Andrew's Birthday!!

Today we celebrated Andrew's birthday at an amazing ice cream place called Globos!

Actually, yesterday was Andrew's  B-day, but because of some dangerous and violent road blockades, my mom thought it safest to stay home.
Today was different. We had a blast! Globos has always been a favorite highlight for the Locklin family! My brothers and I ran and played all over their giant playground until we were called inside for the best part: Globos ice cream! Andrew ate "oso cremoso," (translated as "creamy bear." It is a type of blue ice cream with gummy bears.) and Jonathan and I shared a bannanna split, which included strawberry, chocolate, and chirimoya ice cream. (Bet you haven't heard of that third type! The ice cream comes from a type of fruit called soursop and no, it is not sour! Chirimoya ice cream has a different, rare, yet delicious taste.)

But the celebration didn't stop there! We headed to a nearby playground (yes, another playground!) To meet up with some long-time-no-see friends. They used to be our neighbors in Bolivia two years ago. The boys played soccer, and the girls ran all over the playground.
It has been an awesome day!

San Juan Holiday

Yesterday, my family and I had a great time celebrating a Spanish holiday: San Juan!

So what is San Juan anyway? And why does Bolivia celebrate it?  Originally, it was a Celtic holiday that celebrated the beginning of summer. When Europe was evangelized, the Catholics changed the pagan celebration to a Christian holiday named after the Catholic saint San Juan (Saint John). The Spanish came to South America, and they changed the Incan holiday called the "Inti Raymi" (Sun's celebration) to the traditional San Juan holiday. To this day, Bolivia celebrates San Juan to mark the winter solstice.

Just how does Bolivia celebrate San Juan? People throw big parties at night, eating hot dogs and Bolivian pastry. My family and I enjoyed playing with "estrellitas." These "stars" are made of thin wire with  burnable stuff coated on half of the wire. When we stepped outside, my mom lit a match and used it to ignite a few of our "stars." The tips sparked and fizzled; they looked like tiny, exploding stars! We had a lot of fun that night!

A Safe Arrival

On Monday, we managed to safely arrive at my grandma's house. But what an arrival! And what a trip! I would've never guessed what an adventure the Lord had in store for us.

Going back to Sunday night, we boarded the plane headed toward Miami. The distance by plane from Jacksonville to Miami took one hour, from 7:45 to 8:45. The Miami airport was simply huge! Finally, after almost two hours of waiting, we boarded our flight to Lapaz, Bolivia at 10:40 p.m. The plane itself was very long, with a narrow, centered aisle seperating seats into rows of three. The plane attendants provided us with pillows and blankets for the night, and a very, very late dinner at midnight. My family managed to catch a few hours of sleep during the six hour flight. At five o'clock a.m., our plane landed in Lapaz. Our two aunts and two uncles greeted us warmly. But our trip didn't end there. The final stretch by plane was to the city of  Cochabamba where my grandma lives. This flight only lasted 30 minutes. We landed, and walked right into the airport and straight into my grandma's open arms. Now we could relax!  Or so we thought.

To begin with, we couldn't get a taxi to drive us to my grandma's house. Then Andrew, the youngest of my two brothers, became sick with nausea. Eventually, we managed to get a taxi to drive us halfway home. We had been informed beforehand of a road blockade, so we had to leave our luggage behind at the airport with my grandma's friend, Mrs. Tere, who was visiting and came to meet us as well. We knew we would have to get off and hail another taxi once we came to the blockade, and that our luggage was too heavy to load in and out of two taxis. After walking for a block or two, we got into another taxi and reached my grandma's home. Yay! Our troubles were over. The thing was, my grandma had given the house key to her friend Mrs. Tere and she was in the airport with our luggage. We were locked out!

Then a couple, who had just driven by, inquired about a piece of property they had come to look at. Hearing the plight we were in, they kindly offered to drive my mom to the airport to retrieve the house key from Mrs. Tere. My mom accepted the offer, and ordered my grandma, two brothers, and me to stay in a neighbor friend's house until she returned. We did just that, and after an hour of reading and watching TV, I saw her coming to fetch us. She had the house key plus the luggage! What a blessing!

God really protected us all throughout our long and tiresome journey. Considering all the things that could've gone wrong, He has blessed us greatly and richly! The biggest blessing was when He sent that couple to help us in our need. They didn't just happen to drive by. And He knew we had good friends to help us. And He provided comfort and sleep during that long night. He knows everything and provides abundantly!

In the Jacksonville Airport: Waiting!

Yay! We're finally in the airport all packed, excited and ready to go. We just passed security and are now waiting to board the plane at 7:45 p.m. The chairs are packed with people, but many are lining up for their flights. The hall is very spacious with a tall ceiling and huge windows. Looking out, all I can see is grass, trees, and the runaway. Our journey is about to begin!

Come and Explore Bolivia with us!!

The Locklin family is going back to Bolivia! As some of you, who have read this blog before, might remember, my mom, two brothers, and I flew down to my mom's native country, Bolivia. My mom then had the brilliant idea of sharing our experiences with others through a blog. Thus, "Visit Bolivia with us" was born. That was two years ago in the summer of 2014. Now, she's handed down that responsibility of writing and posting our experiences in our 2016 trip to Bolivia to her oldest daughter, Victoria. That would be me.

But enough chit-chat. The real purpose of this post is to invite you to come with my family and me to visit Bolivia. Even though you can't physically come with us, (wish you could) I'll be writing all about our experiences there as we reunite with family and explore Bolivia's wonderful history and culture. That way you won't fall behind.

So will you join us for this great adventure? Tomorrow the journey begins!