My tour of Bolivia began in Sucre so us two from Sucre, Adrianna and I, met the 6 exchange students from Santa Cruz that would be going on the trip with us and our trip guide at the hotel we stayed in. Altogether in our group, there was 4 from France, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Canada, and 2 from the US. As much as I wished we could be with ALL the exchange students in Bolivia, our little group was the perfect size and it was nice to be able to bond with people from other countries rather than just those from the US. We got to fly wherever it was possible, take a ferry ride on Lake Titicaca, and we went in a bus where there was no airports. The following is a list of the cities we went to in order that we went on our trip.
-Sucre: We got to visit "La Casa de la Libertad" (the Liberty House), the dinosaur park, the cemetery, the chocolate shop, and the recoleta (a lookout point of the city). The girl from Denmark also had to go to the hospital for something with her foot (it's very normal to go to the hospital for almost anything here) so I went with and kind of regretted it afterwards. First of all, it was late at night so it was dark and cold and I was in my pajamas and then there had been a bus accident so there was several people crying over their lost loved ones only adding to the depressing atmosphere. To make it even worse, the hospital had one of those creepy, scary movie kind of feels to it. I didn't like it at all. Luckily, we were only there for a little over an hour.
-Potosí: It's also in the mountains but much higher than Sucre so I got a little sick from the altitude. It's one of the poorest cities in Bolivia so the city seemed to be unfinished or underconstruction and a little dirtier than most other cities. I just liked how it was so different from the other cities. We went to "La Casa de la Moneda", a museum, and we also got to go in a silver mine. We bought coca leaves for the miners because when they work in the mines all day, the leaves help prevent thirst, hunger, and tiredness. We went pretty far down into the mine where we saw "El Tío" which is supposed to represent the devil. Miners go there to take a break and to put coca leaves, alcohol, and cigarettes around the statue.
-Uyuni: We didn't do too much in the city of Uyuni itself except go to souvenir shops but the following day, we went to "El Salar de Uyuni" (the Salt Flats) which is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world! All 8 of us exchangers shared a huge room in our salt hotel. Everything was made of salt! From the walls, to the tables and chairs, to the beds, and even the floor. It was crazy! The salt flats were unbelievable. Miles beyond miles of salt. It looked like a huge blizzard had hit but hadn't brought the cold weather with it! (Although when it got late at night it was pretty cold and early the next morning during the sunrise was FREEZING!) We enjoyed some llama meat for our lunch out on the salt flats, we got to see the sunset, we bought souvenirs from shops near our hotel, and then we got up bright and early the next day to see the sunrise. There was also a reflection pool on the salt flats where there was a small layer of water covering the ground. Taking pictures made it look like we were standing on water. I would love to go back there some day! Finally, before leaving Uyuni, we got to go to a llama/sheep/alpaca field to take pictures with the animals. Or at least try to before they ran away!
-La Paz: We went to "Tiwanaku", a famous site of the Incas that came before Macchu Picchu, and saw "La Puerta del Sol" (The Gate of the Sun) that had been constructed there along with several other artifacts and statues built in ancient times. We also got a chance to go to "La Calle de las Brujas" (The Witches' Market) every night to do some shopping for souvenirs and momentos. It's called the Witches' Market because skeletons of baby llamas, incenses, and other items used in "rituals" are sold throughout the entire street. Then we went on a little "mini trip" to Copacabana and "La Isla del Sol" (Island of the Sun) for a day. We had to take a bus from La Paz to Copacabana and did some shopping there before getting on a little boat/ferry to "La Isla del Sol". We hiked an hour up the island until arriving at our hotel and then decided we wanted to go swim in the lake so we hiked 30 minutes down the other side of the island to the water but the water was way too cold to swim in so we just hung out there for a bit. Soon after, we went back up the island, taking an easier, but longer path than we had coming down, arriving at the hotel 45 minutes later for a late supper of fresh trout from Lake Titicaca. We were supposed to get up to see the sunrise the next day but it was raining like crazy so we ended up sleeping in. After breakfast, we went back down the island to take the ferry back to Copacabana where we ate lunch on a floating island before going back to La Paz. On our final day in La Paz, we went to the mall (which is exactly like the malls you would see in the US) where we ate Subway (so weird ordering it in Spanish!) and went "ice" skating (it looked like ice but it was actually plastic we were skating on). Finally, we went to "La Valle de la Luna" (the Valley of the Moon) which was some cool rock formations and a nice little trail to walk and drove past the house where the President of Bolivia lives. La Paz was absolutely beautiful and because it's located in the mountains (the highest administrative capital in the world), the city lights at night were astounding.
-Cochabamba: Our first stop was "El Cristo de la Concordia" (the Concordia Christ). It's a huge statue of Jesus located high up on a hill (similar to the one in Brazil). We preferred to take the cable car up to the top instead of climbing up the 2,000 steps but the boys with us did go back down the steps to the bottom. The only other place we got to see in Cochabamba was "El Palacio Portales" (Portales Palace), which was home to a Bolivian millionaire in the 1930s. It was huge and both the house and the gardens surrounding the house were beautiful. We also spent some of the day with one of the Rotary exchange students from France, living in Cochabamba, who wasn't on the trip with us.
-Tarija: It was so much more slow paced and laid back then the other cities. It's a little bit smaller than Sucre and there is TONS of vegetation! It might've been my favorite city out of all of them. We went to "La Represa de San Jacinto" (a river dam), were given a tour of some vineyards (and some tastes of their best wines), and spent a day at a river in some cliffs. The water was super cold but we had a blast swimming and jumping from the rocks!
Lots of people ask me what my favorite part of the trip was but that's impossible to decide! I loved the differences, beauty, and uniqueness of each and every place we visited! We flew back to Santa Cruz late the night of the 31st and that's where our tour of Bolivia ended. ): It was hard saying goodbye to everyone and knowing I wouldn't be seeing them too often since I don't live in Santa Cruz. Adrianna and I did stay with the exchange student from Canada and her host family for 5 more days in Santa Cruz though. We spent the days sleeping in, going to movie theaters, visiting the mall (also like the ones in the US, Sucre however doesn't have a mall like that), hanging out in the Plaza or at cafés with other exchange students from Santa Cruz, being lazy at the tennis club (like a country club but with tennis courts instead of golf courses), and enjoying each other's company while we could. I didn't want to say goodbye when the time came but somehow I managed to.
When I arrived back in Sucre (on the 5th of February), my school had begun classes on the 3rd so I got ready and began school the next day. However, my host family and I decided it would be more beneficial for me to look at some other options so I haven't been to school since that day. I will probably be observing and attending some classes at the college and doing volunteer work instead. Just this Friday, I went with a friend to a children's hospital for mentally disabled kids and we spent the afternoon feeding them and keeping an eye on them while they got to watch a movie. I had a great time and the ladies working there said I am welcome to come back whenever I want. I'm hoping to begin tai bo classes again tomorrow and get my schedule for the next 4 months figured out!
Celebrating my little cousin's 2nd birthday before leaving for my trip
Richard (France), me, Kate (Canada) and Adrianna (Oregon) at the cemetery in Sucre
Richard, Quentin (France), Bastien (France), Kate, me, Alizée (France), Adrianna and Mille (Denmark) at the silver mines in Potosí
Quentin, Alizée, Adrianna, Richard, Bastien, Mille, me and Kate in the reflection pool in the salt flats after the sunrise
The salt flats during the day
The reflection pool in the salt flats right after sunrise
The salt flats during the sunrise
Lake Titicaca
La Isla del Sol and Lake Titicaca
The city of La Paz at night (not the best picture but the best my camera would take)
Richard, Kate, me and Quentin feeding the crazy pigeons in the Plaza of La Paz
The Concordia Christ in Cochabamba
El Palacio Portales in Cochabamba
Me, Kate, Quentin, Richard and Adrianna hanging out in the coooold river in Tarija
Me and Kate at the river in Tarija (she is the student I stayed with in Santa Cruz for 5 days after the trip)
