Que Les Vaya Bien

Gracias por leer a mis cuentos de mi tiempo en Bolivia. These five months have been a definite growing experience for me, having had time to escape from Gringolandia and see a different side of the world, meet different people, and have interesting experiences. It is an experience that I would recommend to anyone, especially graduating seniors who are not sure what they want to study in college, let alone what they want to do with their lives. Being here has not given me instant insight on these things, but it has definately given me time to take a step back, and reflect on a course which most kids (including me) follow blindly.

Although I am not entirely sure what I am going to be doing for the second semester of my gap year, I will be in Chimbote, and then Trujillo, Peru, working in a school. My new blog will be called http://www.robbieinperu.blogspot.com/

Las Photos del Camino

Need I say more?

El Camino de La Muerte

This past weekend, I bicycled down the most dangerous road in the world, a 66 kilometer stretch of highway wide enough for one car, which descends from La Paz, at an altitude of 4600 meters into the jungle, ending at around 1000 meters. Along the entire road, one side is sheer cliff, about a 200 to 400 meter drop into the rainforest. At various points, waterfalls splash onto the road, adding an extra factor to the already horrible conditions. There are only certain points at which two cars can pass each other, and so when two meet, the one going down is forced to back up to one of these points, and then pull its wheels halfway off the cliff so that the other car can pass. Fortunately, I went on a bicycle (I swear it was a lot safer), but at various points the guide would stop us to talk about accidents that had happened in various locations. At one point, we passed a village, famous only because it has 23 buildings, and every single one of them is a trout restaurant. Later, we passed a stone which commemorated an election that took place during the dictatorship in Bolivia, only because the opposition party had all been pushed off the cliff at that point when the military government realized that they couldn´t possibly win democratically. Oddly enough, the road ends in a small, one horse town called Yolosa, where we rested for a few hours and then took off back up the hill to Coroico (in a taxi).

Santa Cruz

Just when I thought I had seen all that I could from Bolivian soccer, I went to an Aurora Wilstermann Clasico (those are the two Cochabamba teams) this past Sunday, and with five minutes left to go in the game, one of the Aurora players got a red card. When he refused to leave the field, two riot policemen arrived to escort him off. Almost immediately, the entire Aurora bench emptied and the entire team proceeded to fight a force of about twenty five riot police. The Aurora goalie made a pit stop at the corner to pull out the corner flag to use as a weapon. Finally, the police used their mace, and the Aurora team dispersed. What surprised me most, however, was that the referees continued the game afterwards as if nothing had happened, not throwing out or suspending anyone. Aurora ended up winning the game.

Two weekends ago, I was in Santa Cruz visiting the Jesuit Missions. In addition to seeing five churches in a Barroque style, we managed to run into a six and a half foot rattlesnake, two tarantulas, and a sloth. The churches were some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen, ornately decorated on the inside with gold plating. It was interesting to drive through the countryside, however, because there are Menonites (I think thats how you spell it) who are and have been living amongst the Bolivians.

In other news, I want to thank James Bond for his shout out to Bolivia.

Varias Cosas

Perdon, its been a while since I´ve had time to post on the blog, but I´ve been busy. Over my vacations, I went to the Salaar in Uyuni, and went on a three day tour there, seeing the Salaar (a huge salt flat, the largest in the world) and the surrounding national park which included a plethora of wildlife and strange environments, including volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, lakes, and volcanic rock formations. My tour, which consisted of the tour guide/driver, his wife, his kid, and five other travellers, all packed into a 4x4 which should never have fit more than six people, was nonetheless extremely interesting, and El Parque Nacional de Fauna Andina is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been, with its colorful lakes, dotted with flamingoes. After this, I travelled to Potosi, a mere eight hours away by overnight bus, to visit Cerro Rico, the mine which the Spanish severely overdrew during the colonial period for silver. Now, collective and private miners scrape an existence mining a silver-copper combination. The mine itself was a maze of rough, claustrophobic passages dotted with workers, chewing coca leaves and drinking 96% grade alcohol as they worked. After an hour long tour of the mines, I visited a few churches which have been turned into museums, then took a 12 hour overnight bus back to Cochabamba.
In other news, one of the Cochabamba soccer teams, Aurora, is playing for a spot in the final tomorrow night in Cochabamba.

In two weekends, the Bolivians, and all of South America, celebrate el Dia de los Muertos. This fiesta, comparable to American Halloween, holds much more religious significance for the Bolivian people. Each family sets a lavish table with food, and puts out photographs of the dead whom they wish to commemorate. Although the mystical faith is more strong in the regions around the cities, where the more indigenous people live, most believe that on this day, the spirits rise and ascend to the heavens, where they wait. If it rains on this day, the spirits return to the earth, and this signifies that the harvest will be good in the following year, but if it doesn´t rain, then the people fear that the harvest will be bad, or that the dead spirits will bring about natural disasters or bad luck. Some children do dress up, but when they go from door to door, they ask to pray, and then enter, and after praying, they ask for sweets or cookies.
Hasta el proximo

Mi Cumpleaños

El Chapare

Last weekend I travelled to the Chapare, a part of Cochabamba about four hours from the city which is heavily forested and closer to sea level than the city itself. We spent about two days there, arriving on Friday, and the next day we visited two national parks, Parque Nacional Carrasco, and Parque Machia. In the first, we visited some caves which had bats, both carnivorous and herbivorous, and guacheros, a type of nocturnal bird. After that, we went to Parque Machia, where volunteers help to rehabilitate various types of animals to re enter the wild. There we saw a variety of birds, monkeys, a puma and a bear. The monkeys are so acclaimated to human presence that they were climbing all over us and, if you bring anything in your pockets or wear jewelry, the monkeys will take it from you. The views from the park were magnificent as well, and after hiking for a few hours, we went swimming in the river. The next day, we returned to Cochabamba.

Yesterday I went to my first soccer game in el Estadio, where the two Cochabamba teams, Aurora y Wistermann, played each other. This event, known to Cochabambans as ¨El Clasico¨ was the worst display of soccer I have ever seen, excluding only my high school soccer team. Aurora ended up scraping out a 1-0 victory with an own goal from Wilstermann. While the soccer was uneventful, the crowd provided more than enough entertainment. The ´Zona Roja´, where the Wilstermann faithful sit, was cheering the entire game, and throwing firecrackers out onto the field, along with all other types of trash. Their signs held messages such as ¨si jugarias en el cielo, moriria para verte¨ or ¨if you will play in heaven I will die to watch you¨. So while the game was disappointing, I´m sure that I will return to see more of these fan´s exploits.

Manifestaciones

Hola,

I just wanted to let all of you who have been following the civil unrest situation down here know that I am o.k. The protests are all centered in Santa Cruz, which is a different department pretty far away from where I am. The protests are being incited, as best I know, by the rich upper class land owners who control most of the economy in the area. Since the price of tin crashed and the mines in the southern altiplano became relatively obsolete, Santa Cruz has been bringing in most of Bolivia´s GNP and as a result, they are now looking for political and economic autonomy from the altiplano region. The other motive for the increase in riots and protests in recent days has been a motion by Morales´government to pass a new constitution, one that would not only allow Morales to be re-elected (he cant get re elected as it is), but also re-distribute land to the indigenous peoples, many of whom live in the north-eastern region of Santa Cruz and would severely damage the land holdings of the rich aristocracy here. As a result, blocades have been set up by the residents of Santa Cruz on the roads leading into the city and international flights have been cancelled. The US ambassador was expelled by Morales mainly because he is indirectly related to some of the riots which have been started in recent days. As of now, who knows whether the violence will escalate or not, but all is quiet in Cochabamba.

La Paz

Last weekend, I went to La Paz with twelve other students from the Institute. We stayed in the Maryknoll House in La Paz, and visited the ruins of Tiwanaku and Lago Titicaca. We flew into La Paz on Friday, and the next morning, left for Tiwanaku. To get there, we had to drive up, out of La Paz and across the altiplano, and as we left the city, the views of the Andes got better and better. We finally got there, and walked through the museums before entering the actual archaeological site. The Tiwanakotans were a civilization that existed before the Incans, but were a non militaristic, agricultural society. Their capital Tiwanaku, is the site that we visited, and there, the archaeologists have discovered monoliths 24 feet big, and a temple, named Kalasasaya, which was used as a calendar. There was a stone doorway, called la Puerta del Sol, and at the start of each month, the sun would shine through la Puerta and onto a part of the wall opposite, marking which month it was. They also built a pyramid with a reflecting pool at the top, and, using this, they were able to chart the movements of the stars. Their architecture is very symmetrical, with certain symbols which they held in great importance. The puma, the llama, the fish, and the condor are their four most important animals, as each one represents a certain aspect of their life, the earth (puma), the water (fish), the sky (condor) and the fire (llama). The last one is kind of weird, but the guide explained that the word llama also meant fire in pre Colomban times. Their architecture has these symbols on it, and the number that it has is always 7, 12, 30, or 52 reflecting days of the week, months of the year, days of the month and weeks of the year respectively.
The next day, we went to Lago Titicaca, which is the highest lake in the world. The water was no colder than the beaches of Northern Massachusetts (for those of you who know what those are like), but the water is a striking shade of blue, and the trout from the lake are delicious. We also took a detour to visit a site where boats are built from the reeds. After that we took the plane back to Cochabamba.
This weekend I´m going to hike up Tunari, a mountain outside of Cochabamba. I´m trying to put my pictures up on Picasa, and I´ll give you the website when I figure it out. Until then, nos vemos

Picturas 3

Some typical dances at La Enterada. This parade just went on and on, all the groups similiar to these two.


I dont know who this is.

My entire extended family after almuerzo on Sunday

The Festival of Urkupina

The festival this weekend was truly a cultural experience. The Legend of Urkupina goes roughly that a poor couple had a son, and were very sick and unable to work. The son went out to make money, and was given a rock by a strange woman. When he returned home, the rock had turned to money. When the family went back to thank her, they saw her in the sky above a hill, and started shouting, "Urkupina", which in Quechua means "woman in the sky" (i think). To celebrate this, the people of South America have a quazi pilgrimage to Cochabamba for two weeks. I went with a bunch of other students to Quillacollo for the Entrada, a day long parade through this pueblo that consists entirely of native dancing. The city is crowded with people, and each group of dancers is different, although many dance the same dance. We were there from about 12:00 to 3:30, but the dancing went on past midnight. The next day, my older sister Leslie presented her thesis and thus graduated from her university. Her thesis was on her dad's yogurt making business, and the difficulties of an emerging enterprise. It was interesting, but also difficult to understand. Afterwards, my family had a party for her and all of her friends that went really late. That night and the following day are also a part of the Festival of Urkupina, as everyone walks overnight to Quillacollo for mass the next morning. After mass, they hike a small hill where everyone breaks off a piece of rock with a sledgehammer, the size of the rock broken off symbolizes how many of your petitions to God will be answered in the coming year. This day is called the Calviario. Next Sunday is the closing day of the festival, when everyone buys miniatures for things that they want in the coming year. For instance, there are wedding certificates, houses, money, food, and other things, all doll sized and intended as petitions to God. The idea behind this festival is that right now, it is winter here (though it doesnt feel like it, i'm wearing shorts and a t shirt) so nothing is growing right now. Because it is a period of change, the Bolivians, as well as all the surrounding countries in South America, petition to the Virgen of Urkupina for good change to come in the new year. They make promises, or resolutions which they will fulfill throughout the new year in exchange for the things which they ask.

Picturas 2

These two are from the Orphanage where i'm volunteering, Casa Nazareth. There are about 25 boys there, ages 5 to 15. Typically I just play sports with them, thus far having played frisbee and soccer.

Despues de Un Mes

Buenos Tardes,

Sorry about the lack of posting in the past two weeks, I am trying to come up with entries as often as possible, but that being said, often is a relative word. This past weekend, there was a Referendum that was voted on here as to whether or not the President, Evo Morales, should stay in power for the entire duration of his term. The government here has the ability to vote for a national vote as to whether or not the president should stay in power, similiar to an impeachment in the US of A, but for them, the entire country votes. Surprisingly, in this case, Evo won by more than he had when he was originally elected. Last week I also had my first encounter with Bolivian sickness but I'm all better now. This week is a major festival down here, La Fiesta de La Virgen de Urkupina. It takes place in a small pueblo about 9 and a half miles outside of Cochabamba, and on the first day, this thursday, there is a parade with multiple types of cultural dances. The next night, that friday, people walk the road from Cochabamba to Quillacollo as a sign of their devotion, and the next day, climb a nearby mountain where there is a church. As the festival holds religious significance for both Christians and indigenous religions, both hike the mountain, but the Indians continue to the top to worship their goddess of the earth, Pacha Mama. I'll talk more about it after i've seen it, but until then, adios.

Pictures 1

El Cristo de La Concordia, about 1400 steps to get up the hill where it is, and then there are several layers on the inside with stairs to climb

My host sister is wearing the white jacket, her name is Leslie. The others are various students at the Maryknoll Institute, and the girl on the end is somebody's host sister.

Estoy Aqui

Hola a todos
Sorry that it has taken me this long to post on my blog, but I have been kind of busy settling in. I got to La Paz two weeks ago, missing my connecting flight, and so I had to stay in La Paz for the night. I caught the flight the next morning, and was picked up by my mother Martha and my brother Reyno. I have three brothers and a sister, and two of the brothers are married. One lives in our house, the other about ten minutes from our house. The one that lives with us has two kids, a boy and a girl named Fabio and Elisabeth. My youngest brother is 12, and his name is Rodrigo. My sister is Leslie, and she is 24. She's writing her thesis for college, which she must present to her entire University in order to pass.

In the first week, I played baseball with some kids whose parents are in prison. The prison system is peculiar in that if the father is in prison, the entire family goes and lives with him. Inside, there are no guards, and the family must pay for their room, and also their food. This way, no tax dollars are diverted for them. Its pretty harsh, but also effective in making people want to go to prison even less. I also went to El Cristo de la Concordia, the tallest statue of Christ in South America. It overlooks Cochabamba from the west, and is quite an imposing landmark. As it is on top of a hill, there are about 1400 steps to the top, and climbing them was quite difficult seeing as I am not yet acclimated to the elevation.

I have looked for the Southern Cross every night, but to no avail. If anyone has any knowledge of where it is, feel free to tell me. Love to all, and more to come (Hopefully soon)