2015

Hello!  Karen here:  I'm not sure what happened last month when an old post went out. I was looking at this site to print some of it, and I guess that somehow triggered an email.   But now, here's a real hello from Bolivia in 2015....we are here for 3 weeks this time, til July 14th--it's going by quickly!

As always, this is time for a change of scenery, catching up with family, and sharing great meals. The kids have been at "Camp Silva" (Rosi and Sergio's house) where they are enjoying video games, trampoline, movies, and plenty of general play.  We are here during everyone's school vacation, so its playtime 24-7.  Gabriel is also here this time, and he is a lot of fun for the kids to have around (Nicol is in NYC studying dance).

Meanwhile, Larry and I are enjoying lots of peace and quiet with Susan and Javier.  We're actually reading novels (!) soaking in the jacuzzi, and catching up on lots of odds and ends that you can do in Bolivia...like get your iPhone cleaned overnight, get new glasses (1/2 price), etc. We do see the kids every day one way or another! :)  And yes, we are working some on things we can do from afar (but trying not to do that too much).

Here's a link to a few pictures from our hike to the "Muela de Diabo" (Devil's Tooth) yesterday:
https://plus.google.com/photos/116309828448925662524/albums/6169154972262345441

As I write, Susan is busy packing a lunch for the 14 of us and we are all headed to Lake Titicaca for a picnic and a weekend at a hotel on the lake that boasts a NASA telescope, a resident shaman, and Saturday night folkloric music.  What more could you want?

The big news in Bolivia is that next week Pope Francis is paying a visit. He will only be in La Paz for a few hours (due to the altitude), but the government has declared 2 days of holiday and a 60 hour liquor ban (no sales or drinking anywhere) to allow folks to take part in his visit, and I guess, behave.  Hundreds of thousands are expected to come see him.  While I am a fan of Pope Francis, we plan to stay out of the crowd!

Other things on the agenda for the rest of our trip are very tame in comparison to the Papal visit.  We want to ride the new teleferico (public tranport gondolas) that criss-cross the city overhead.  We hope to visit the church at San Francisco that dates to 1743 and has catacombs and an exciting bell-tower catwalk.  Susana wants to get Caribbean-style braids done in a salon visit and work on gymnastics (Rosi found Susana a gym and she plans to go every day next week).  For Elliott, he wants to load up on cheap DVDs. For Foster, its playing non-stop with Lucas.  For Larry and me....the continued R&R and break from the routine; hopefully we'll also continue to successfully get some other things done--without overdoing!

Best Wishes from La Paz!
Karen