At home

Our trip home was much shorter than 2 years ago. It only took 15 hours from the time we left Montevideo until we got home. We only had a 2 hour layover in Miami.

We happened to see Robin's father and Mary Ann at the Minneapolis airport. They were on their way to New Zealand. It was nice to say hello and goodbye.

Robin wrote earlier about contrasts. One thing I noted was that I did not hear kids whining in Bolivia. We heard some in Uruguay and more when we got into the US.

We are glad to be home. Our cat seems to be at odds with us because we were gone so long.

Look for more pictures soon

Journey drawing to an end

We are back at hotel to pick up our bags and get a taxi to the airport. We don´t leave until 11 PM. It is almost a 10 hour flight to Miami. The good thing is we only have a couple hour layover in Miami. We will be home a few hours after that.

Montevideo

We have been in Montevideo, Uruguay for the last three days. Yesterday we had a personal tour by Sebastian. He is the fiance of Soledad who gave us some wonderful information about Uruguay. We even got him into the lighthouse he had never been in.

Today we walked to a couple of museums. Walked down the pedestrian mall. Sat and relaxed.

Our trip ends tonight with a flight home

contrasts

Joel and I have been in Uruguay for a few days now. I felt a pang of regret as we said good bye to our friends in Bolivia. It was so nice to spend time with Patricia and Tony and their daughter,Anna. They were very gracious hosts. I believe in the old adage ¨ fish and guests begin to smell after 3 days¨ however we spent time independently away from them so we didn´t wear out our welcome.

At the SAR barbecue Joel was a great hit as he learned how to make the special sauce using a large stone block and stone grinding tool. We probably spoke the most Spanish of our trip so far at the party. I met several family members of Mario, and tried my best to communicate. There was lots of kisses and hugs all around when we left. I told them that we will return in 2 years to help them celebrate the 22nd anniversary of SAR. My plan is that we will explore different parts of South America over time.

We spent only one night in Buenos Aires. It is a huge,bustling metropolis. We looked in at some of the tango halls. The tango show is part of the tourist circuit. I would rather go dance with Joel!

The most obvious contrast between Bolivia and Uruguay is the appearance of the population. Bolivia has the largest indigenous population in South America. The majority of people are darker skinned and are shorter in stature. Many of the women still wear traditional dress, and in the small towns they wear a bowler hat. Babies are carried in a large, colorful cloth slung across the mother´s back. The indigenous language is healthy and is transmitted to the younger generation.

Cochabamba, Bolivia is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. There was a freshness to the air and at night it became cool.

There are few indigenous people in Uruguay. Most were persecuted and driven to the farthest reaches of the country. Of course disease also took its toll. Therefore the population of Uruguay reflects it´s immigrant heritage of Italians, Spanish, German, Portugese and others. We were warned that Uruguayans speak faster than Bolivians, however so far I haven´t noticed the pace as much as instead of the ¨ll¨pronounced like a ¨y¨, it is a soft ¨j¨. People dress smartly and are slim.

Now we are at sea level and it is flat. We marveled at the countryside while we were on our bus ride today to Montevideo- rolling hills and cultivated fields. Large silos and big farm machinery. Very different kind of farming that Bolivia!

It´s time for me to close,
abrazos,
Robin

Uruguay

On Monday we took a taxi to the ferry terminal. We throught we would be able to check our bags and then go visit the Boca section of town. Unfortunately we had to wait for the earlier ferry to leave. That left us an hour. We grabbed a taxi and went there. It took 20 minutes. We walked around and saw most of the place. It is an old immigrant area now painted bright colors.

We rode the quick ferry across the Rio de la Plata. It is about 30 miles across. The fast boat takes an hour, the slow one is 3 hours.

Our hotel was only about 7 blocks from the terminal in Colonia. We put our bags on our back wan walked over. It was a very cute posada. We found out it had a pool which we used because it is hot and humid.

Once we settled in we walked to the old city. It was also very close. We climbed the light house. There were several street cafes so we stopped and had a drink and a plate of cheese and meat. We then walked to the bus terminal to find out about the bus schedule to Montevideo on Wednesday and to Carmelo the next day.

After a swim and a rest we went to dinner. Unfortunately we got there after a couple of large groups. It took an hour to get our food.

On Tuesday we took the bus to the cities of Nuevo Parmelo and Carmelo. They are further up the river. They are sleepy towns that don´t have a lot of international tourists. It is always fun to see the towns where people really live.

Today we walked around the water´s edge in the old city before getting on the bus to Montevideo. It is a 2 and a half hour bus ride. Another nice air conditioned bus. We took the city bus to within a block of our hotel.

We plan to walk around a little this afternoon. It seems to cool down nicely after 5 PM.

Tomorrow will be something new again.

Quick update

Sorry for the lack of entries the past few days. We have been busy and traveling.

On Saturday evening we were invited to a barbque (parrillada) with the SAR folks. It was at Mario's sisters house. Mario taught us how to make the salsa of Bolivia. I got to grill a bit too. All the young volunteers got a kick out of watching the gringos working. They were all pleased we came. We were quite honored to be there.

Sunday morning we got up early and flew to Buenos Aires. There is a 2 hour time change so we didn't get to our hotel until about 6 PM. We rested a bit and then walked around. We were close to the central plaza, Plaza de Mayo so it was a short walk. We also found a nice restaurant to eat at.

The next morning we took our bags to the ferry terminal for our trip to Uruguay. We had to wait to check the bags until the previous ferry left. We had about an hour then. We jumped in a cab and went to the area called La Boca (the mouth) which is an artist area. It has colorful buildings. We heard tango music so we did a little tango in the street. No one complained that it was American ballroom tango. We zipped back to the terminal for our one hour boat ride.

Uruguayian customs was very simple. No passport stamping because people come here for the day. We are in the town of Colonia del Sacramento.

We got to our hotel and took a nap. Then went out and walked through the old colonial city. We stopped for a snack of cheese and meat. It was a good thing because when we went out for dinner it took 2 hours. We would have been really hungry by that time. We used the pool at the hotel and splashed around.

Today we are on our way up the coast to Nueva Palmero and Carmello.

More about friends

Hello,

Joel and I are learning that when we travel the best part is meeting and making new friends. Of course just having a large circle of friends in general is healthy. Because of our connection with Mano a Mano and also my flamenco dance class friends we are fortunate to have contacts in Bolivia and Uruguay. One of the new friends we have made is with Nathaniel Kuster and his wife Norma. We met Nathaniel in Minnesota because he is connected with Mano a Mano. Norma is from Bolivia and she spent time in Minnesota visiting Nathaniel . We were able to attend their wedding in St. Paul. The ceremony was totally in Spanish. I could figure out some of the service like " for richer or poorer".

Now they are living in Bolivia so we were able to see them here. We went to a popular local restaurant "Dumbos "- and we conversed in a mixture of English and Spanish. Norma is learning English. They are a very nice couple and it was fun to be able to reconnect with them while we are here in Cochabamba.

Today Joel and I are going to a barbecue for SAR volunteers and supporters. It will be fun to see Mario and Isabel Zanibar. Joel really enjoys talking with Mario about rescue operations and I like talking with Isabel. She is a volunteer for SAR also and drives the ambulane along with other duties. They have a darling 6 month old daughter.

So the web of friendship continues to grow, we hope that all our friends and family reading this are well and happy .

Paz,
Robin

Friday shopping & friends

After the SAR event, Mario and his wife, gave us a ride downtown. We walked around the shops and Robin bought some llama earrings.

We stopped for a bite to eat and a French cafe. After our snack we had coffee and ice cream. We also read the newspaper while we were there.

On the way back to the bus stop we paused at an Irish pub. Robin had read about a concert that was happening there that evening. We were reading the poster. The young woman who owns the bar came out and started to talk to us, in Spanish. She quickly figured out we were English speakers and switched to English. She invited us in and gave us a cup of tea. We sat and chatted for quite a while. She knew Patricia and Tony's friends Tom and Kati. We told her about SAR and she was interested in helping them.

After getting home and taking a nap we went to dinner at a local pizza restaurant. We met our friends, Galen and Becky, from Minnesota, who traveled with us 2 years ago to Bolivia. They came back to the house and had some fruit. We talked until we were all tired. We sent them off with a long Minnesota good bye.

SAR 20th Anniversary event

One of the reasons we came to Bolivia was to attend the Search and Rescue (SAR) organization's 20th anniversary event. We went to that yesterday.

They started off with the founders sky diving. The people in a sky diving club saw the need for a search and rescue team, so they founded the local SAR group 20 years ago.

This was a formal occasion with a speech from the head of the national SAR organization. We also sang the national anthem or hymn. Many people were honored for donating equipment, money, or time. Each were giving a small plaque. The Mano a Mano organization got them because they donate some medical supplies that come from Minnesota. I got one and found out I got one last year as well.

Afterwards we had some refreshments.

They performed a fire rescue in their training area. Using the fire hose to put out the fire, pulling a downed fire fighter out, and carrying him to a waiting ambulance.

The event was at their new facility at the airport. Mario, one of the founders, now works for the service organization for the airport. He leads the safety wing at the airport. The service organization is letting SAR use an old hanger. They have fixed it up very well. It has many classrooms and offices. Two nice shower rooms, because they have about 50 percent women. They are starting to build a training area outside as well.


[see pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelwx/]


I looked at their equipment. I saw much of the equipment I sent down last year with the help of Mano a Mano.

I gave them a bag of "mardi gras" necklaces so they could hand them to children who come to the station. I also gave them a nice cash donation. Mario said they would use it to fix one of their vehicles.

Everyone there was very thankful for the help we have provided.

English class at Mano a Mano

Last Tuesday Joel and I went with our friends to the Mano a Mano office and warehouse. Twice a week Patricia and Tony volunteer to teach English to the staff. We helped in the class. The first hour I spent with 6 staff members and 2 other English speakers. It was very basic beginning conversation along the lines of " Hello, my name is Juan, I am from Potosi . I live in Cochabamba. I make windows and doors for Mano a Mano buildings."

I have a great respect for anyone who attempts to learn another language! Of course some of the staff also speak Quechua if they are indigenous.

It was a lot of fun talking with Juan, he and the other beginning students were very sincere in their desire to learn English. Patricia and Tony helped them make a video clip and it is on YouTube site. The students wrote the script. I will post the link later, but if you go to youtube.com and put in the search area "mano a mano workers" you might find it.

The second group of students was at a more advanced level. I worked with Victor Hugo, he is a doctor at Mano a Mano and is part of the administration. We had fun talking about the customs of greeting in Bolivia compared to the US. He is very studious and writes down vocabulary .
At the end of the class I gave each student a tape of music with English lyrics as a gift, I brought some cassettes from home for the express reason that I know that it is helpful to listen to music to learn another language.

Time is flying by here in Cochabamba, we are so fortunate to have made new friendships and strengthen existing friendships. On Sunday we will leave for Uruguay via Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I hope all who read this are well , please post a comment or two!
abrazos,Robin

Salar de Uyuni

Today we flew to the Salar de Uyuni. A salar is a salt flat. The one at Uyuni, the city it is close to, is one of the largest in the world.

The Salar was spectacular! One of the most interesting places I have seen in the world. Because of the recent rains there was about 8 inches of water on top of the salt. This allows the sky to be reflected in the water.

We went with a small group of people in an SUV out onto the salt. Because of the water we drove through it for several miles. We stopped at the Salt Hotel, a small building built with salt blocks, where our guide made lunch.

With all the reflected light is was very bright. You would not want to go there without a hat and sunglasses. We took our shoes off and walked around in the water. Too bad we didn't bring our flip flops.

We flew on a regularly scheduled DC3 flight. It was really neat. The one issue is that it is not a pressurized plane so we were at about 15,500 feet to clear the mountains. I took lots of pictures. We talked a bit to the pilot.

[see pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelwx/]


The Uyuni airport is a dirt strip in the desert with a windsock. When we came back there obviously was no security to go through. We hung out around the plane until they were ready to board and then scrambled on.

The plane is owned by a charter company, www.lineasaereascanedo.com, and the local airline, AeroSur, has them fly out there. Their service was wonderful. It takes about 1:20 to fly there. Each way we had a small sandwich, cookie, and drink.

It has been a long day so we are off to sleep.

Trip to town

Today we took a car down to the AeroSur airline office to pay for our trip to the salt flats at Uyuni. We took a number and waited in line. The transaction went well except the tickets would not print. They finally had to hand write them. We are now ready for the flight. It leaves at 8:30 AM and returns at 4:30 PM.

We then walked to a restaurant to meet Tony and Patricia for lunch. Interestingly enough we had walked th same streets two years ago when we were here. They were meeting their friends Tom and Kati and another woman Cindy. We had a great lunch with salad, soup, entree and dessert.

After lunch we walked down the Prado (a nice boulevard) to a travel agent to pay for a tour in Uyuni. We will be at the town for several hours so we decided to take a tour. We won't see much of the salt flats. This is better than getting there and hoping we would find someone once we got there.

Next we walked to the archaeological museum. It was a nice museum with artifacts from ancient Bolivia; bones of mastodons, pots, tools, cloth, and mummies.


We walked back to the Times building (the local newspaper) and got on the number 3 bus to ride back up the hill.

Tonight we are going out with Nathaniel and Norma.

Tomorrow will start early because we need to be at the airport at 7:30 AM. It is about 30 minutes to get there.

Tomorrow my dream comes true of flying on a DC-3.

Bolivian impressions from Robin

Hola amigos!

I am taking my opportunity to place an entry in our travel log. So I figure I will give you some of my impressions about our time in Bolivia. First of all, it is so much fun to return to Cochabamba and renew friendships with Bolivians and also Patricia and Tony (our hosts).

1. Altitude- so we are 8500' above sea level. Being from the low land of Minnesota I certainly feel the difference. My experiences have been pretty mild, mostly don't have the stamina I usually have and an occasional mild headache.

2. Travel time- we left our home in St. Paul at 8am on Sat., we took several flights to get to our final destination in Bolivia and we were greeted by our friends at the Cochabamba airport at 3:30pm on Sunday. It is a lonnggg time traveling to get here!

3. Language- It is so humbling to be in a country where English is not the primary language. I am glad that I have some grasp of basic Spanish, but I wouldn't be able to explain myself out of a paper bag! Note to self, sign up for a college course in Spanish when I return.

4. Weather- Joel is keeping track of the cold weather in Minnesota while we experience summer in Bolivia. Fortunately the rain that has been pouring down here has stopped for the last 2 days. It has been a very comfortable 70 - 75 F here. It is lush and green with many trees and bushes flowering.

5. Dog packs- I remember growing up in St. Paul and there would be a few neighborhood dogs that were outside routinely independently walking up and down Fairmount Avenue. Well, all dogs in Cochabamba roam free, therefore packs of dogs run in and out of the road and duck under fences and chase each other. Most look well fed and happy, some limp, some look scraggly but it is so odd to see free ranging dogs and hear yapping, squeals, barking all the time.

ok, time to sign off, I hope you all are well and happy,
abrazos,Robin

p.s. for another blog to read go to www.pohmans.net, our friend and host Patricia has been posting while she and her family live in Bolivia

English class

This afternoon we went with Tony and Patricia to the Mano a Mano warehouse. They are teaching English to some of the employees. We sat in the class and talked with a student in English. It was interesting think in English in a class instead of Spanish.

I walked with Tony back up the hill to their house.

First day in Cochabamba

I am writing this on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday was our first full day in Cochabamba. Robin and I slept in quite late (at least by the clock, since we are two hours ahead of Central Time). We had fresh bread and peanut butter for breakfast.

We got in touch with Tony, the Mano a Mano pilot, to get a flight set up to the Salt Flats (Salar) of Uyuni.

After lunch we went into town. We road the local bus, or tufi, for 1.5 bolivianos each (that is about 14 cents). Robin and I toured a convent that is in the process of being restored. There are still nuns there, but not in the older sections they want to restore. The convent is about 250 years old. It was a cloistered convent so we saw turn tables the nuns used to pass items to the outside.

[see pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelwx/]

We made it back to Patricia and Tony's on our own.

We went to a nice restaurant for dinner. We met with Mario Arranibar and his wife. Mario is one of the people who started the search and rescue group here. We will see them again on Friday for their 20th anniversary celebration. He said he is going to parachute before the program using the chute I sent down last year with all the fire fighting gear.

We told him we were going to the Salar and he said the local airline is flying a DC3 there. I knew there was rumors of this. He said he would get information about it for us. If this comes about we will do that instead of the little Mano a Mano plane. My dream come true! Flying in a DC3.

Today we are going to Mano a Mano with Patricia and Tony for the English class they teach.

In Cochabamba

We finally made it to Cochabamba.

We pulled out of the airport in Santa Cruz and started to taxi away and then the plane stopped. They saw oil dripping from the engine. Not a good thing. The airline, AeroSur, was great. They came through and gave us drinks. It didn't take long for them to shuttle us off the plane. Luckily there was another one ready to go. We were only an hour late getting out of Santa Cruz.

It was amazing on the plane. When they announced that the plane was broken people just got up and walked off. No moaning. It is more common here I guess.

We met our friends, Patricia, Nathaniel and Norma that the airport in Cochabamba. We all squeezed into a Toyota and went to Patricia's house, where we will be staying We drank some water and looked out their window down on the city.

Robin decided to take a nap. I walked up with the other guys to the pool. Now we are watching the rain and lightning.

Almost to Cochabamba

We are in the airport at Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We had about a 3 hour lay over. After getting our visa we got our bags and got something to eat. The only thing available was a sandwich at Subway.

[see some pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelwx/]

We left Minnesota in a snow storm. I haven´t checked to see what happened. The snow really started to fall right as we boarded. We were held in the sky for about 30 minutes as we approached Miami because of a thunderstorm. It was nice while we were there.

We took the city bus to Little Havana. We eat at a Spanish restaurant. It was the first thing we saw and we were hungry. On the way back we got off the bus in downtown Miami and the bus driver told us the wrong place to catch the next bus. Luckily a woman who owns a limosine service picked us up and took us to the airport.

Our flight to Bolivia was nice. It left late so we didn´t get out of Miami until midnight. We slept most of the way. I feel better now then the last time we did that flight 2 years ago.

We are off!

We are awake and getting ready to go the the airport. Today we just make it to Miami. Our flight to Bolivia does not leave until 11:30 PM. We will spend our time in Miami visiting Little Havana.

One week to go

We are getting prepared to go. Our visa applications are complete. Our list of things to take are written. I have even packed my bag.

I finished a calendar of our locations to send to the family this morning. I have sent out the travel package to them.