Potosí - How I´ve missed you!

I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Potosí. This is a great city full of old history, but thank god I've just spent my last few weeks on the Altiplano or I'm not sure I could have handled the altitute (4070 meters - you figure it out!). This is the place where, 15 years ago, I would go two feet and stop to catch my breath. This morning I walked 7 blocks carrying my laundry, and only dealt with minor heavy breathing, so I´ve improved!

We got in at 2:30 this morning after a very typical bus ride (leave at 7 pm, get crammed in so hard that your knees and/or shoulder blades are rubbing against the metal of the older-than-the-hills bus), up and snuggly with other passengers, and then hold on for dear life between cat naps. The bus stopped, but no bathrooms in the dusty and dark little town (that didn´t stop us, but it could have been a lot easier). We arrived at 2:30 a.m.

Anel, Ashley and I are in the same room at our home-stay house and the boys are at a hotel. If they´d had wifi I'd be jealous, but as it is I´m always up for meeting new people and learning how not to electrocute myself in their shower (always electric, with extraneous wires twisted around the shower head - yikes!).

After a visit at a local university and seeing their tiny, cramped, inadequate, techology-barren library, I began to appreciate the 6-floor University of Alaska library, or even my local library in Sammamish with their soaring spaces and free internet. You can even study there! After the University visit, I tried Mocochinchi for the first time. They dry a peach, then pour hot water over it in a glass. VERY good! Also tried Tucumanas (another variety of empanada), which then made lunch hard to finish (although the wine might have had something to do with it as well - the wine here is seriously INCREDIBLE!). You have to try everything, of course, and so far I haven´t found much I don´t like except the huge quanitites of carbs (rice, potato, pasta, french fries, and yukka.

Today we visit a hospital and orphanage - then give our presentation. Tomorrow we will visit El Cerro Rico, where miners work for themselves in deplorable conditions and have turned the hill into such a maze of mining tunnels that it´s amazing it still stands.

The Wilds of SW Bolivia (Salares)

After a long ride on a psychedelic bus to Uyuni, we traded in for a tour in a Toyota Land Cruiser and headed off into the Salt flats. Within a few hours we had a flat tire, which Juan - our game tour guide - fixed within minutes. We spent the night at a salt block hotel (see photo of Ashley and Anel trying it out).

Pink flamingos were everywhere, flying low across the salt flats on their way to their favorite lagunas.

We stopped at an island of cacti and had a fabulous lunch prepared by our accompanying cook, Magali.

Lagunas were beautiful.... as were the Rock formations

Vicuñas roam wild and were everywhere!

We almost froze the 2nd night....

But soon warmed up at the thermal springs.

Everyone was very tired our 3rd day as we raced back to Uyuni. Lots of llama everywhere!

On our way to the Salar (Uyuni)

We took a 2-hour bus ride from Sucre (white-washed colonial town) to Potosí
and then dropped the majority of our baggage with Rotary. Then we
hopped on a 6-hour bus to Uyuni. Not much to see on the trip except
painted mountains, lots of herds of llama, and some flamingos.

Tonight - wonderful meal with my team as we are getting to know each
other and are developing our stories and inside jokes. We´re at a nice
hotel (I mean, relatively. It doesn´t provide toilet paper if that
gives you a glimpse into how many stars we´re getting!) and the same
owner is not only friends with a Rotary friend in Oruro, but he´s also connected to a tour company. We´re going out to the Salar for THREE days starting tomorrow
morning. It´s really going to be amazing. I hope my extra battery and
space on the camera holds.

The Food in Sucre

Sopa de Mani' (peanut soup) & Llajua (salsa)

Churasco (steak) and Mark Howard with Huari beer

Picante Mixto (chicken, tongue, pasta, rice, peanut sauce)

Arroz con Queso (cheesy rice) & Helado de Leche con Vanilla

Images de Sucre

Sucre - chocolate and sombreros

[Club Rotario Sucre La Plata]

] Today we visited a chocolatiere called Para Ti'. In a modern building, with workers all in white and layers of security, Para Ti' is a surprising gem. The chocolate tasted great (free samples!) and the facilities were beautiful. They are in the process of getting certifications necessary to step up their exports. The cacao bean is from Ecuador and the rest of the ingredients are local to Bolivia. Although Bolivia grows cacao, apparently it's all exported, with none left over!


Although the morning visit to the chocolate factory was quite tame, the trip to the hat-making factory was a step into last century's industrial revolution. The Sombrero factory was hot, with no protective gear in sight, obviously dangerous jobs, and a general ambivalence toward safety.

The factory owner gave George a bottle of wine, which the 5 of us polished off pretty quickly late this afternoon, and I bought a hat for Maya, my niece. I've been trying NOT to buy things because every pound I pick up at the market is one I have to carry around.

Sucre never sleeps

Our meeting last night started at 9pm and I had to practically beg to be taken home at 12:30 this morning. George and I were driven back to the hotel, but no idea when the three young-uns came back. I crashed pretty quickly but my alarm went off at 7:15 am so it's not like I'm getting enough sleep even when I'm being a party pooper. :-)
Today we are visiting (drum roll please): A CHOCOLATE FACTORY, then a sombrero factory (did I mention the chocolate factory), then lunch, then we're going to a park that has dinosaur tracks. :-) Something else at the end of the day, but can't remember. Once again, a dinner at 9pm and they are hell bent on taking us out to karaoke. The club we're hanging out with today (there are three in the city and they are taking turns being in charge of us) is "mixto" -- meaning they actually let women be a part of it.

Rotary was all-male until a club in Seattle (I.D) decided to let women in. Rotary Int'l told them they couldn't be rotarians with ladies in the group, so the I.D. group SUED Rotary Intl'l Finally, Rotary had to relent. Most clubs in Bolivia, IF they allow women, have only done so for the past 3 years. There is still quite a few of men-only clubs, and as you can imagine, they serve water, soda pop, and whiskey before every meeting. I've been going for the water.

Before our meeting last night, Ashley, Mark and I took a little walking adventure down to the plaza. It's 3 blocks away, but it took us 8 to get there because we didn't know where we were going! We had a bottle of wine and 7 empanadas, and the total bill was 9 dollars. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Bolivia is a pretty economical place to visit.

Sucre - great hosts and tough visits

[Ashley with Julio Revollo's granddaughter]

Our hosts in Cochabamba were kind enough to buy us a plane ticket to Sucre – which made our trip 30 minutes instead of 6 or 7. Bottled water and as much hand lotion as you could want were totally ok going through security, and no one had to take off their shoes.

Instituto Psicopedagógico San Juan de Dios

We made two visits today in Sucre, and both were very sobering. The first was an institute for kids with severe disabilities. Some of them are orphans, but most come from families that can't take care of them, or were abandoned (4 children were left there last year - their parents gave fake addresses). We were greeted enthusiastically by the kids and the flashing toothbrushes went over well. Unfortunately, the institute gets by on less than a shoestring. The government gives them $1 a day to take care up to 135 kids, but that amount is barely enough for breakfast AND the institute regularly has up to 250 kids on site.

Three travellers who stayed to volunteer were helping at the institute, and Rosario Osina (who showed us around) let us know that they absolutely cannot run the place without the help of volunteers and the donations that trickle in from various sources, including the local Rotary Clubs. Rosario asked us specifically to help with disposable diapers. While the institute does not have any babies at this time, many (most?) of the young people staying there need diapers. They especially need larger sizes (adult sizes). I was shocked to hear it costs $10 for 16 diapers. When you consider the government gives them $1 day per person, you can see it doesn't even cover the cost of the day's worth of diapers. When disposable diapers run out, they use diapers made from cloth, but then that leads to bed sores since the kids aren't changed that much (lack of staff). Let's just say my heart broke a little during this visit.

Hogar Jesús de Nazaret

Our next stop was at a boy's orphanage. Some of the boys have extended family of some sort, but from what I understood, they are mostly street kids that are being given a home, food, chores, schooling, and love.


The boys lined up to get a fresh T-shirt/underwear set. Their sweaters were so dirty, with holes in them, but they were very friendly and every one of them wanted me to take their pictures.

What I noticed about both of these visits was the very serious need for help (money, volunteering, clothing) but also the fact that they do not have websites or ways to communicate their need. There's an organization in Cochabamba that connects people to volunteer opportunities called Sustainable Bolivia. Sucre, and especially the kinds of places we visited, could definitely benefit from something similar.