May 4Charles and I, along with our traveling buddy, Elliott Tait, all left Santa Cruz on the 8:30 p.m. bus to Cochabamba April 30. Fortunately it was a "cochecama" which means the seats recline a bit and we were able to sleep. We were thankful to arrive in one piece the next m
orning especially after a bus crashed 30 kilometers from Coche on the same route less than a month ago. Twenty-six of the passengers died. We woke up in the bus around 6:30 a.m. to see a beautiful sunrise and quite a view of Bolivia's countryside. We were spoiled by some friends of SAM who picked us up at the bus terminal and had eggs and bacon waiting for us at their house. Earl and Rosie Adams are a sweet Southern family who have recently moved to Bolivia and are working with the Quechua Indians. Their accent and love for the South were fun to discuss in conversation. Also, we met their landlord, G
eorge, who spent a half hour talking about his road trip from Toronto to Bolivia in the '80s. He has since married an Italian woman, had four daughters and settled back into Coche.
We enjoyed all that Coche had to offer -- the shops, cool weather, good restaurants and not to
mention the large Cristo that we climbed 1,500 stairs to see up close and personal. We also ran at the Alalay laguna right at sunset and were amazed at all of the colors in the sky.
We left Cochabamba Thursday morning for LaPaz. It was quite a bus ride, the first one where we were surrounded by "highlanders" who are so much different from "lowlanders." The lady sitting next to Elliott was sniffing rubbing alcohol and sleeping most of the trip. We're not sure if that was to help with the change in altitude or to pass out or what.
We got into LaPaz around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and called some friends of SAM missionaries who live here. It worked out great, once again, we were offere
d a place to stay! So after eating a hearty dinner at Puerto Madero (Wooden Door) and flagging a taxi, we arrived at Glenn and Cathy Blumhurst' house (The Mansion) in Zona Sur (South Zone). We met them and chatted briefly last night. Glenn works for an urban development company based in DC and Cathy is the director of health at the US Embassy here. They are such nice people! Their house is gorgeous -- it's a mansion. The backyard backs into huge mountains and the from the front you see a panoramic view of LaPaz. The city of LaPaz is shaped like a bowl and is very unique. It's pretty remarkable. The family has two sweet maids and two large dogs. It's much colder here as the altitude is 13,500ft above sea level. The only signs of altitude sickness we have experienced were mild headaches last night and a little shortness of breath after walking uphill.
orning especially after a bus crashed 30 kilometers from Coche on the same route less than a month ago. Twenty-six of the passengers died. We woke up in the bus around 6:30 a.m. to see a beautiful sunrise and quite a view of Bolivia's countryside. We were spoiled by some friends of SAM who picked us up at the bus terminal and had eggs and bacon waiting for us at their house. Earl and Rosie Adams are a sweet Southern family who have recently moved to Bolivia and are working with the Quechua Indians. Their accent and love for the South were fun to discuss in conversation. Also, we met their landlord, G
eorge, who spent a half hour talking about his road trip from Toronto to Bolivia in the '80s. He has since married an Italian woman, had four daughters and settled back into Coche.We enjoyed all that Coche had to offer -- the shops, cool weather, good restaurants and not to
mention the large Cristo that we climbed 1,500 stairs to see up close and personal. We also ran at the Alalay laguna right at sunset and were amazed at all of the colors in the sky.We left Cochabamba Thursday morning for LaPaz. It was quite a bus ride, the first one where we were surrounded by "highlanders" who are so much different from "lowlanders." The lady sitting next to Elliott was sniffing rubbing alcohol and sleeping most of the trip. We're not sure if that was to help with the change in altitude or to pass out or what.
We got into LaPaz around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and called some friends of SAM missionaries who live here. It worked out great, once again, we were offere
d a place to stay! So after eating a hearty dinner at Puerto Madero (Wooden Door) and flagging a taxi, we arrived at Glenn and Cathy Blumhurst' house (The Mansion) in Zona Sur (South Zone). We met them and chatted briefly last night. Glenn works for an urban development company based in DC and Cathy is the director of health at the US Embassy here. They are such nice people! Their house is gorgeous -- it's a mansion. The backyard backs into huge mountains and the from the front you see a panoramic view of LaPaz. The city of LaPaz is shaped like a bowl and is very unique. It's pretty remarkable. The family has two sweet maids and two large dogs. It's much colder here as the altitude is 13,500ft above sea level. The only signs of altitude sickness we have experienced were mild headaches last night and a little shortness of breath after walking uphill. May 5
For our first day in LaPaz we slept in and started out at noon for some very delicious TexMex at Highlanders. (Cathy and Glenn have a kitchen full of American items so it was fun to have h
ot chocolate and the boys ate a PB and J for breakfast!) We spent some time walking around downtown before catching the (4-hour) City Tour this afternoon. We saw the ins and outs of LaPaz via bus. It was fun to visit The Valley of the Moon where the sandstone is in odd for
mation. We also saw the historical and political regions as well as some of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the city. After touring, we made our way to the Witch's Market which sells souveneirs from this ar
ea as well as witchcraft junk.
We dined at Wagamama tonight and enjoyed the sushi that is made from Lake Titicaca's trout. It was tasty and met our standards as did the miso soup. We returned to the mansion for hot chocolate and a movie.
ea as well as witchcraft junk.We dined at Wagamama tonight and enjoyed the sushi that is made from Lake Titicaca's trout. It was tasty and met our standards as did the miso soup. We returned to the mansion for hot chocolate and a movie.
Sunday, May 6
After spending hours in a coffee shop sipping hot chocolate and playing cards, we hung out at The Prado section of La Paz for most of the day. We peeped in book stores and enjoyed an Argentinian restaurant for dinner.
Today, however, was quite different. With SAM missionary and friend Dan Strebig we visited several churches up in the Altiplano where SAM teams have worked to build churches, help 
with leadership, etc. We were welcomed with open arms! The church services were held in the local Quechua language and they formed a line to personally greet each of us as if we were the bride and groom entering our wedding reception. The women wore their traditional skirts 
and derby hats and all of the children had rosy red cheeks from the frostbite. At a second church we sat up front as the four children of Narnia at the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardro
be. We were robed with the traditional wear -- me with a pack on my back to carry children, vegetables and wares, the men were robed with a hat and red pancho as the highland men use. We were all given cake and Coca-Cola to eat while the rest of the church congregation continued their first-of-the-month fast. It was a celebration to encourage and be encouraged. We hope to return and visit those churches.
Tuesday, May 8
Tuesday, May 8
CUZCO -- We made it to Peru after a 12-hour bus trip yesterday! It's amazing what a few quiet hours and a window filled with the gorgeous mountains of Peru will do for the soul.
After a good night sleep at El Adariego, we tried the local Ceviche (fish cooked in lemon juice) that wasn't that great and set out to see the city. The City Tour of Cuzco was more of a tour of Inca ruins than the actual city but we did see a Condor bird half the size of me.Peru and Bolivia are definitely different ... besides the scenery, Peru is more expensive, the people a little colder and the tourism is huge. We forget that Bolivia has near nothing in the tourism sector and we were the only Americans that knew we were getting ripped off at times. Most Americans are pleasantly surprised at the low costs of travel in Peru whereas we saw Peru to cost a fortune.
Funny story -- I got off the bus from the City Tour dying to use the restroom and Elliott and Charles couldn't decide on a restaurant so finally I got desperate and we asked a guy in front of a nice restaurant if I could please use their restroom. He agreed and I darted for the ladies' room. I was trying to slip out of the restaurant without making much problem since it was a fine restaurant and I had only used the bathroom without actually eating there. However, when I reached to pull the door open, it wouldn't open. Then I tried pushing. Nothing. I stood confused for half a second before trying again when with my right hand I pulled the door handle and it came right off the door and into my hand. It was so embarrassing that I turned red, handed the door handle to the same man who allowed me to come in and then ran a block from the restaurant.
After finding another restaurant, Elliott tried the special -- a sampler of guinea pig, alpaca, and trout. The alpaca was better than expected, the guinea pig -- too dry to swallow. Although, the waiter took note of our dinner prayer and invited us to his church. He shared that he was a new believer and was very excited to see Evangelical tourists in town.
Tomorrow we see the Sacred Valley Tour and how the alpaca wool is spun into sweaters as well as more famous Inca ruins outside of the city.
Friday, May 11
Thankfully, both Charles and Elliott have recovered from whatever food poisoned them yesterday, making the train ride to Aguas Calientes a miserable ride. We awoke and were hiking by 5 a.m. this morning up to MACHU PICHHU! We arrived around 6:30 a.m. and enjoyed a day of the ruins. It's quite a site to see the Temple of the Sun, the servant
s' houses, the water systems and more of what the Incas left behind. Charles really liked the architectural gift of the Incas. We also climbed WaynaPicchu -- a mountain that neighbors Machu Picchu and means "young mountain." You look out and think "people 
really lived here not that long ago -- It's not just a bunch of Lincoln Logs or Legos put together from a playset" We hiked down tired and hungry in time to make the train back to Cuzco this evening. We just finished eating a shake and burger for dinner and it's nearly midnight.Sunday, May 13
We arrived to Puno tired yesterday but enjoyed the Conde de Lemos hotel and our alpaca steak with baked apples for dinner. Puno is the first town on the Peru side of the border that is mostly known for its proximity to Lake Titicaca. This mornin
g we went on a tour of the floating islands of Lake Titicaca. Wow. There are more than 50 islands and 2,000 people living on them. They live by selling artwork and crafts. They make the islands, boats, food and just about everything with the reeds that grow in the lake. We tasted the reeds and rode across the lake in one of the homemade reed boats -- Something one only does once in a lifetime. 
Tuesday, May 15
Vacation is coming to an end. We are back in La Paz and leave tonight. We are staying in the mansion again and enjoying a few days of rest and relaxion. The altitude seems to be affecting Charles more than me now that we ascended again to 13,000ft. The trip from La Paz via Copacabana was long and crowded. The bus was packed full of Bolivians, some drunk, some singing, some standing, some sleeping. The promised 6-hour ride turned into more than a 10-hour nightmare including bus changes, ferry rides and few stops for bathroom breaks. The one miracle was getting through the Peru-Bolivia border. We crossed within minutes unlike our other experiences. We bought a candybar at the border and the cheap price let us know we were back in Bolivia ... It is good to be back.
** See Bolivia/Peru Trip entry under Photo Gallery
sunsets on Lake Titicaca
life jackets were required
tall palm trees of Cochabamba
Samuel, at one of the highland churches we visited
motor taxis
a brass bible in front of the Cristo statue in Cochabamba
the "Pachamama" 3-faced statue of Mother Earth
Best Mexican food in La Paz -- Highlanders
Glenn and Cathy Blumhorst's house -- aka "The Mansion"
Friends Earl and Rosie Adams with their daughter, Carla
shots above from Valley of the Moon in La Paz
La Paz -- members of the church we visited ... man and grandson
scenic shots from La Paz to Peru
Cuzco Plaza de Armas
baby alpaca-- Cuzco city tour
Charles and his alpaca women
the condor is real
more shots from Cuzco city tour -- famous Inca ruins
alpaca up close and personal
more of Lake Titicaca
Inca Lazy Boy recliners
protests in Cochabamba
some of the 1,500 steps to the Cristo statue
typical womens' dress in Cochabamba
the corrupt Bolivian police force
