May 29: Excited to be headed to the plane in Miami. For those who don't know, that extra kid is our friend Wren Austin, who was up for a summer adventure, and her parents thought she could handle 5 weeks with the Childress Family! (Bless her, and note: 10 days in, she has weathered LOTS of family gatherings, a wedding and a 2 hour dance recital, altitude adjustment, a day of stomach woes, and she's still smiling!)
We arrived in La Paz at 4:45am--early--and with ALL the luggage. Very impressive considering the volume we had (and our last experience!)
First day was mostly spent napping to catch up on sleep and adjust to the altitude, but then the Wedding festivities began. In the evening it was time to clean up to go to the reception for the Civil Wedding ceremony
The reception was at the at the bride's aunt's house...for maybe about 75 immediate family members
And Saturday its time for the main event: Gabriel's noon wedding and reception
Could this be the first time Larry has needed to show Elliott and Foster shoes shining?
Posing for the dress-up photos
Marcelo and Foster have been friends for a long time!
Bride, Groom and their parents. Yes, Gabriel looks 15, but he's 26
Buses were provided for the 1-hour drive out to the country for the reception--which included dancing, a full buffet dinner, open bar for 300 people. Susan, Rosi, Pati & Nicole's family made all the desserts, and Susan made all the distilled coffee that was served!
Then it was time for sightseeing!
It is a 20 minute walk from the house to Laikakota park, one of our all time favorite places in La Paz for the view....
and the other Laikakota attraction...the BIG SLIDE (that gets smaller every visit)
Foster and Lucas pick right up where they left off
The San Francisco Cathedral, construction of building began in 1549 and continued for 200+ years. No pictures allowed inside, but the roof is our favorite part anyway.
Tourist town
Plaza Murillo--where all the government buildings are, but the most memorable thing here was the quantity of pigeons
Random street note: maybe this is why the internet is sort of spotty?
The Telefericos--public transportation gondolas that cris-cross the city.
Another outing: to the Valley of the Moon
Muela de Diablo ('Devils Tooth' Rock)--a rock formation 1,000 feet above La Paz, but thanks to Pablo and Rosi, we got a ride most of the way! Then a short scramble (about 500 feet) up to the top.
And here's one of what should be more food photos (because eating is the main thing we do!)
Saltenas--sweet-ish pastry with a filling of meat, boiled egg, olives....)
Ribs from the massive pig roast for the wedding
Rosi, cooking lunch for 19 (note her footwear)!
And general hanging out: Game night
Movie making: "The evil doll" by all the kids
And last, don't think that its all sunshine here. Something that we have never experienced in past July visits: RAIN--quite a bit, and SNOW in the higher elevations. Tuesday we leave for higher elevations in Copacabana and Peru....wonder what we'll find? That will be the next post!
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading!!
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