It's Officially Over

Well folks, we finally made it home. We got back to Glasgow at one o'clock on Thursday morning. Joe and Clarinda were right there waiting for us. We had to get up yesterday and head to Louisville to go to the AIRPORT! We had get Mike's Mom from Texas. That was cutting it pretty close! So now we are all back home and ready to resume life after vacation. 

Thanks for reading our blog. I had fun writing it.

Signing off

Michelle

It Not Over Till It's Over

You know how they say it's not over till the fat lady sings? Well, she's still belting it out loud and strong here in Bolivia. We got up yesterday and had a nice breakfast and finished packing for the trip home. We left the apartment to go have lunch around 2:00 p.m. We wanted to go to Gattapardo for their well reported on steaks. The car started and was running fine and then all of the sudden just kept dying right in the middle of the road. Thankfully, it kept starting. So we made it downtown. We had a very nice lunch. We wanted to treat Bob and Reenie for showing us such warm hospitality. Mike went to pay with our credit card. Their system was down...no credit cards! And by the way, no sign on the door to indicate that their machines were down. So between Mike and Bob they scraped up enough Bolivianos to pay the bill. Some treat for them huh? 

Now my fear was that the car wouldn't start and we would miss the flight or at least be cutting it close. It started up and seemed to be running fine. We made it to the airport in plenty of time. We checked our bags and got our boarding passes. We told Bob and Reenie they didn't have to wait. They said," No we will wait until we see the plane actually take off. This is Bolivia you never know what might happen!"

I think they must be prophets! We went through security, no problem. We are waiting at the gate( there are only two in the Tarija airport) It is about ten minutes until boarding time when they make an announcement in Spanish. Well I didn't exactly understand all of the announcement, but I'm smart enough to know when you see about 125 Bolivians all get up and start running, you better get up and go too. I tried to find somebody that spoke some English (hard to do). In her broken English she said we needed to go back to the airline desk. At this point we knew this was not good. But true to their word, when we came around the corner, their were Bob and Reenie! The prophets, true to their word had not left the airport! 

Bob went with us and the other 125 Bolivians to find out what was going on. It seems that the plane that was coming from Cochambamba refused to land because of the extremely low cloud cover. It was in the air right above us, but wouldn't land. It was full of people who were coming to Tarija and it turned around and went back to Cochambamba. There would not be another flight until the next morning. So you know what that means. We had no way to get to Santa Cruz to catch our connecting American Airlines flight back to the states. So they rebooked us for a flight this morning from Tarija to Santa Cruz. Great right? Wrong! There were no available flights back to the states from Santa Cruz until Wednesday morning. So we had to book a hotel room close to the airport for tonight. Tomorrow, if all goes well we will be on the 9:00 am flight from Santa Cruz back to the US and should be back in Nashville at 10:30 pm Wednesday night.  Of course we had to have proof for American that missing our connection was not our fault, so we asked them at the airport for a letter stating it was the local airlines fault. " Sure we can provide that. But you will have to go to the BOA office downtown. It closes in an hour." So off we go to downtown Tarija, when everyone is getting off work and traffic is crazy. Did I also mention that yesterday the weather took a drastic change and the temperature was only in the low 30's with a very cold wind chill? We got to the office and took care of the paperwork. But they could not change our airline ticket for us. Not their problem. So Reenie and I walked to a travel agency nearby to see if they could help. Thankfully Reenie was able to communicate our dilemma to the agent, as she spoke no English. She called the airlines for us and was able to get it changed. Of course, American Airlines was happy to change the reservation, for a small fee ( Their idea of small and mine are two different things...but AA did post a gazillion dollar profit this quarter...So I guess in some small way Mike and I helped add to their profit) but when you have to get home, you do what you have to do. 

So we make all the necessary arrangements, hotel in Santa Cruz, transportation in Santa Cruz and emails and phone calls to Joe and Clarinda, who have so graciously consented to still come pick us up at the airport. So I'm hoping today goes smoother and that tomorrow night we will be back in Glasgow.  But for now, if you listen closely, she's still singing ( the fat lady) I just don't recognize the song. It's in Spanish!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

So the saying goes. Before it completely ended we still had a few things to see and do. On Wednesday we took a road trip to Valle Concepcion. This is the area where they have all of the vineyards. Of course this time of year, since it is winter here, there was not much in the way of green, lush vineyards. But the area still has a rugged beauty that needs to be experienced to be appreciated I suppose. We stopped on the way to the valley at a lovely spot on the river, which is mostly dried up since they have not had rain since April. And yet it was still breathtaking. I'll include a picture, although pictures don't really do it justice. We arrived at the vineyard and winery Casa Viejo just in time for lunch.  They had several choices on the menu. We chose the ribs. They served it with mote (bland, tasteless hominy -YUCK) However, the ribs were really good. They had an area outside overlooking the vineyard were we ate lunch. The only problem with eating outside...begging dogs with sad eyes making you feel guilty for enjoying your ribs. (Of course, I shared.)

On Friday we had planned to leave very early in the morning and travel three hours up into the mountains to see these rare hot pink flamingos. They are hot pink because of some algae they eat from the lake up there. However, I've been having terrible altitude sickness, and Bob & Reenie were afraid that the even higher altitude would not be good. It would have been about 2000 feet higher than we already are here in Tarija. I was a little disappointed, but realized that in hindsight it was probably for the best. A six hour car trip on the roads here would have probably been too much. (Plus, no banos along the way...except for the great outdoors.)

So we opted for a thirty minute car ride outside the city. We were going to a natural waterfall area, however, when we got there it was gated and locked. We asked one of the locals if they knew why, as it is a tourist type attraction. No one knew why it was closed. So we went to the French restaurant/hotel where we were going to have lunch. They have an area behind the hotel where you can hike up to the top of the mountain. So we took a little hike before lunch. The views were great, but in all honesty, I haven't seen a view from here I didn't like. However, most of the friends say that February is the best and most beautiful time of year here. We had our lunch outside and enjoyed the view.  We then drove to a quaint little town called San Lorenzo. There is a small congregation there that meets in a house. After that we went back into town to have dessert at the Marques. (YUM!)

Saturday is always market day here for Bob & Reenie. We were set to go, but alas the car would not start. So off to the bus stop we went. We caught the micro downtown to the market and did the shopping. When we finished, rather than trying to lug all the produce on the bus, we took a taxi. It cost 15bolivianos for the four of us to take the taxi. That's just over $2.00 (US) Then of course, you get to wash all of the produce. Quite a process.  We had friends over last night and made pizza. It's been such a pleasure to meet and get to know so many new friends.

Today, I have started the process of preparing to pack to come home. A process, which thanks to the airlines, has been made harder than it has to be. (Weighing and evenly distributing everything so as to avoid overages and excess baggage fees! The first leg of our flight begins tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. We will be home on Tuesday afternoon.

They say that all good things must come to end. Our trip has been one of adventure and discovery. It has been a thrill to meet new friends and work side by side with them in the ministry. To know that the brotherhood is the same no matter where you go, is just further evidence of the loving God that we serve. That united, worldwide brotherhood is one good thing that will never end.

We're very thankful to Jehovah that we had this life experience. We hope that you have enjoyed just a taste of what we have experienced. Thanks for coming along! We hope you enjoyed the journey! We sure did!

Met these guys along the way. Notice the vineyards in the background.

Notice the ditches along the side on the right. They are for irrigating the vineyards.

Some of the area wildlife! (ha-ha)

Inside the winery. 

The patio where we had lunch.

Lunch. Ribs -YUMMY! Mote- YUCKY!

One of the begging dogs. Could you say no to this face?

I think Mike looks like he's on safari in this pic!

This is what greets you at the airport! 

This is a huge polished concrete slide they have in town. Mike couldn't resist! 

At the top of the mountain behind the Pasarela restaurant.

Lunch

Dessert. Some kind of ice cream and coffee concoction. Wonderful deliciousness!

This brother was in the market conducting a study with these kids.

Beautiful flowers in the market. They are so cheap, there would be no reason for you brothers not to get flowers for your wives if you lived here.

It's Winding Down 😢

We are both feeling better, but since we missed a big chunk of this trip being sick, we have a lot of things to cram into our remaining time. So on Friday, I went on Bible studies with Reenie. Her and Bob  both have several Bible studies. Here people ask you for studies. Interesting concept isn't it? The pioneers are constantly trying to shuffle people that want to study, hoping that someone will have time in their schedule. Trying to balance door to door with bible studies is definitely a challenge here, since there are so many who want to study. You could spend all your time just conducting studies. I'd like to have that problem! 

After the studies, the boys picked us up and we went to lunch on the plaza, at a place called Marques. The restaurant used to be a huge home that they converted into a restaurant. Beautiful architecture! It's a pretty nice restaurant and still the four of us ate for around $20.00 (us) and that included the tip and cappuccinos and adult beverages 😀. Try doing that at a nice restaurant in the states.

Saturday is always market. I wish that you could see this market. It seems to stretch for miles. It covers at least several city blocks and has everything you could imagine. We took our backpacks to make carrying the food a little easier this time. But by the time you walk around for a couple of hours, all of those fruits and vegetables get pretty heavy. It is kind of necessary to shop the different vendors as prices will vary. The prices will also vary at the same vendor from week to week based on the quality of the produce. They kind of price it by grade: primera- or the best, segunda- or second and so on. If you buy quite a bit from the same vendor, they will usually give you a yappa - or something free. Nothing big, but just something to show their appreciation. All in all a pretty neat experience, except the part about feeling like a pack mule.  But actually for a couple of bolivianos, (about 40 cents) you can hire bolivian boys to carry your stuff. ( Or you can whine that your back hurts and then your sweet husband will offer to carry it 😉)

We have the Sunday meeting here at 4:30 p.m. The talk was given by a very sweet brother in the Sur congregation. He has quite a story of walking in isolated areas in the mountains with little or no food in order to preach.  He is older now and is currently taking care of his wife who has Alzheimer's disease. What a faithful brother! I enjoyed his talk because he was a very slow and deliberate speaker, which is a blessing when your Spanish isn't that great. The congregation here is full of kids. I counted at least 50 kids up to around age 19.  And we were told there were many missing. The attendance was around 140. Here it is pretty much a custom that you go around and greet each person at the hall. So it takes awhile to get around to everybody! But the friends want to make sure that everyone feels welcome. After the meeting we went to the Los Parrales Hotel to meet the missionary couple, Russell and Janice. We  made use of the spa facilities they have there. For ( 7.00 us) you can use their jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. That was a relaxing treat! 

On Monday, one of the couples, Bruce and Cynthia, sponsored a gringo breakfast at their apartment. It was so much fun. We had hash browns, eggs, sausage ( you have to a make your own- no Jimmy Dean here folks) and Janice made her famous pancakes. After that it was game time. Playing games is a very popular thing to do here- not much TV in English, which is a good thing. We played Catch Phrase, boys against the girls. I am sad to report that due to a last minute rally, the boys beat the girls! 

After that, some of the guys played ping pong and the rest of us played Sequence. It was nice to visit with everyone and here their stories of how they ended up in Tarija. 

Yesterday, the boys went to play golf again. As the boys had taken the car, that left Reenie and I to take the micro (the bus) to downtown. I wanted to do a little shopping. The bus only cost .30 cents and will take you wherever you want to go. The bus schedule is, however, a bit confusing! Glad Reenie knew what she was doing. After shopping, we went back to the Marques for lunch. We decided on beer and pizza. Let's just say that pizza is one of the first things I want to eat when I get home. And not just any pizza, my favorite one from Snappy's or Turtilini's. ( Nick are you listening? You know the one!)

That just about brings you up to date. Hope all is well with everyone back home. Continue to enjoy! Today we head to the valley to the vineyards. More to come.

Love to all,

M & M

In the Marques restaurant. It used to be a house. Can you imagine?

The plaza central.

A view from above the city.

Janice ( the missionary sister) making her famous pancakes. Yummo!

Bob, ready to devour breakfast.

Russell and Gerald, getting ready to do battle.

The Casa de Oro. ( House of Gold) Built by a wealthy couple with no children. So they built this. Part of it houses a theater.

Testing...Testing

Well, after being housebound for a week, we decided that today it was time to test the waters. Bob decided to just take us for a ride to some of the outlying areas. So we set out for the San Jacinto dam area. It's a reservoir and dam. People come there to fish and canoe etc.  It was a beautiful area. But keep in mind that the roads through and around the mountains are little more than cow paths. A bit scary if you meet an oncoming car. And by the way, no enforced seat belt laws!

The area around the dam had little roadside stands setup where they were selling fried fish from the reservoir.  This is not fish that you want to eat! The reservoir ends up as the final destination for sewage from the surrounding hillside occupants. NO fish for us!

From the dam we continued around the windy reservoir road.  It amazes me the diversity you see in housing here. There will be a huge beautiful gated home and next to it will be a family of squatters with tents. The  law says that if they live there for a certain number of years without being run off, then they can petition the government to officially own it. Only then can they hope to receive water and electric. As a result, you will see many of them washing their clothes in the river.

We eventually wound our way back into the city. Then we went into the part of the city where the wealthy live.  We are talking gated communities with security guards. There were some really nice houses, but some were virtually built on the cliff sides. A little too scary for me.

We ended up the day's activities at the Los Parrales. A very nice hotel that overlooks the city. For a hotel, it wasn't very busy at all. They have a nice pool and jacuzzi that you can pay to use by the day. We are  supposed to go back there on Sunday with some friends to use the jacuzzi and sauna. After lunch, we decided that it was time for a siesta. All in all, we are glad we got out of the house. But I think Mike may have pushed it too much.  He's still feeling bit puny. (He couldn't finish his lunch. And for those of you who know Mike well, that seldom happens.) 

Oh well....poco a poco. (Little by little)

Enjoy the pics.

Love,

M&M

A view from above the city.

More of the landscape

San Jacinto Reservoir

The road along the dam where you can buy fish...but don't eat it! 

A view of the road that we traveled. Notice the hairpin curve at the bottom!

Boats at the base of the dam.

One of the fancy houses on the reservoir.

I love pics of old falling down structures, Don't ask why. I just think they are cool.

A picture of the Los Parrales hotel where we had lunch.

 A traditional dish called Silpancho. Flattened beef filet over rice with eggs, potatoes and salsa.

This guy was hanging out around the pool at the hotel. Hard life huh?

My sweetie!

Who can name this plant? Jack?Clarinda? Any guesses? I've been told it's a Bougainvillea. Not sure if I spelled it correctly. But you see it everywhere.

 

Sick....inferma....it's the same in any language!

Well.......you may have noticed that there have been no posts lately. Sickness knows no international borders. We've both been housebound for almost a week. I've had bronchitis and Mike has had really bad trouble with his asthma. I'm happy to report that I think we may be on the mend. I went today to the farmacia to get more meds...so we will see.  It's slightly annoying to be on a trip of a lifetime and only see the inside of the apartment. We did make it out to the market on Saturday for about an hour. We were both pooped from just walking through the market.  

Speaking of the market, if I lived here I would have to get a small cart to push through there. After carrying bags of fruits and vegetables and other items, you're exhausted. They have a supermarket called the Urkupinia. But Wal-Mart it is not. You can get the basics, but no fresh fruits or breads. Everyone goes to the outdoor markets for things...mainly because it is cheaper. But then again most people go to the market at least every other day so that things will be fresh. Makes sense I suppose. What doesn't make sense, putting fresh eggs in small plastic bags. No egg cartons here folks. I'm not sure how many would actually make it home. 

On a completely different subject.  Why did the zebra cross the road? To help the pedestrians get to the other side. No this is not some weird Bolivian joke. And no, I haven't over medicated on cough syrup. I actually witnessed it with my own eyes this afternoon. I went with Bob and Reenie on some return visits. When we were approaching a busy intersection, men dressed as zebras were stopping traffic to allow pedestrians to cross. Why not just go to the crosswalk you may ask? Pedestrians have NO right of way in Tarija. The drivers are loco. You proceed across the street at your own risk! And when you decide to go you better GO! So the zebras are the city government's way of trying to get drivers to take more note of the pedestrians. Not sure if the plan is working or if soon zebras will be extinct in the city. Only time will tell. I'm attaching some pictures as proof that the hot Tarija sun has not cooked my brain.

Enjoy!

Love to you all.

M&M

The meat market.

You can move anything in a taxi...even the refrigerator!

Now that's a bunch of bananas!

Fresh strawberries in the market. Yum!

Goats we found in service.

See the zebra at the intersection? Still don't believe me?

Here's his close up.

So Down Here in Bolivia

Sorry that it has taken so long to post more pictures and provide you with updates. At times, services here in Bolivia are slow or non-existent to say the least.  One of the local internet suppliers has had computer issues for a few days. 

With that said, we are having a blast. On Sunday we had the meeting. It's at 4:30p.m. in the afternoon.  They has a large attendance. About the same as on Thursday. Some of the friends were missing because they support the sign language group. The sign language is interesting because they have very little information in Bolivian sign language, so they are teaching ASL. What a sacrifice many of the friends are making to support this endeavor. It takes time for them to earn the trust of the deaf community.

After the meeting we had two couples over for homemade pizza. Yum! One of the couples is from Brazil. They had to learn Spanish as they only spoke Portuguese. They are both doing what they can do be able to stay here. Philippe and Gisella are their names. Gi will often cut the hair of the sisters to make a few Bolivianos. A haircut equals about 3.00 (US). The other couple, Daniel and Judith are the other couple. Daniel is from France and has been here for fourteen years. Judith is from Chile. They will have to go back to France in February as money is running out. That is the case with many of the friends. They are from all parts of the world.

On Monday, Mike played golf. Of course Mike played golf, even in Tarija. He played with a missionary brother named Russell and our host Bob and another brother named Chet. They had a blast. The wives all pitched in to make lunch. Then after that Monopoly! Let's just say that we all still need to work on our Christian personalities.

Yesterday, we went in service again. In a different territory, but it was pretty much the same.  Walk for two hours. No public bathrooms here folks. I'll leave it up to your imagination as to how you care for those needs. Let's just say toilet paper ad hand sanitizers are a necessity here. after service we had errands to run. The Marsdens took us to a restaurant, Gualaquivir. They ordered this Bolivian dish called Pico de Macho. Beef, two kinds of chorizo, quail eggs, potatoes and a very hot pepper called a locoto. The dish was great, but look out for the peppers! HOT! Mike went on two studies with Mike last night and they didn't get home until 9:30 p.m.

Today we stayed in and I made pumpkin soup for some friends who came over for lunch. One is a single sister named Glenda from Tennessee. The other was a couple from the Saint Louis area, they were named Bruce and Cynthia. We had a nice lunch and had a nice time hearing their experiences.

I'll post some pictures and try to post again soon. 

Love to you all

M&M

Pizza night after the meeting on Sunday.

Mike, Phillipe, Gisella, Judith, Daniel, Bob and Reenie

The golf gang: Mike, Chet, Marion, Janice, Russell and Bob.

Service meeting on the street, featuring the new offer for July.

DOGS everywhere! Even on the rooftops.

In service,after walking to the top of the hill. Whew!

My new amiga, Elisabeta.

Lunch for four! A traditional Bolivian dish.

Wine comes in six pack! What a fabulous idea!