed for Copacabana, which is next to Lake Titicaca. This wasn't the most efficient way of doing things, since we are now planning on heading south and the lake is north. But it was good to get oriented that way, and we had a lot of fun during our 2 days there. We climbed a big hill, which is no easy business at 11,000 feet. But it was worth it because there were some cool altars at the top, and an amazing view. On the first afternoon, I went for a walk on a dirt road that leads from Copacabana to another town where you can catch boats to Isla del Sol, which is a major tourist spot. I just wanted to see the country side a little bit. I met up with these two girls on the road, and started talking with them a little bit. The were aged 8 and 13, and were walking out to their family's field to play soccer and then herd their sheep to the place where they sleep at night. They were shy, but eventually asked if I wanted to go with them, and I did! We got to their plot and played for a while (I was totally out of breath after like 10 seconds). Then they showed me their llamas, and one of them almost spit on me when I petted it. Yes, llamas spit. They look cute and soft, but then they turn their heads toward you and pucker up. This made us all laugh a lot, especially when I ran away. Then they started untying the sheep, and hearding them together. These girls were tough! The 8 year old grabbed some sticks from cut down lima bean plants and started whacking the sheep. She totally dominated the heard of 11! I tried to imitate them, and it was pretty fun! I may have found a new vocation. So, this was really special to me. They asked if I wanted to come back the next day, because they are always there in the afternoon. I did go back yesterday to say bye and ask them if they'd like a photo. Their mom was there, and I asked her if it was ok. She was this really cute chola, she just laughed and said it was up to the girls. They were really excited about it. So, I am going to try and mail these photos...we'll see if it works!
Yesterday, Jess and I also went to Isla del Sol, aforementioned tourist site. It was...well, touristy. But it is a really ancient site. First, the Aymara speaking Tehuaneco (?) people were there, but the Inca's came and were the most recent culture to inhabit the island. In Inca mythology, this island is where the first two Incas were born. Also, the lake is so beautiful...I had no idea what lake Titicaca would look like, but it is so big and blue, and the sky is also a more vibrant shade than I've ever seen anywhere else I think.
Today, we chilled out in the morning, and caught an afternoon bus back to La Paz. From here, we will leave tomorrow for Uyuni, where we will visit these salt flats for a few days. Internet access is a little less existent here, but I will try to write about it soon!
posted by Emi at
4:29 PM
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