When we tell people from the US that we were were traveling for 4 months, we’re often met with astonishment. They equate travel with vacation, and just can’t fathom how we could take a 4 month vacation. But the truth is that we seldom felt like we were lolly-gagging around. The constant stream of decisions about what places to go, where to eat and sleep, and trying to stay healthy through it all takes lots of energy. Adventure travel is demanding, and by the end we found ourselves looking forward to going home.
On the other hand, we met many seasoned travelers who were on the road for far longer than we were. Europeans, Israelis and Australians seem more accustomed to longer journeys than Americans. The travel bug did wear off on us, so part of us felt like we should just keep going. Peru and Ecuador beckoned, so it took a bit of willpower to pack our bags. Our return flight was from Lima, so we flew from La Paz and spent a day wandering Peru’s capital and enjoying it’s gourmet seafood.
Now that we’re home, we find ourselves smiling a lot as we wander around our sweet town of Paonia. It took 3 hours to buy groceries and 2 hours to go to the post office… lots of hugs and stories to share. Its been a rainy spring here so it is very green and the rivers are high. We’re really glad we got to have such an amazing journey, and, we’re really glad that we live in such a beautiful and friendly community to come home to.
For this final blog post, we wanted to thank everyone who took time to read some of our posts and encouraged us. It took a lot of time to write and upload blog posts while we traveled, but this blog is now our photo album/journal and is something we’ll have forever to help us remember. Also a big shout out to our house sitters David and Stella, our pal Thea who sorted mail and messages and made sure nothing fell into a crack, and our business partners who picked up the slack and kept in touch with us while we journeyed. Muchas Gracias!!!
It seems fitting to end with a few photos from the amazing city of La Paz, Bolivia. At over 13,000′ and set in a valley with steep hillsides and surrounded by huge mountains, the place really does take your breath away. We ended up spending quite a few days there since it was the hub for our Yungas trek and our flight to the jungle. At first it seemed like total chaos, but the raw spectacle of humanity that is right out on the streets became ever more fascinating.
La Paz has everything. Upscale offices and boutiques with and also mud hut neighborhoods clinging to the hillsides.
Traditional woman wearing the classic “bowler” hat and pleated skirt.
Most commerce takes place out in the streets. Here is a rainbow assortment of potatoes.
With inadequate public services, neighborhoods tend to be self organizing. This one strung up an effigy to warn thieves about their fate if they messed with anyone on this street.
La Paz has lots of great museums that highlight Bolivian culture. They really get into masks here as part of elaborate festivals involving devils and other demons.
The small Museum of Musical Instruments” was lots of fun. Check out the giant panpipes! Where would you get the lung power to blow these things at this altitude?
Tiwanaku, located near Lake Titicaca. This ancient civilization pre-dated the Inca's by centuries.
Many of the buses are old (and stinky), but the paint jobs show lots of pride.
At a small park this woman was lip syncing to a boom box and swooshing in her folkloric skirts while her husband filmed a home video.
The roving knife sharpener. He walks the streets and blows a whistle to let people know he is ready to sharpen with his bicycle-wheel-powered grinder.
Life on the streets: this old woman sits here everyday selling a few veggies. You don't see destitute people sleeping or intoxicated as in US cities - everyone seems busy doing something to get by.
As one photographer we met said, “this whole place is a picture”. We found Bolivia to be a most interesting mix of ancient culture and newly forming systems. The indigenous dress is everywhere. It is kind of a fashionable retro-style now: it was mildly shocking to see the evening news anchor woman in a bowler hat! The people are fiercely independent, insisting on running their own small market stall right next to other stalls that sell the exact same wares. But they are always helping each other out or making change for their neighbor, as needed. A kind of cooperative competition. Really, that is what is going on all over the world, but sometimes you just have to leave home to see it.
hi yes i just wanna to tell you if you visit bolivia again you should visit santa cruz and you will see another face of bolivia different of what you saw in La Paz ok thank you