Fantastic Food; Abundant Fruit

This past week we've had many things going on, but the one that stands out the most is the unique Bolivian foods we've been tasting! The day after our arrival from Torotoro, our uncle, aunts, and cousins came over for lunch. We bought and ate a dish of potatoes, corn, salad, and chicharron. Chicharron is the Spanish word for fried pork. For drink, we had soda and mocochinchi (dried peach juice). It was all so delicious!!

The tray on the left contains the chicharron.

Yesterday, my mom, Jonathan, and I took a bus to the Mercado Campesino (Farmer's Market). This market sells mostly fruits, some vegetables, and a small variety of other dishes. Walking down the dusty street, you would notice several trucks parked on the sides of the street, loaded with fruit. The fruit is piled high in stalls and on blankets along the road. Looking at grocery stores in the US, you appreciate the quality and quantity neatly packed and stacked. In this street market though, the sprawled abundance of so much fruit at such a low price makes you appreciate abundance in another way. It made me think how fruit and vegetables, like air and water, can be found anywhere and is for everyone. We bought bananas, oranges, papaya, coconuts, avocado, and a watermelon for less than ten dollars! Every time I come to Bolivia the prices never cease to amaze me! :)

Both chicharron, mocochinchi, and these types of markets are common in Bolivia. We love tasting Bolivian tradition! There are so many other types of unique Bolivian foods; I'll keep you posted!

Adventures in Torotoro (Part 3)

Our second day in Torotoro, as well as our last, was the most tiring. Basically, we hiked all day. At the beginning of the hike, our guide pointed out dinosaur footprints of all kinds. There were numerous tracks, some disappearing under shelves of rock along the way. There's so much that the park has uncovered, and still has to uncover! It was amazing to think we were walking where dinosaurs tread so many centuries ago. After that, we got started on our real hike. At first, we walked mostly through rock and shrubbery, with the guide pointing out native plants and different effects of water erosion on the land.  

The trail of the giant, long-necked sauropod!

This is a clear theropod footprint. Theropods were

small, quick, and carnivorous. Where the footprints

of a herbivore are seen, a carnivore usually follows. 

Footprints all over the place!

Since when did Andrew grow so tall?!

He didn't; those are Jonathan's legs :)

Finally, we climbed up to a lookout where we had the best view of the park's canyon. At the bottom flowed a stream strewn with boulders; trees grew on the sloping ground. Vegetation spread over the reddish-brown cliffs of the canyon; the view was perfect. And scary from so far up! Eventually we hiked on, soon coming upon hundreds of stairs, cut out of rock, leading down into another part of the canyon. Once at the bottom, we kids had a blast climbing up all the larger-than-life boulders and crossing the deep streams cutting across our path. After some time, we all came to the end of the path. Water pours out of the cliff's side there, forming a small beach scattered with rocks of all shapes and sizes. Guess where all the water comes from. The caverns! After climbing, eating, and getting wet to our heart's content, refreshed and relaxed, we started on our way back up. This was one of the hardest, if not the hardest part, of our whole trip to Torotoro. Climbing almost a thousand stairs under the glaring sun was hard, and it seemed to take forever, but we all made it! After resting for a while, we took another path circling back to where we had started.

Speculating how deep the canyon gets!

 The view was beautiful, but it was not fun looking straight down!

At the canyon's bottom.

The path ends here, at the main attraction of this hike, 

the "Vergel," meaning the waterfall. The one you see

is just a small part of the many waterfalls found here.

Yes, this would be the getting-wet part of our hike!

Three dear sisters, two dear aunts, and one dear Mom :)

A view of Bolivian countryside! 

 After resting for a while, we took another path circling back to where we had started. A few hours later, we  had bought souvenirs, packed everything into a minibus, and were headed back home! Everyone was now glad for a six-hour rest! It might have taken a few days to recover from our adventures in Torotoro, but the sore muscles and weariness were worth it! We had a beautiful time seeing more of Bolivia and spending time with family. 

Adventures in Torotoro (Part 2)

That afternoon, we were guided through the biggest caverns in Bolivia! Slowly but surely, we descended into the caverns’ enormous mouth, climbing over boulders, edging our way down steep and slippery faces of rock, and easing down ropes and ladders. Soon, we had to switch on the lights attached to the front of the helmets given us. The most amazing part of the tour was when we reached a large, crystal-clear pool where water bugs and blind fish swam. On the far end, through a space between slabs of rock, gushed water, flowing away through unseen cracks into the semi-darkness. We all turned off our flashlights to see how dark it really was there, and couldn’t even distinguish the dark caused by closing our eyes to the actual pitch black of the caverns. Thank goodness we had light, and a guide! And yes, a guide was imperative, for we went the wrong way more than once, and barely scraped along in steep places where we couldn’t see the cavern’s bottom. Needless to say, that afternoon was a tense, and exhilarating time!

A few dinosaur footprints on the way to the caverns.

Near the entrance!

This place is called the Hall of Concerts,

because of the organ-shaped stalactites. 

Sometimes there was no path 

to follow and we had to descend

on hands and knees or by rope.

We had just come out of the caverns, exhausted!

To my brothers, these caverns were the ideal adventure,

 and they loved it! They were the least tired out of us  :)

Our first days of sightseeing in Torotoro was breath-taking, fascinating, tiring, and a bit nerve-wrecking, but we enjoyed it thoroughly and look back on it with many fun memories!

Adventures in Torotoro (Part 1)

Hi everyone! This past week has been the most exciting and exhausting week yet in our Bolivian travels!  The Locklins, along with our Aunt Doris, Aunt Ruth, Uncle David, and cousins Valeria and David, traveled to a small town, well-known for its touristic attractions, called Torotoro. Our group numbered nine people, so we had to hire a minibus to drive us for six hours over the road twisting on and on past hills covered with coarse shrubbery and rocks, through a never-ending valley, and finally to the tops of mountains, where we saw Torotoro nestled. It was long past sunset when we arrived. 

Ready to go!

A couple of pics of the scenery along the way.

If we felt tired that night though, it was nothing compared to what we felt the next day! The touristic attractions surrounding Torotoro are a breath-taking part of nature, shown by exploring caverns and taking long hikes! We spent our first day doing just that. We hiked all morning; our guide showing us many plants of medical use and faded paintings thousands of years old.

These mountain faces have slowly eroded, leaving  countless layers of rock exposed.

 It's between these types of shelves that thousands of fossilized dinosaur footprints have 

been found. Torotoro is well-known mostly because of these amazing discoveries.

During our entire hike we walked through the

 Ciudad de Ita, the City of Rock. This picture shows a portion of it. 

Many of the rocks appear shaped

like animals due to erosion by water.

These caves are amazingly beautiful.

First of Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a city like La Paz, with its dry weather and crowded streets. The differences are that it is not as mountainous, but mostly flat, it has a mildly warm climate year-round, and not as many of our close relatives live there. We visit Cochabamba because my grandmother, Fidelia (we call her Mami Fide), lives there. Our time in Bolivia is mostly spent there because we want to spend as much time with her as possible. The result of months and months of staying here throughout the years is that we know the city pretty well and have traditions to continue every time!

Last Wednesday, we left La Paz. Our flight to Cochabamba lasted about thirty minutes. 

Last glimpse of La Paz! The mountain 

is a famous one, called the Illimani.

Cochabamba at last!

We have now been in Cochabamba almost a week, and most of the time has been spent in relaxation and running errands. This afternoon we ate ice cream at a place called Globos (Balloons). It is an amazing restaurant with playgrounds for kids. It has been one of our traditions to always go there and have a great time playing and eating ice cream! We had a blast, and hope that all our adventures here in Cochabamba will be memorable. Adios for now!

Last of La Paz

Hello all! So far, we have traveled to La Paz (an 11-day stay), and Caranavi (a four-day stay). Now, we’re at our longest stop, Cochabamba! Before I tell you about Cochabamba though, let me relate all we saw and did on our last day in La Paz. 

The Sagarnaga Street is where we usually shop for souvenirs at the end of our stay in La Paz, and this time was no different! Making your way to the city’s central square by taxi, you wouldn’t immediately see colorful shops and countless vendors trying to sell you souvenirs. If, though, you start walking in between the buildings surrounding the square, you would find a series of tiny shops tucked away in corners or lining the streets, selling leather goods, toys, notebooks, shawls, accessories, chess sets, slippers, instruments, and more! You have found the Sagarnaga. The quality and quantity are remarkable, which is why we ended up spending all our morning there! 

My Aunt Ruth’s house is in the center of La Paz, only a few blocks from the central square. After our morning in the Sagarnaga, we headed there for lunch. Our afternoon was spent watching a World Cup game (soccer is huge deal in Bolivia!), and observing the National Art Museum of Bolivia through a guided tour. The museum consisted of medieval, pre-colonial, and colonial art. Much of the religious colonial art depicted Mary and Jesus, as well as the apostles. It was interesting to see the distinction between the European Mary and South American Mary, who was triangular-shaped, dark-skinned, and dark-haired.  Looking through this museum proved an afternoon well-spent!

I'm standing next to one of 

the Sagarnaga's shops.

Palacio de Gobierno, where Bolivia's president works.

We are in the art museum's courtyard.

Our tour had just ended, and night was already falling. 

What a great day!

Our Trip to Casa de Esperanza (Part Two)

Caranavi is beautiful in and of itself, but once I started meeting the people there, I knew they were what made the orphanage Casa de Esperanza beautiful. We first caught up with the directors, Fidel and Charito Corrales. Throughout our stay, their constant faith, love, grace, and hospitality never ceased to amaze me. They've been directors for 13 years now, and are still running strong! They accommodated us in the guest house right next to their home, and provided delicious meals for us during our four-day stay.

As for the children, well, once we'd gotten a good night's sleep, we spent all the next day getting to know them! There are six houses for the children. Each house holds ten kids, and all ten are cared for by two "aunts." For three of the four days we were there, I helped with the eight toddlers in the third house. Boy was it a handful! But boy was it a blessing! It was such a joy to clean up after them, play with them, and just to love on them! Lunch was usually my break, and then I took care of the children till five in the afternoon. My mom and brothers, for three days, attended three sessions of the CEC, a Christian training facility for youth. A session lasted all morning, so that later in the day, you would find my brothers either playing foosball or basketball, and my mom serving in whatever ways she could. These days passed much in the same wonderful way, with us serving, playing, eating, meeting, and cleaning. We drove down to the city once with some new friends and had burgers and smoothies for dinner, and on our third night there we joined the kids for their weekly movie night, which was great fun! It was such a privilege and blessing getting to know and serving the children there!

The children that Casa de Esperanza accepts are one to five years old, and they all come from poor conditions. One of the youngest, who had only been at the orphanage for four months still looked serious and laughter didn't come to him easily, while another girl who had been there for a while was full of smiles and laughter all the time. That's one of the miracles this place works, it turns them from hurting babies to joyful kids! It provides all of their daily needs, as well as plenty of school, work, and play. Most importantly of all, they grow up learning about God and His love for them, surrounded by a Dad (Fidel Corrales), a Mom (Charito Corrales), aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters. All these blessings could never be possible without God's miraculous work. In fact, in never ceases to amaze me how God is working through everyone in this orphanage! Our last day there was spent in soaking in the scenery, hiking up and riding down muddy dirt roads, loving on the children, giving gifts to the aunts and children, and hanging out with the older kids! Spending time with the kids was definitely the highlight, and we loved our time there! All the blessings these kids have, and really, all the ways they blessed us during our visit, are an awesome testimony of God's power and love! Praise Him!

Our Trip to Casa De Esperanza (Part One)

Hi everyone! Many of you know about my work with the orphanage Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope), located in the city of Caranavi. I had been praying that we would be able to visit the orphanage again this time, and by God's grace we did! Our adventure started on the afternoon of June 24. My family and I, along with my Uncle David and Aunt Ruth, drove four long hours by taxi to Caranavi. The road, which is built into the mountains, twists and turns and twists and turns and, well you get the idea. It doesn't do one's stomach a whole lot of good for one thing! At first, all you can see are brown and barren mountain peaks up close, threadbare with snow. After the longest time, the road, even for the most part, angles down until you find yourself in the midst of towering vegetation, no longer feeling like you're on top of the world. From frigid wind and coarse grass, you travel to a land of closely packed forest, red-dirt roads, and balmy air. The road, which was smoothly paved until now, has sections that haven't been paved yet. Full of dirt and dust and rocks, it makes the taxi rattle and your stomach vibrate. Dust covers the shrubbery on the side, giving it a rusty look. All the way there, one side gives you a close view of the mountain face you're riding along, while the other side gives you a view of the far-off, usually tree-packed mountains. Finally, buildings and rundown homes start appearing. You know you're in the city of Caranavi when the streets, bumpy, dusty, and littered with trash, are lined with faded buildings advertising restaurants and businesses. Taxis rattle past, and motorcycles weave in and out of the traffic, carrying three or more people at a time.

Once we arrived, we ate a little dinner at a place facing the main square. We waited then, somewhat refreshed, for Charito Corrales (one of the directors) to come pick us up. After a few minutes, we found ourselves driving up, up, up to where the orphanage lies. Casa de Esperanza rests on a mountain overlooking the city of Caranavi, now lit up with blue and yellow lights shining against the darkness of night. After rounding a final curve, you would pull up in front of one of the guest houses next to the directors' house. From there, you can see the city of Caranavi and the faint outline of the mountains. During the day, the scenery is breath-taking!

Really, I could describe Caranavi forever! It is a place of swaying palm trees and muddy roads, of both sultry and fresh air, of rain and clouds in your face, of breath-taking beauty and heart-breaking need. Two years ago I came and fell in love with my surroundings. This time was no different, and I could hardly wait to get acquainted with the people there!

We begin our trip!

A rare sight to us Floridians :)

I love this view!

You can see the streets of Caranavi far below!

Here you can see a bit of the orphans' houses.

If you zoom into the center of the picture you can

see the toucan we spotted. We loved the nature displayed here!