Our last day in La Paz and the 30 hour trip home June 19 - 21, 2016

On Sunday, we simply took it easy.  After breakfast at Hotel Sagarnaga, we went for a walk in Parque Urbano Central. 

We came across some Bolivia Boy Scouts while walking, as well as a small building they used (a couple of photos below).

They also had interesting sculptures and artworks throughout the park.

When then went to the pizza restaurant by the hotel for a lunch of some great margaritas and a Hawaiian pizza. One of the signs there and in many of the restaurants was "All people are equal before the law" - I believe this is part of their socialist politics.

After lunch, we packed and took it easy, had a nice dinner down the street and an early evening to rest up for our long travel home.  Monday, we left the hotel by taxi around 11:00 and went to the airport.  LATAM again made us check our carry-on size suitcases even though we again later saw most passengers with suitcases as large or larger than ours (I later determined that mine had been opened but did not notice anything missing).  We then waited a couple of hours before the hour flight to Santa Cruz and the three hour flight onward to Lima.  We had a screaming baby behind us for the whole trip, and who repeatedly kicked and hit my seat 4C (because mom could not control him).  By contrast, a dad in seat 4A had the nicest, most genial one year old child who not only did not bother Patty in 4B or me in 4C - in fact, when dad needed to fill out the immigration and customs paperwork, I held and played with the young girl for five or six minutes - she was most delightful.  Row four was the first row behind what appeared could have been used as Business Class - it had both ample legroom and ample width for both of us to be comfortable.

We had an hour time difference and arrived in Lima a little after 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. La Paz time) and hung out in the Sumac Club, one of the lounges for Star Gold and/or Business Class passengers.  We had wine and food during the five plus hours there before boarding our United flight around midnight; we had lie flat business class seats in the middle row where they are configured 2 - 1 - 2, which would allow either of us to get up without disturbing anyone since we had an aisle on both sides of our seats.  I was asleep before dinner was served and slept for about five hours; Patty had dinner and slept for several hours.  We arrive in Houston a bit after 7:00 a.m. and had a quick pass through immigration, customs, rechecking our bags and TSA, and then to the United Club for a couple of hours.  Out flight to Portland delayed about an hour, so we left a little after 10:00 Houston time and arrived in Portland four and half hours later just before 1:00.  We were both tired, so we took a taxi back home (rather than the Trimet Train and a bus).  We quickly laundered all of our clothes - even those that had been laundered at the hotel as they had dust and a the smell of Bolivia.  Then we repacked for our trip to Ketchikan the next morning, had a nice cookout with Ben and Martha and off to bed to rest up for our trip to AK that would depart less than 18 hours after returning home.

Our day trip to Tiwanaku Saturday June 18, 2016

Our trip started with meeting our excellent guide Pablo at the hotel lobby around 8:45, then walking uphill a half block to get on the bus.  It was the same style and model as the one we had been on the two weeks with Fuller Center, but - it was in much better condition and had much less wear and tear.  Eight of us got on here, then drove to the La Paz bus station to pick up two more.  We had a mixed crew - two young men from Brigham Young University (both Mormons, one who had finished his missionary duties in Cochabamba and spoke excellent Spanish), a couple from Germany, a couple from Sao Paulo, Brazil, two women from Lima and us.  Pablo presented everything in very good English and Spanish.

While the rid was less than 70 KM in distance, it took more than 90 minutes because of the stop at the La Paz bus stop and having to go through the Saturday morning traffic and street markets in El Alto - this was a different part of El Alto on the other side of the airport from where we went each day of the build.

When we arrived, we first toured Museo Ceramico which had relics found on various architectural digs and showing the history of these going back to about 1,000 years B.C.  Then in Museo Litico, we saw many monoliths and pillars found either on various digs or brought back to the museum from where they had been displayed in various cities around Bolivia.   Both museums were small and prohibited photos but here is a link to a short youtube video: Museo Ceramico

We then set off to look at the various dig sites.  Six of them are in one area and we began with the Piramide de Akapana.  We climbed up the side of the pyramid and got to see both it and the area around us.

When we came down the far side of the pyramid, we could see some of the rooms and the different stones used as the walls were built at different eras.

We then went on to our second site called Kantatallita.  It had the crosses with multiple levels and a large courtyard for public ceremonies and rituals.

Then it was on to our third site, Templete Semisubterráneo - as the name implies, the courtyard was below the ground level of the surrounding sites.  There were sculptures allow the wall, each head with a different face representing the different peoples around the world and the diversity of people who lived here.

It was then on to our fourth site, Templo de Kalasasaya in which they had the Puerta de Sol, the doorway through which the sun would shine on the Winter Solstice.  This is a major holiday for the Aymara peoples and would be a big day long celebration in just three days (but we would miss it).

We skipped the last two dig sites (Templo de Putini and Puerta de la Luna) and from there, we went to lunch at the El Condor restaurant.  In local lore, the condor represented the heavens, the puma represented life on earth and the snake represented the underworld spirits.  We had a nice lunch of quinhoa soup, a choice of entrees (I had an omelet and Patty had trout) and a tasty dessert of mango pudding with sliced bananas.

After lunch we drove to the final site (the first six all abut each other and are in one huge fenced in area) called Piramide de Pumapunku - it is the largest of the seven dig sites so far excavated.

Our guide Pablo in front of the admissions building with the thatched roof

And then it was back to La Paz, with the drive taking better than two hours because of the traffic in El Alto and La Paz - it was so bad, they let us off a couple of blocks from the hotel because the traffic was jammed up and simply not moving.  A very good day trip from La Paz, I would recommend it to others.

Friday night entertainment after the build, June 17, 2016

We were at the build site until about 2:30, then had a few free hours in the afternoon before our last team dinner at a Cuban restaurant.  After a quick dinner, we went to Peña Huari for a two hour show of music and dancing - an amazing show with no intermission!  Here are some videos from the show.

Week Two of the Build in Bolivia June 13 - 17, 2016

The week got off to a slow start.  On Monday there was a transportation strike, so our bus and FCH coordinator could not get to the hotel.  We were on our own for the day.  After breakfast, Laura and I went for a walk to Ketel Supermercado, about four blocks away.  On the way back, we came across this interesting mural on the side of a building.

 

Later that morning, Patty, Laura and I set out for the Mamani Mamani shop.  But before we got there, we walked through Plaza Mayor, a large six story market building with hundreds of shops inside and an elevated pedestrian walkway over the main thoroughfare through downtown.  As luck would have it, a couple of groups of transportation workers on strike were marching below us with banners and drums.

When we got to the Mamani Mamani shop, we learned a little bit more about him and his work.

Continued walking around that part of La Paz, eventually walking through an area where several hundred handicapped people were camped out and protesting to the Legislative assembly for an increase in their monthly disability checks - they were just outside Murillo Square where we had been the day before.  Today, there were many more police and security forces there to deal with the strikers (both the encamped disabled people and the marching transportation strikers).  We went back into Murillo Square and since Boots had not seen motorcycles, we took a photo of all these that were parked together.

On our continued wanderings, we came across a bakery with my sister Helen's favorite dishes.

The three of us enjoyed a quiet, late lunch at Cafe Banais, just two blocks downhill from our hotel.  They had several of these caricatures on display - I believe they are used during the Andean Carnival.

They also had these skirts on the ceilings - they appeared to be what the traditional Aymara women wear.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, work continued, with the buildings looking more and more like homes.  I spent my time continuing to dig in the holes for the septic tanks.  Others cleaned bricks, sifted sand (to get fine sand for the fine surface on the interior walls), assembled rebar and helped wherever possible.

Laura sifting sand; the large pile of dirt is from the two septic tank holes we were digging

Friday was our last day.  Some painting of interior walls was done on the first house to be finished and we made a point of cleaning up the area for photos and goodbyes.

The paid local workers having lunch

And then we were done, returning to the hotel by midafternoon so we could shower and rest before our last dinner and special show we were scheduled to see.