Here is a shot of The Strongest football fans. I am going to try and post a few shots on Flickr.

Barb is now in the air flying home to Canada. Her flight to Peru from La Paz was likewise cancelled and she was on the bus at 8AM yesterday to Cusco. A bonus is more scenery of Peru (it is beautiful) and another meal at Jack´s. Yummy! While in Bolivia, Barb and I enjoyed La Paz´s nightlife, danced with the locals, took in a football game and sat on the winning side, bartered at the artisan market, and visited Lago Titicaca. Sad news is that my notebook has a virus (I don´t know) so I don´t have any pictures to post at the moment. This weekend I am chilling out in La Paz at my German apartment and a neighbourhood plaza. Hope to get the paints out and some reading done.

Since Wednesday January 24, the festival of Alasitas is ongoing in La Paz and it lasts 10 days. The festival is dedicated to the household god Ekeko, a grinning, red-nosed character who is believed to bring prosperity to devoted believers. Bolivians buy miniature items they desire to present to Ekeko. I think one is also to buy liquor, cigarettes and candy as an offering. Single girls looking for a partner are to pick up a black cock (rooster). Unfortunately Barb and I didn´t see any when we were shopping in the artisan area. Turns out there is a specific area of town to visit. Kevin attended the Alasitas kick off and said the black cocks aren´t that mini and one will be rather bulky to transport back to Canada...I guess that should of been expected. The purchase of mini items including houses, cars, degrees, and money are believed to answered within the coming year by Ekeko. If the items aren´t purchased before 12 PM on the first day of the festival they have to be blessed. I originally thought this was by a priest as both religions are practiced here, but I have since learned that is not the case. Did I really believe a catholic priest would conduct such a blessing? Yah, I did.

Although I don´t believe in Ekeko, I do believe in God, and I am going to purchase some miniature versions of items I would like to be granted in the coming year, including a black cock. I am headed to the area tomorrow morning with Nadia and some friends. Kevin is in Cochabamba with Karen (swedish intern) for the weekend. Some additional toy items I am interested in getting include a car, health certificates, and some airline tickets to Mexico and Japan. I will have to wait til tomorrow to see what else is available.

Will my suite case have room for an extra black cock for Barb? I´ll let you know. Clairita

Peru

Hola! Barb and I have completed the 4 day Inca trail trek. The weather was mixed but over all we were lucky. When we arrived at Machu Picchu (8AM) it was cloaked in foggy but the sun (and the crowds) came out in full force around 10 AM. My muscles and blisters are almost healed and only my knees are bothering me now. I also am finding the hills of La Paz a bit more tiring to climb as I think my muscles are a little maxed out. Hiking the Inca trail was the highlight and being in the Andes. Our group was only five including Barb and I, a Swedish couple (ya ha) Lovisa and Joran, and a Irish man Paul Troy. They were all great company. The trek was well worth the money (and pain). The food on the trek was amazing and likewise in Cusco. I had a chicken and mushroom dish with potatoes, carrots and broccoli that was amazing at Jack’s.

Cusco has an art school. There are tons of paintings for sale in galleries and from street peddlers. I really liked the painting in the hostal room where Barb and I were staying. Hostal Amaru provided an address which ended up being the artist’s, Danlio's, house. We woke him up and bought some paintings for Barb, me and my dad. The day finished off with an exciting hail storm that pummelled the town and unfortunately all the gardens.

Fair Trade Focus Group
Here are some shots from the fair trade focus group hosted by a Swedish and Mexican intern couple. The focus was to assess how artisan products are recieved, determine feasible prices, and provide feedback on product improvements. There was free drinks and blue cheese!

La Paz
I have moved into my apartment in the German owned residence with a restaurant and outside garden cafe. The views are great, especially from the kitchen. Unfortunately I only got to eat lunch at the garden café once as the women who ran the restaurant died unexpectedly which is really sad. She was super friendly and the point of contact for Kevin in securing the apartment for me. The owner of the building stated to Kevin that she hopes to have the restaurant open again in February. Kevin is going to keep the room for a studio refuge and a place for Tegan who is coming for a vacation at the end of March.

Kevin and I have been exploring the streets and the other day we bought some acrylic paints and canvas. I brought my watercolours with me and I picked up some paper yesterday as well. I think I might buy a canvass stand/paint tool box for $35. Bolivia is really inexpensive but it is still easy to spend money…of course. Other daily events include meeting the other Canadian interns, including a couple from Calgary who had a potluck and travel picture gathering the other night. It’s great getting to learn about all the micro credit and fair trade projects that are occurring in Bolivia. Kevin is working on exporting coffee and quinoa to Canada. The organization wants to get more funding for Kevin to keep working on the project in Canada and this week Kevin has meetings with Oxfam regarding quinoa and chocolate export to Canada. Quinoa is a ancient grain that has high protein. Kevin taught me how to make a great quinoa salad with peppers, balsamic vinegar, garlic, onions and lime which is really tasty. Quinoa also grows in BC but is a different variety and I don’t believe it is cultivated for consumption. Kevin says that some health food stores have quinoa but the quality is not as good as Bolivian. The food here is a challenge and it’s hard to buy meat I feel confident about eating. I do occasionally eat with Kevin’s host family which is great.

This Saturday I will be meeting Barb in Cusco for our week in Peru and hike up to Machu Picchu. Currently I am at Blueberry’s Café with my laptop using the free internet. The only place one can have a coffee/tea and surf and post on the net. It is super slow though as I have been at the cafe over three hours now. Time to eat again so I guess the coca tea isn’t working! The three great shots I managed to “steal” in La Paz and Sucre. Chow!

Salar de UyuniAfter New Years and an evening of music and drinks in Pablo’s Sucre flat, Kevin and I headed south to Uyuni, the launching town of the salt flats and southwestern Bolivia jeep tours. We did a twenty minute pit stop in Potosi where we played some Fuse ball (check out Kevin’s Flickr). The 3 day-3 night jeep tour including meals and simple accommodation ($70 US) was the most amazing travel experience of my life. The beauty was relentless and so diverse. It was amazing and a must see in everyone's travel plans. I don’t understand why Toyota hasn’t made a Land Cruiser Bolivia commercial. The price is so cheap it’s disgusting. Unfortunately I did get ill the first night, but it did give me some time for emotions and stress to ooze out. Our room was right next to the bathroom and the antibodies came in handy. By the next day I was OK for travel (very critical for a tour which is mostly 4x4 driving). The word with backpackers is that as soon as you cross the border into Bolivia it is pretty certain you will get sick. The trip was surreal and hence here are some magical snap shots as a preview to the photos you will find on my Flickr.

Sucre

Kevin and I did a little traveling on his two week Christmas vacation and the first designation was Sucre, which has similar geography to Cash Creek but with heat like the Okanogan. The flight ($70 US one way) was a little stressful for me with the turbulence and aircraft. We got a great three bed, two bathroom with sitting room hotel ($15 US per person) right across from the main square. Unfortunately all the museums were closed so we mostly took in the street and market atmosphere. I finally had my culture shock “tear session” and “holy crap moment” taking in all the street folks, old and young. The markets are great, but so dirty, crowded and full of poverty and western corporate products. It’s overwhelming. You can get anything and everything. Bolivians have a steady diet of starch and sugar as it is cheap and readily available. I think Coca-Cola is the devils corporation…or Nestlé. There are tons of cakes, buns, and baked goods sold every where. Street food, including veggies and fruit, turn me off…which is probably a good thing regarding getting sick. We did catch the textile museum which was good. They even had two women weaving so you could see how the textiles were made.

Yotala

Kevin and I spent New Years in a little town outside of Sucre called Yotala. We were advised by Antoineo (Bolivian) to head outside of Sucre and take in a small Bolivian town. We caught a bus around an hour and half out of town into the surrounding countryside to visit Kano’s (Bolivian with glasses) friend. Making our way to the VW bus that can sit up to 16 people we pasted through the locals market and saw a number of slaughtered pigs in cars, wheel barrows, and trucks amongst hundreds of people and products. "Arrow" is a Bolivian hippy who makes incense that is imported to Germany. He had a number of French friends (have immigrated to Bolivia) visiting him from Sucre who shared their music and wine. We ended up in the workshed, where Arrow also makes silver and metal jewellery among other creations, and had a private concert (BC style). Fantastic! This was also my first experience chewing coca leaves.

Nadia (Canadian), Kano, Kevin and I then strolled into Yotala for some eats and drinks. The countryside was amazing and the time of day was great with the sun just over the hills. Cacti and huge snake plants growing everywhere. In the town square, we ran into Pablo and Noelia (Bolivian uni friends of Kano’s) who invited us to party with them at the Art and Culture Pub. The owner was quite the character who also paints and creates plaster and wood sculpture. We end up staying and had a great time. The bar décor and set up was cool and clean which made up for the accommodation which was only $2 per person. Kevin took a picture of the toilet (Flickr), which takes the cake for the worse bathroom experience in all my travels. I didn’t end up using it. I found a metal plate which was preferable. Hand Sani times five!

More photos posted on Flickr. Chow!