Adios for now!

Hola everyone! My family and I enjoyed wonderful times in Bolivia this summer, but all good things draw to a close sooner or later. We have been adjusting to life in the States for four days now. Throughout our trip to Bolivia this year, we saw much of Bolivia's landscape, both desolate and urban, and not only tasted but lived immersed in its culture for two months. We loved tasting different foods, walking and shopping in the city streets, and talking with close as well as extended family. This lovely country has shown us things we'll never forget, and Lord willing we'll be back in two years!

Thank you so much for visiting Bolivia with us through this blog. Thank you for reading and for your prayers. A special thanks to all who donated to Casa de Esperanza, the orphanage in Caranavi. It was truly amazing seeing how God used the funds I raised. I remember the director Fidel asking me if I had any specific purpose for the money, and his amazement when I said no. You see, the staff had been dreaming about building several workshops for the kids on the second floor of their office building. And now here was the money to get it started! Thanks to you, it was the first donation to go toward the workshops. The project started the very day I handed the money to the directors. When people saw the construction beginning, they also donated for the workshops. Now, the walls are up! Again, thank you so much for helping these workshops get started.

It's been a fabulous adventure and an amazing vacation for the Locklin family! Hopefully I'll be writing again in two years to update everyone on our next adventure there!

Lovely scenes from our travels.

Adios for now!! :)

Pray for Bolivia

Hola everyone! Today I just wanted to let you know a bit more about the state Bolivia is in right now, and how you can pray for this needy country.

It is safe to say Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its president, Evo Morales, has been in office for about 12 years. 12?? Yes, even though he was only supposed to be in office for four years, he's done everything to extend that time. Unfortunately, Bolivia isn't the States, and that means more short-term presidents rising to power by force, and only for their own benefit with little or no thought for the good of the country. Now, people fear Evo Morales is turning the nation socialist. Please pray that democracy and religious freedom would win out, and that Bolivia wouldn't become another Venezuela in the future. Also, please pray that in the coming elections Evo would not try to extend his term again, but would respect the nation's original democratic principles, and that the new president would turn out to be better by God's grace.

Pray that Christianity would grow and thrive in this country instead of its pantheistic religions. Christianity is prominent, but the church is struggling, and native religions are supported by the government and are growing. Please pray that God would strengthen believers in Bolivia, that they would "not grow weary of doing good" (Galatians 6:9) but would "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14) Pray that those believers would not only be strengthened, but would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Bolivia needs believers with the gifts of service and evangelism.

Please pray for Bolivia's unbelievers; the indifferent, the hypocrites, the ones incredibly hardened by poverty. Pray that God would reach into their hearts and transform them as only He can do. Pray that God would raise up a generation of evangelicals not afraid of the world's persecution or its despair, but a generation that would stand on God's Word and shine as brilliant lights. Like any country, Bolivia has a variety of problems that can only find their solution when its people turn to Christ.

Lesson From Bolivia

Hey all! We made it back home to Jacksonville safe and sound and are having to quickly get adjusted to life here as our schedule is already turning busy with Bible Bee, school music, and sports. We've jumped from one kind of busy to another kind already! It's somewhat strange, and almost dream-like for me to be living here again after two months. All summer we've lived a completely different life surrounded by different people, a different culture, and different places. I'm glad to be back home, but am starting to miss Bolivia a little now! For starters, I miss the cheap food ;) I miss family and certain aspects of the culture as well, and treasure the lessons God has taught me through our vacation there. Sure, God teaches me and guides me and loves on me here, but there He shows me things that I wouldn't see in the States. How real poverty looks like. How despicable corruption ruins a country. A bigger picture of the world.

In this trip to Bolivia, He taught me, first of all, that where I live is not the only place in the world. Of course we all know that the rest of the planet exists, but we get so caught up in our own itty bitty  world that we can become complacent with watching the world from afar. I love our trips there because they give me a bigger taste of the world and its diversity. They help me appreciate and enjoy that diversity more.

Another lesson: Our world is truly broken; mercy is needed daily. Again, in the States I know that poverty exists, but I get caught up in my own world of luxury and ease so that I don't look for it, or see much of it. In Bolivia I see beggars in the streets daily, trash everywhere, and ramshackle huts made of brick, dirt, and tin. Bolivia's poverty has taught me to be merciful. Instead of spending my days shut up in our house in the midst of well-manicured lawns and well-paved roads, I've spent many a long day walking in the middle of cities crowded with all kinds of strangers. I wonder, "Do they know Jesus? Are they depressed? Are they in the midst of a trial?" Seeing hundreds of faces each day opened my eyes to how much of the world needs Jesus.

Another lesson God taught me was that I don't have any place to call my own in this world. Home is in Bolivia, but it's also in the States. I've lived in many places for a fifteen-year-old girl, and they all have a part of my heart; I love all of them! But I realize that in none of them do I truly feel at home, because when I'm in one place I long for the others. I realized this before, but Bolivia has put it into sharper focus: Heaven is the only place I'll truly feel at home, and I can hardly wait for the day when I am there!

As a family, God has taught us mainly about flexibility this summer! He's also taught us to fear Him, praise Him, and to stand in awe of what He's created. We love each and everyone of our trips to Bolivia, and hope we can travel there again in two years. Adios for now!

 One of my favorite pictures from our travels :)

A Bigger Picture of Our Travels

Hola everyone! After all the adventures we've been having, you might wonder where all these regions are found on the map.

To start, Bolivia has nine departments. I have been in five - La Paz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Potosi, and Santa Cruz. The other four are Pando, Beni, Oruro, and Tarija. Each department has its own capital; some departments have their capitals named after them, like La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Oruro, and Tarija. This map divides Bolivia's different departments with bright colors. The pink, topmost department is Pando, and is the least inhabited department. The thick, orange strip to the west is La Paz, which is the most inhabited department! The northern department in green is Beni, and the vast yellow splotch southeast of it is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz, as well as Cochabamba, the pink, central region of the map, are known for their mild weather. While Cochabamba is mild and dry all year around, Santa Cruz can be like another Florida with its heat and humidity!

The other yellow-colored department in Bolivia's southwest is Oruro. The purple, southern region of Chuquisaca holds Bolivia's second capital: Sucre. Bolivia has two capitals? Yes, La Paz is the official, political capital everyone knows about, and Sucre is Bolivia's second, less well-known capital containing immense historical value. Think of it as Philadelphia in the 1700's. Next comes the green department of Potosi in the south. We visited this department twice during our trip, both Torotoro and Uyuni are there. In summary of our experience in Potosi , I can say it's an amazing region full of beautiful landscapes, rich resources, and valued history! Finally, Tarija is the orange department in the far South, Bolivia's main source for grapes and wine.

Long story short, we've spent these two months visiting many places! In La Paz, we visited the cities of La Paz and Caranavi, in Cochabamba, the city of Cochabamba, and in Potosi the cities of Potosi, Torotoro, and Uyuni.

Hopefully this post helped orient you to where the Locklin family has been! Adios for now!

Three Days Exploring Bolivia's Remote Andean Regions (Part 3)

Hola everyone! This was our final day of adventures in the department of Potosi. We woke up early that day to incredibly cold weather! Our last day in Potosi was probably the windiest and chilliest yet, but that didn't stop us from visiting its great geysers! The ground was covered with icy snow and dirt, and the air with mist and sulfuric fumes from the geysers and its boiling waters. It was truly like being in another planet, so remote, freezing, and misty was the landscape.

A lovely sunrise.

The first geyser we saw!

In the middle of the snow, mist, and geysers we  found boiling pools of water.

Strangers in a strange land! The air smelled of sulfur.

Our furthest stop south before turning back was La Laguna Verde (The Green Lake). The color of the lake can be affected by the winds, and sometimes changes color throughout the day. When we arrived, it was an aqua, bluish-green color. Copper and arsenic give it this tint, and prevent life from existing there.

After La Laguna Verde, we started driving northwards on a different route. Eventually, the landscape became less of barren mountains threaded with snow, and more of sloping hills and valleys covered with shrubbery. Along the way we saw a "zorro andino " (Andean fox), and a couple of ñandus, smaller cousins of the ostrich. We all marveled at how much wildlife we were able to spot in these remote regions!

That afternoon on our way back, we made a brief stop at the Desert of Salvador Dali. They named the desert after him because the landscape looks like something out of his distorted painting style. Afterward we stopped at a place that looked like a city, or maze of larger-than-life boulders. The Locklin kids had a blast rock-climbing that afternoon :)

The Desert of Salvador Dali.

My mom and I peeking out :)

The green mass you see is a yareta, an Andean plant

that looks like stone. 

Jonathan and our traveling companion

Lars are obviously not afraid of heights!

Next we stopped at a roadside memorial commemorating the only battle Bolivia won against Chile in the War of the Pacific. This war was won by Chile, and they took away the strip of Bolivia that connected its people to the sea. That's why Bolivia is a land-locked country to this day. Though unfortunate, if Bolivia had lost that one battle Chile would have probably taken Uyuni's salt flat. 

After stopping at a small mining town called St. Cristobal, and driving for two hours, we finally arrived in Uyuni. We spent another night there, and the next morning returned by plane to La Paz. Fast forward three days, and we've now spent them with family. In only a short while, we have seen all our close relatives on my mother's side and have thoroughly enjoyed their company! We will miss them, but are eager to return to normal life in our home sweet home, Jacksonville, Florida. Now I'll not only be saying "Adios for now!" to ya'll, but "Adios for now!" to all our awesome, beloved family here. Our adventure in Bolivia is drawing to a close! Adios for now :)

Three Days Exploring Bolivia's Remote Andean Regions (Part 2)

Picking up where we left off... our second day touring the wilds of Potosi was as amazing and fun as the first day. Our first stop was an abandoned train station in the smaller salt flat of Chiguana. 

My dad: "I've been working on the railroad!"

Along the way to some of Potosi's beautiful lakes, we stopped to take some pictures of the semi-active Volcano Ollague.

Volcano Ollague is in the background!

The first of many lakes we viewed that day was called Lake Cañapa. The wind was strong and chilly, but that didn't stop us from taking pictures of the lake's flamingoes! In most of the lakes we visited, we found three types of flamingoes: The James Flamingo, the Andean Flamingo, and the Chilean Flamingo. Our next stop was for lunch at El Lago Hediondo (The Stinky Lake). It really didn't smell all that bad, and the view of the sparkling lake dotted with flamingoes and the snowy mountains surrounding it was breathtaking. 

Those birds you see are flamingoes flying over Lake Cañapa.

The Stinky Lake! Smelly maybe, but beautiful. 

Early afternoon found us in La Laguna Onda (The Deep Lake), another great view! Then we drove on for quite a while through the Canyon of the Inca. In this canyon, we saw a few Andean rabbits, named vizcachas.

The Deep Lake

A cute vizcacha :)

Our next stop was the desert of Siloli, a dry, windy, and almost Mars-like place. The view was nice, but it was extremely and bitterly cold with violent winds! 

Struggling against the wind!

Our final pictures of the day were taken next to the Tree of Rock, a piece of towering, wind-carved rock, and La Laguna Colorada (the Red Lake). 

Isn't it amazing what God creates?

La Laguna Colorada with flamingoes.

A wider view of La Laguna Colorada

Our second day touring the south of Potosi was unforgettable! Adios for now!

Three Days Exploring Bolivia's Remote Andean Regions

Hello everyone! Today's blogposts will describe all we saw and did on our tour around the remote southern part of the department of Potosi. As I mentioned in my last post, we took a four-hour bus trip from the city of Potosi to the town of Uyuni. The next morning, we found the guide that would lead us through part of Bolivia's mountainous wilderness for the next three days.

Our first stop: the Cemetery of Trains. My brothers loved clambering all over and exploring the trains' rusted parts, and we also took great pictures!

The rest of our stops during that day's car trip were in the world's largest salt flat, or, as it's called here, El Salar de Uyuni (The Salt Flat of Uyuni). I have only three words to sum up this part of our trip: Amazing photo opportunities!! After the Cemetery of Trains, we made five more stops during the day in this vast salt flat to explore and take photos, some fantastic and some funny. Enjoy!

This is once of the many places workers dig up salt.

He truly bears the weight of the family!

"Honey, I shrunk the kids!"

Does something look wrong in this picture?? :)

This is a view of the salt flat from the Island of Incahuasi.

This island is like an oasis in the midst of a salty desert! Long ago 

this island was formed by volcanic rock. 

While hiking through Incahausi, we saw traces of long

ago, like volcanic rock and coral. It was a strangely

beautiful contrast with the shrubbery and cacti! 

The first day of this amazing adventure is passing!

Second Day in Potosi

Hello all! Picking back up where we left off... on the morning of our second day in Potosi we headed to one of its convents, the convent of Saint Teresa, and took a two-hour guided tour of the part of the convent that had been turned into a museum. We saw models of the nuns' rooms showing how they slept with one blanket on the bare wooden boards of their bed (the temperature at night being below freezing), how they prayed on the brick floor of their room in the wee hours of the morning, and how they held group prayers with the other nuns seven times a day with the earliest one being at four in the morning. They would spend most of their day in embroidery, cooking, baking, and prayer. The examples of their hand-made embroidery were unbelievable! I came away impressed at what nuns can accomplish with their hands, and wondering at the hard life they led. You see, we learned that back then in that culture, there was a custom that if a wealthy family had three daughters, the first would marry a wealthy man, the second would become a nun, and the third would stay home and take care of her parents.

A view of the convent's courtyard.

After that, we searched for a place to eat lunch, and ended up finding just what we wanted, some llama meat. Fun fact: Llama meat has little fat compared to other red meats. And it's really delicious!

Llama meat is in the top left of the picture! Yum!

Our last activity of the day was riding from Potosi to the town of Uyuni, where we would start a three-day tour of the world's largest salt flat and some of Bolivia's lovely lakes and volcanoes. It was me and my brothers' first time riding in a flota! As some of you might remember, a flota is a huge bus designed to take people to different regions of Bolivia. It took four long hours to arrive at Uyuni. Once there, we ate a very un-Bolivian dinner of pizza, and settled into our hotel, eagerly awaiting  next day's adventure.

Adios for now!

First Day in Potosi

Hola everyone! This past week has been packed with adventure for the Locklin family. Last Friday we said a sad goodbye to our grandmother in Cochabamba, where we had stayed for a month and a half, and flew to the city of Potosi, the capital city of the department of Potosi in Bolivia.

Potosi is a city dating back to the 1500's. Back then, it gained worldwide renown for the vast amounts of silver found in its Cerro Rico (the Rich Mountain). In fact, so much silver was found in this mountain looming large on Potosi's outskirts that it is said a bridge of silver could've been built spanning from Potosi to Madrid, Spain. All claims aside, Potosi was one of the largest and richest cities in the world during the 16th century due to the seemingly endless supply of the Cerro Rico's silver. During our two-day stay in the city, we saw many items made of silver that seemed frivolous, but the truth was, Potosi's inhabitants had so much silver they didn't know what to do with it all! Talking about people, remember I mentioned Potosi as one of the world's largest cities? Well, at its height, its population was more than that of London or Paris! In the end, the seemingly endless supply of silver was not endless. Slowly the silver dwindled, and with it Potosi's fame. Nowadays, it quaintly and proudly preserves its colonial heritage. The streets are so narrow that they're one-way, and many of its buildings maintain their colonial look. As we strolled through the city, cathedrals and convents seemed to appear on almost every block.

Finally in Potosi! The Cerro 

Rico is the mountain in the background.

After leaving our luggage at the hotel, and strolling around for a bit, we ate Kalaphurka for lunch. Kalaphurka is Potosi's specialty, a corn-based soup with meat, spices, and heat from a volcanic rock at its bottom. This heated volcanic rock causes the soup to boil as its served.

Kalaphurka is so delicious!!

Afternoon came, and with it a tour of the colonial mint in Potosi. It was very interesting to see how silver was turned into coins back then. Spain's and Potosi's wealth increased, but at a price. The foreign slaves and mules who drove those machines died within three to six months due to either overwork, the extremely high altitude, or mercury poisoning while refining the silver. Since we've been to La Paz before, the highest capital in the world, we're more or less used to high altitudes, but Potosi is even higher than La Paz at 13,420 feet, and much colder!

The courtyard of La Casa de la Moneda

 (the House of the Coin; the colonial mint in Potosi)

After our tour of this Spanish mint, we took a guided tour of the city's center. So ended our first day of sightseeing in the historical city of Potosi!

The main cathedral of Potosi

is in the background. 

Cochabamba in Summary

Hola everyone! We have now spent two months in Bolivia and it has been an amazing experience!We have thoroughly enjoyed our six weeks here in Cochabamba, spent in adventure, relaxation, and time with family. You know all about the adventures and activities the Locklins have had from time to time, but you might be wondering, "How was it like just living in a different culture day to day, speaking Spanish all the time?"

At first, speaking in Spanish all the time was a bit trying for us kids, because, as you know, different countries have different ways of speaking Spanish. Back at home, we never spoke Spanish very often. When we kids did, we had the same slow, clear Spanish accent, contrasting with the quickly slurred accent in Bolivia. Even though we spoke correctly (most of the time), we still stood out because of our accent. On top of that, there are native languages here like Quechua and Aymara that we didn't understand! We also stood out because we didn't know how to do things the way they're supposed to be done in Bolivia. In the States, certain things are done a certain way too, like celebrating the Fourth of July, driving on the highway, or mowing your lawn. Well, August 6th (Bolivia's Independence Day) was celebrated with school and military parades, not with BBQ's or fireworks, highways as you imagine them don't exist, and most places are so dusty and dry, that there's hardly any grass to mow anyway! Yes, the Locklin kids definitely stood out :)

Fast forward eight weeks, and even though we're still here, things have changed.
Our Spanish is more fluent, and we understand people here better, as well as their culture. Waking up and walking alongside dusty streets, spray-painted walls, and brick buildings crowded together, with rocky roads winding into far off snow-topped cliffs and mountains is definitely different, but also uniquely beautiful, and special. If this trip has taught me anything, it's to wonder at nature's diversity, and to open my eyes to different kinds of beauty. We still get our grammar mixed up, still make mistakes, and still miss home; but we also love everything God teaches us through Bolivia. (More on that in another post!)

Other than language, our experience in Cochabamba has included food transportation, music, and family. In a couple hours we will be leaving Cochabamba and flying to another region of Bolivia, Potosi. We will spend five days there, touring its famous salt flat and other touristic areas. We look forward to touring more of Potosi, and going back home, but will miss the city of Cochabamba!

Views of Cochabamba; my grandmother lives close

to this lake, called the Lalay Lagoon. 

And this is from where we took the pics above.

 The statue is called  Christ of the Concordia. 

Like the Statue of Liberty, it overlooks the city

 and you can climb it from inside!

Thanks for reading. Adios for now!