Blogs from Cochabamba Department, Bolivia, South America - page 29

Hi everyone We are putting lots of pictures up today, check out the webshots page! Not a lot is going on today, but yesterday we had an exciting day. The kids had a holiday from school, so we all piled into the van (yes, ONE van) and went to the future site of the orphanage. It´s about 30 minutes from Cochabamba, outside of a small town on a couple hundered acres of land. The houses are still in construction, and there´s not much of a farm yet, but it´s beautfiul land. A river runs through the property, too. Ben, Mariel, and the rest of the kids all walked up the dry riverbed to some waterfalls that were just barely trickling. Despite the lack of water, we had a good time. It was a nice, warm day ... read more

Hello again from the Children´s Mission! We apologize for the lack of pictures ... the computer closest to us here is incredibly slow, and the other computer is nearly always occupied. We hope to get some pictures on tonight. It´s a rare quiet time in the house today, with lots of kids either at school or the dentist. Earlier this morning we were busy occupying the little kids and helping the older ones with homework. Most of the older kids have school in the afternoon until 530, so they do their work in the mornings and everybody is at home for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here. Today it was chicken peanut soup, fried cabbage cakes, and a salad of carrots, green onions, and tomatoes -- all very delicious Bolivian foods. After ... read more

Buenas tardes! We have changed gears entirely (like the title says) and are now at the Bolivian Children´s Mission in Cochabamba. We are living here and volunteering with them for a week or two. We first arrived yesterday, after church, and already feel at home. There are 34 children here, and two parents, called Mommy and Daddy. it´s wonderful here - right now the boys are singing while they dress! I haven´t taken any photos yet, but you can be sure I will. The problem is thta there is not much time to upload them or update this blog with children all around to entertain. Right now many of them are at school, so it is a bit quiet. Ben has been put to work moving aruond stoves and other appliances. +'+'+'+'+'+'+'++'+'+'+'+'+'+' I am receiving a ... read more

This is day 6 of my stay here at the Planeta de Luz (Planet of Light) Community, set high above the town of Quillacolla, a suburb of Cochabamba. Cocha is a large sprawling city that sits in a basin of mountains surrounding it on almost all sides. It is not a particularly attractive city, though I have as yet seen only a fraction of it. For us to get into the centre of Cocha we need first to catch a minibus near the Community (there are no bus stops here - one simply hitchhikes and shouts at the driver when you want to get off) and then a bus from the centre of Quilla. The Community is currently only a dozen or so people - all from South America and all in their 20s and 30s ... read more

Hi friends and family, Arrived in Uyuni, Bolivia on Thursday night. Not too much to see there, but a great transfer point for the Salt Flats. I got to see the Hostel made completely of salt, and was driven out to the Isla de Pescadoes in the middle of the Salt Flats. A truly uniquie landscape. I got to celebrate St. Patrick´s Day with some Irish friends and we told all the Irish jokes we could think of. We (all the guys from my salt flat tour) got an overnight bus into La Paz. There was no sleeping as the roads were rocky. The view on entering La Paz is amazing. You follow the highway in a downward spiraling bowl around the city. La Paz itself was noisy, busy and is considered the most dangerous city ... read more