Lassoing the Moon

Arrival: surrounded by the Andes --> response: Dios mio! I am in Bolivia. I need my camera.

Plaza Principal de Cochabamba

Evo Morales's Office at the Cocalero's Sindacato - I was outside of his office door my third day in Bolivia.

El Cristo - this HUGE Christ statue overlooks all of the city of Cochabamba. I climbed up this mountain to see El Cristo - the largest Christ statue in South America - even bigger than the one in Brasil which everyone talks about (a bit of Cochabambino pride).

Traditional costume and dance as part of the Cochabamba Independence Day Celebration

Hike to the top of El Cristo:

Bicentennial Independence Parade: Cochabamba

Campesinos (indigenous farmers) carrying the wiphala - indigenous flag

Miners - a very powerful political group in the country due their ability to organize into unions

My homestay brother, Andres - he goes to a military colegio (high school) - he's the one looking at the camera :)

La Paz

Flight with such amazing views - Andes through the clouds

"Death Road" see that faint line winding through the mountain?

Tiwanaku: Ancient Ruins

City of La Paz

Enormous city set amongst the Andes

See the snow covered mountain in the background?

The seat of the government and center for most organizations

Ministry of Foreign Relations (visited there)

(yes, I visited there - can you even believe it? I met the President of the Bolivian World Bank?!)

With all this in mind, La Paz is also a center for a lot of artistic expression (and political resistance).

Mamani Mamani - the most famous artist throughout Bolivia - met him too.

El Alto - the "ghetto" of La Paz and a stronghold of Aymara cultural and political support

Tocoli - Rural homestay on Lago Titicaca

This Ayamara community has only ever had foreigners in it once before - therefore, it was a great honor for us to be able to come (many families were very nervous but also very happy to have us stay in their homes and learn about their way of life).

Welcoming Ceremony

Descent into the village - the blue of the sky and lake are blurred into one.

Spiritual ceremony recognizing our presence but also the values of the community/culture

A communal feast to welcome us - Ataphi

After other festivities, we went to our new homes with our families. Our house was at the top of the mountain - about an 1.5 hour hike in altitude like I had never experienced.

The view from our house - the lake - you can also faintly see the coast of Peru. This day we were heading into town to make some adobe bricks to contribute to a community project to add on to the school building.

My family - entirely managed by women, as all the men are working in La Paz or in other countries - are ranchers and work in the fields all day tending to the animals and also producing handicrafts.

After a long day in the field, they spend long hours cooking for the entire family in a dirt-floor kitchen that is not ventilated. It is very efficient and functional but certainly made me worry about some related health issues.

First and foremost, they work as a family for their family.

Random Photos:

Swimming in Lago Titicaca- it was FREEZING but a must-do - the highest lake in the world and a salt water lake: we had to do it.

A church service + a wedding in a nearby town

Nearby market - very typical form

Sucre: La Ciudad Blanca (White City) - there are many things that could be said about this, but it's named this for all the white colonial buildings in the city center.

So here's the cultural-music center where I am doing my project - Centro Cultural Masis (more photos to come later).

A Quechua woman talking to a SIT student about her life - this student hand a disability that would prevent her from being able to weave so they had a fascinating conversation about this.

A thermal spring in the Andes - can you say... AMAZING?

Yes, AMAZING.

Potosi: the city that fed the Spanish Empire - and also the highest city in the world.

El Cerro Rico

These are some serious miners, ready to find some silver.

Going into the mine - excited but scared, particularly when there were all kinds of strange smells and these green (and various-colored) substances on the tunnel walls.

El Tio - basically the protector god of the mine

This is extremely hard, dangerous work in 19th century mining conditions.

They use coca to alleviate the effects of the altitude and other things - coca is a cure-all.

Santa Cruz - the strange mix of the Lowlands with forgotten indigenous people and of the largest city in Bolivia - very metropolitan

Colonial mission towns - tons of them in Santa Cruz (the department)

So everyone got really excited when we were told we would be crossing the Rio Grande -

This was it...

More like El Rio Grande Seco (the big dry river)

One of the several National Parks - which doesn't really guarantee any degree of protection apparently as Evo is currently wanting to construct a highway through one - coincidently the area with the one of highest concentrations of biodiversity in the world.

Santa Rita - un pueblo in Santa Cruz

Pata, Pata, Ganso - Duck, Duck, Goose with the kids of Santa Rita

This was our bus throughout Santa Cruz - anyone reminded of the Wild Thornberries?

Back in Cochabamba

Todos Santos - annual holiday to respect the dead

There is a lot to be said about this tradition - so please just ask me about it if you have questions.

Final Looks

This cracked me up in the airport in Santa Cruz.

This graffiti says basically - In Search of: Thief. Dead or Alive

The person shown and named is the former mayor of Cochabamba who was in power during the signing of the water privatization agreement and during the Water War.

This poster was in the main plaza, highlighting the necessity of the new law against racism and all forms of discrimination because the press is extremely racist.