Week in review: Fathers Day, Susan in hospital, Elliott on Tiwanaku and us to Huayna Potosi

It seems like a very long time since our trip to Sajama...here's what we've been up to in the last week:

• Larry got to celebrate Fathers Day early since last Friday was dia del papa' in Bolivia. Here he is showered with the cards and crafts the kids made at school
  
  
  
  

• Then we had a health scare: Susan had a transitory vascular spasm early Saturday morning which by all appearances looked like a mini stroke (to me). She suddenly lost coordination on one side, couldn't speak--but was never unconscious. Luckily it was not too severe, and unlike a stroke caused by a blockage, a vascular spasm is caused by a quick contraction of a blood vessel which opens up again. Susan spent one night in the clinic, shocked her doctors by how quickly she recovered, and after just 24 hours in the hospital, she was able to join us for the big Fathers Day lunch on Sunday at Pablo and Dani's. In her check-up today her cardiologist pronounced her "100 percent fine". Whew.

20 of us had lunch on Sunday...Gnoccis handmade by Dani, her mom & sisters

• In the meantime, while Susan was being attended at the clinic, Larry and I took our kids plus Lucas to Tiwanaku--site of a pre-Incan civilzation in the altiplano, about 1.5 hours from La Paz. If you look closely at the mural below you can see what the site might have looked like in its time:

• The main thing about Tiwanaku that's so interesting are the huge stone doors and "monolitos" (monoliths) carved out of single, humongous slabs of rock wouldn't have been found anywhere closer than about 40 kms away from the site. Elliott enjoyed this trip the most of all the kids, and I asked him to write about it in his journal. He clearly learned how to spell "archeological" if nothing else! By way of preface, let me add that 1) by "up in the air", I think he's refering to the altitude of the altiplano (about 12,800 ft or up to 1,000ft higher than La Paz) 2) We missed the turn on the way into Tiwanaku (thus the "hidden entrance") and 3) when he loses steam in his narrative I will show pictures of what he's talking about). Now here's Elliott:

"On Saturday we went to Tiwanaku. Tiwanaku is an archeological site. It's up high in the air. On the way I almost touched the clouds!!! Well there was an hidden entrance to go in to the archeological site. Once we found the entrance there was a large green field and then there was land that rose up that was shere the archeological site was. To the left of the archeological site was a small town with a museum. We ate lunch and then we went in the museum. There was a part of the museum where they were flipping the lights on and off. There was a mummy in that certain room and it was scary because you could see a sceleton head wrapped in cloth if you cant imagine it here's a picture:

Then after we looked at the mummy, there were seloton heads added beside it there was about twenty! Then we turned around and started twards the door. After the mueseum we went to the archeological site.

P.S. Mom, can I do a quick thing of the archeological site?

My favorite thing in the archeological site was the hearing hole, the monolitos, and the place where the monolito heads are in a pattern.

Then we went out of the archeological site and saw a HUGE monolito taller than my mom and dad. It would take 4 karens to be as tall as it! Well, sorry abot not writing enough about the archeological site, but THE END!!!! TIWANAKU!!!

Pyramid that's being excavated/reconstructed

One of the "monolitos" that Elliott likes so much

Puerta del Sol...once a single slab, broken by Spanish invaders . In its original location, the sun rose thru the exact center on June 21 and it is carved with images so it may have served as a calendar.
Sitting on the steps up to the main ceremonial courtyard

Another stone slab-door

The subterranean temple with head figures in a pattern that Elliott mentioned

The "hearing hole"--you could hear a speaker talking quietly across the courtyard by putting your ear to the hole in the stone.

The picnic area...benches nicely cushioned with paja/straw

Kids sacked out on the drive. Thank goodness for the lack of seat belt laws!

• Last but definitely not least, Larry and I managed squeeze in one more truly magnificent adventure: an overnight hike to climb Huayna Potosi...6000 meters high...that's 19,700 ft! which involved hiking all night on snow/ice. More on that tomorrow!
  
• And, in a lucky (for me) turn of events, Larry's plane this morning was so late he had to reschedule to depart on Sunday!

That brings you up to date. Stay tuned for mountain climbing pictures! Karen