Bolivia Bound: 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!