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Dear friends, family, and curious readers,
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! Steve, the third staff member was waking us up. Most of us had only gone to bed at the earliest, around 12:30 am last night. We all met at the lobby in our rather fancy hostel to meet our tour guide. Everybody decided to order the hostel's tasty breakfast. As some were still tired from the long flight, several students tried the famous coca leaf that the front desk provided. The coca leaf was meant for us to adapt the high altitude. Seeing as we hadn't visited the coca museum, the process they took was rather incorrect, failing to accomplish their expectations. One of us had even accidentally swallowed the leaf, goodness gracious.
As we finished up our meal and was about ready to take off, something wasn't right, something was missing, or rather, someONE was missing. Our teacher! Turns out our perfect teacher had a minor problem with her immune system: she was sick. Of course, being the person who puts the students as the number one priority, she wasn't going to ruin our day. We took off, leaving her to relax and heal, headed straight to the Mi Teleferico. Mi Teleferico isn't meant for the Bolivian citizens to enjoy a pretty sight on a sunny day, it is La Paz's transportation system. Since La Paz rests on a mountain trains and other sorts of transportation would require some more work and money. When we rode the cable cars over the vast city, I can say for the rest of us that it wasn't a disappointing sight. We could see the high mountains capped with snow. We could see the thousands of orange colored homes covering most of the mountain. The multiple skyscrappers. Countless of pictures were taken to remember the beautiful sight.
After the long rides on the Mi Teleferico, we were all starving. Our tour guide suggested we eat at one "expensive" restaurant full of surprising meats. Usually a meal like that would cost $30 in America, but in Bolivia, only a measly $14. Seats taken and stomachs rumbling, we patiently waited. The waiter would bring a total of 12 different meats, some new and some accustomed to. The twelve meats consisted of the following: sausage, steak wrapped in bacon, the third was some sort of tough, chewy meat that no one was aware of, cow heart, steak chicken, pot roast, ribs, chicken heart, liver roast beef and lastly, the blood hotdog. While not all of us enjoyed the meats galore, most of us enjoyed the steak the best. As always, dessert was next, dessert was enjoyable as we had multiple options from some sort of creme brulee to never-tiring red jello.
Wilmonda shared the good news that Jennfier was well and able to join us for the reminder of the day. Disappointed to have missed the lavish meaty meal, she put it aside and looked at the bright side. Our next location led us to the president's home, which is a tall skyscraper. The building to the right held an enormous clock at the top. There was something peculiar about it though; easy to miss at first glace, we soon learned that the clock was set and spun counter-clockwise. The purpose of this being was to promote the citizens of Bolivia to think differently.
MIrador Killi Killi was a beautiful sight; we all spent an hour just for pictures. Mirador Killi Killi was located on a mountain that acted as a crow's nest, allowing a 360 view on all of La Paz. Everything was visible and Wilmonda took an awesome picture. Everyone wanted a picture that it was getting tense, competing for an open spot and clear view.
Next was the San Francisco Cathedral, a large catholic building based off of Saint Francisco, who bore the marks of god. When we were inside, we weren't allowed to take pictures or videos. That didn't seem to stop some of us though...Anyhow, we were allowed to as we were outside or on top of the church.
The coca leaf museum…when we first entered the museum, we were offered a coca hard candy. All of us tried but not all of us could put up with the taste. The candy even made our tongues numb. We journeyed around the building learning about the fascinating culture of coca leaves. Don't worry, there was no cocaine involved. For a snack, the museum provided several desserts and sorts that had coca leaves embedded the tasty treat. A cup of coca ice cream was shared in pairs, some liked it, some didn't.
Last but not least was dinner. An argument for Burger King or a Bolivian dish arose. The Bolivian dinner triumphed. Brossolandia was the name of the restaurant. No one was disappointed as it served both American and Bolivian meals. The only thing that was disappointing was the fact that the menu was in a different language. Isn't it enough that English isn't our first language? Satisfied with dinner, we headed back to the hostel where everyone got wild, but then started on our blog, vlog, and our daily journal.
Sincerely and good night.
- Kodi
- comments
Karl Glad y’all are having fun, enjoying the sights and learning about this country. Glad to hear that Jennifer is feeling better!
Marlene Thank for sharing the fun facts about coca and the clock! By the way, am glad Jennifer got better and did not miss out all day trip!