Playtime in Peru

After Christmas, Steph and I took a thrilling bike ride down the "Death Road" near La Paz. It was super fun, and more exhilarating than I expected. The ride started at a pass called the Cumbre, at over 15,000 feet, and descended over about 30 miles toward the town of Coroico, which sits at less than 4,000 feet. In addition to being a fun bike ride, the road is incredibly beautiful, winding through distinct and drastic ecosystems. Amazing!

A couple days later Steph and I traveled together to Peru to celebrate the new year and hopefully find a nice beach. We stopped at Steph's house in Puno, then continued onto Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. We really enjoyed our days in this city. It is appropriately nicknamed "the white city" due to it's beautiful colonial architecture. But my favorite part of the city were the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded it! 

Determined to get to a beach and enjoy some warmer weather, we made a quick trip out to a beach called Camaná. It was definitely nice to sit and chill and soak up some sunshine and warmth. But the beach was a little weird - in the middle of a huge desert, full of crabs and jellyfish, and an apparently strong tide that caused several people to be rescued by lifeguards! We also learned that everyone heads to the beach for New Year's. The hostel prices were going to double or triple for New Year's Eve. So, feeling like we got our fill of the beach, and looking to save some money and avoid the craziness of the beach, we decided to head back to Arequipa to celebrate the new year. 

We had a very chill New Year's celebration. We considered going out to one of the popular salsa clubs in search of some good dancers. But the distance and less-than-safe neighborhood deterred us. Instead, we walked around the downtown area a bit and than enjoyed a few beers at our hostel. We ended up meeting some guys from our hostel that were in town performing with their folkloric band. They were really nice and played a few songs for us! At the turn of midnight we got onto the roof of the hostel and we were wowed by the amazing amount of fireworks being shot off all over the city! 

The next day we got to meet up with a good friend of mine from Denver! It was so fun and refreshing to see her! She and a few other cool Denver peeps happened to be traveling around the area at the time, so we decided to tag along for a bit! Together we decided to do a trek through Colca Canyon... supposedly more than twice as deep as the grand canyon! We decided not to take the typical guided trek, but instead attempt to do the hike on our own. It turned out to be very straight forward thankfully. And it was super amazing and beautiful! We hiked down and through the first day and then slept at the "Oasis" - a group of hostels without electricity, but with pools and good food and drinks. Then the next day we hiked out of the canyon. It was a very strenuous hike, straight up the wall of the canyon. We started around 530am to beat the heat and it only took us about 2 hours, but by the end we were beat! 

We were eager to get back home to rest a bit before heading back to work, so we ended up leaving the rest of our group in the dust as we bussed back into Arequipa and then back through Puno. I left Steph behind and finished the journey back across the border and into La Paz. What a joy to return to my beloved Bolivia! And it was super fun to show the authorities my official Bolivian ID card, feeling like I really belong here. ;)  

Christmas in La Paz

This year I made the difficult decision to stay in Bolivia for Christmas rather than buying a plane ticket back to Colorado. For me, it was a matter of principle, a demonstration of my commitment to my new home, and an attempt at identifying with my new friends and my new culture. It was difficult to see many of my friends heading back to the USA for the holidays and feeling a mix a jealousy and homesickness. I am so thankful to have a loving family that understands my calling to Bolivia. I am so thankful to have celebrated my first Christmas here in Bolivia. It was truly a wonderful time with friends and new family.

One of my friends from Colorado, who currently lives in Peru, made the bus ride over to La Paz to spend Christmas with me and my community. On Christmas Eve we made the journey to the south side of La Paz to attend the Christmas skit at my co-worker's church. The skit was very unconventional and very hilarious. Then we went back to her place for the traditional Bolivian late night dinner and gift-opening. The typical Christmas Eve dish is called picana and it couldn't be more Bolivian. It's a soup like dish with 4 different types of meat, potatoes, corn, a bit of wine, and of course accompanied by the traditional Bolivian hot sauce, llajwa.

I ate picana until I was in pain and then we opened presents. I was super surprised that my co-worker bought me a nice big rug for my new apartment! The next morning we woke up and ate a huge, delicious brunch and watched my co-worker's little girl open her presents.

After brunch, my friend Steph and I made the ride up the hill to the other end of the city to have Christmas lunch with my friend Ramiro and his family. Since it was our third huge meal in about14 hours, we could hardly finish our plates... but it was a great time of sharing the holiday with good friends and in a totally different setting than the previous night.


We finished our Christmas by hanging out at a coffee shop in the city and Skyping with our families. While it is very hard at times to be so far away and disconnected from my family, I am so, so thankful for the technology that allows us to remain present in each other's lives. Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas, and I hope it's not the last that I celebrate here in Bolivia!