SECOND TIME'S A CHARM

Some spots we’ve visited in and around Bolivia have definitely merited a return visit.  That includes Tarija – Bolivia’s wine country to the south, especially because our first trip there last December got interrupted by road blockades that had formed in protest to the government lifting the subsidies on fuel that had kept gas prices at about $0.30 per liter for the past 20 years.  Those blockades kept us from visiting some of the wineries we’d planned to check out.  What are you gonna do?  Why, go back a second time, of course.  So we took advantage of a long holiday weekend in June to head back to Tarija and visit the wineries we’d missed on our first pass through… and go back to some favorites.

Enjoying a sunny day at Magnus - one of our favorites that we also visited in December.

The barrel room at Kuhlman - one of the larger producers.

While the barrel room is traditional, the exterior of Kuhlman is super modern.

The vines were still green and loaded with fruit during our December visit.  By June, the harvest was complete and winter was in full swing.

The World Cup was going on during our visit, so we found a corner pub to hole up and watch the U.S.-Australia match... and try some more wine, of course.  The bar had us say what team we were routing for and they comped us a beer when our team won.  I picked the U.S. and Andrew picked Oz... but I let him have one of my beers.  :)

Another day, another winery.  This time at Campos de Solana.  As evidenced by Andrew's hoodie, it was a bit chilly outdoors...  Wine tasting here is not like Oregon.  Reservations are required, usually through a tour company, and tastings come with a full spread of meats and cheeses.  Tasty!

Looking out across the vineyard at the Casa Real singani distillery.  Bolivia's singani is dilstilled from muscat grapes.  It's like pisco - but since pisco can be made from a range of grape varieties - don't tell that to a Bolivian.

Looking out at a lovely view from Canon Escondido winery, which we had not visited before but makes one of our favorites wines here, a cab franc, so we had to go check it out.

In August, friends from Australia traveled to South America for an epic adventure.  We tagged on to a portion of their trip to revisit Cusco – a city we absolutely loved when we were there during Carnaval in February – and to venture to Machu Picchu.  Cusco was exactly as we remembered it – charming town squares, excellent restaurants, and amazing Incan ruins within a short hike from the city center. 

Our friends from Oz stayed in La Paz a couple days during the South American tour, so we took them to the Witches Market - a super cute 2-block long street lined with souvenir shops.  This was definitely more than our second time there, but it's a must-see I don't get tired of visiting.

A cold, rainy snap had just happened in La Paz that left some fresh snow on the Andes, which put on a beautiful show on our flight to Cusco.

While our friends went to some of the Incan ruins outside Cusco that we visited in  February, we checked out some other sites in Cusco... like the Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary, home to this spectacled (or Andean) bear.

The sanctuary also had several resident condors.  These birds are absolutely HUGE.

Andrew made friends with some of the more domesticated residents of the sanctuary.

Extreme llama close-up.

There are also a TON of Incan ruins in walking distance of Cusco's city center.  We headed out on foot from our hotel to see what we could find, and stumbled upon (and along) this Incan road.

More ruins along the way during our day hike.  

Next up... Machu Picchu.  Many tourists find there way to Machu Picchu during a 2+ day hike from Ollantaytambo, where the Inca trail starts.  We opted for a much shorter and less labor intensive journey via a 90-minute train ride to Aguas Calientes, and then a 30-minute bus ride to Machu Picchu.

All aboard!  The train company gave us these snazzy hats as a souvenir.  The train ride was beautiful, and while I'm sure the hike is lovely and gives you a much more spiritual experience, it was POURING rain during our visit, so I was quite content with our choice.

Some lovely views as we choo-chooed our way to Aguas Calientes, the town at the entrance to Machu Picchu.

Behold!  Machu Picchu!  (And some colorful ponchos due to the aforementioned pouring rain.)

There are at three circuits through Machu Picchu.  We did two of them over two days.  It's incredible how different circuits, clouds, and mist all combine to give different perspectives on this magical place.

The fact that these structures are still standing - and were ever built at all in this incredibly steep and remote canyon - it mind-boggling.

Our August visit was supposedly during dry season.  The misty appearance of the mountain in the background is from the rain.  Ironically, our February visit earlier this year was supposedly during wet season, and they actually close the Inca trail for the maintenance during the month of February because of the rain.  Alas, we got absolutely drenched during our dry season visit, and had amazing sunny weather in February (but didn't make it to Machu Picchu on that trip).

The Temple of the Condor

Back on the train for our return trip to Cusco after 2 days visiting Machu Picchu - and lots of fresh snow on the peaks.

As you can see from the photos and updates from June and August, I’m very behind in keeping this blog up to date.  I’m keeping this one short so I can hopefully get caught up before year’s end.  We’ve experienced lots of firsts – and seconds – this year, so stay tuned…

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Strolling through the "Witches Market" in central La Paz.

We are officially halfway through our posting in La Paz, and I’m realizing most of my posts so far have talked about what we’ve done on our travels outside of La Paz.  But our day-to-day life in La Paz is also worth a mention since this city is such an interesting and unusual place to live.

This mural is on a Chinese restaurant down the street from our condo.  Nothing says Chinese food like a cute little llama.

Another colorful mural.  Graffiti is few and far between, but murals are plentiful.

This street in central La Paz used to be a llama market in the old days.

When I initially bid on this, a year before coming here, Bolivia’s socialist government hated the U.S., and there was very little relationship between the two countries.  So I thought I’d be coming to a sleepy little post.  But just after I arrived here, Bolivia elected a new, more pro-U.S. government, and suddenly Washington discovered Bolivia.  In the past year, our once sleepy little Embassy has hosted a revolving door of senior officials and representatives from just about every U.S. government agency imaginable. It has made for a fascinating - and exhausting - year.

A "cholet" (pronounced like it is spelled) is a distinctive architectural style found in El Alto, the high "altiplano" area near the La Paz airport.  The term is a portmanteau of "chalet" and "cholo," reflecting a blend of Western architectural influences and indigenous Aymara culture.  

These colorful buildings often serve as event spaces with the owner's residence on the top. Wild.

Just as we were getting comfortable with the new normal, Bolivia did what Bolivia does. From May to July this year, labor groups launched a wave of protests against the new government.  Their favorite weapon is blocking roads to La Paz.  For 53 days, roads were blockaded, effectively choking off La Paz.  Getting food and other supplies into the city became harder and more expensive.  The blockades ended in July, but protests tend to come in waves, so we’re expecting them to begin again soon. 

The U.S. embassy.  It was built in the 1990s and is one of the more drab embassies I've worked in or visited.  Two of those prison-like windows are my office.

Despite all of that, La Paz is an amazing place to live.  The city is built into craggy canyons, with mountains rising in every direction and snow-covered 21,000-foot Mount Illimani looming over everything.  La Paz is really high:  downtown, where the embassy is, sits around 11,500 feet, while Zona Sur, where we live, is somewhat lower - around 10,500 feet.  The airport is at about 14,000 feet.  The altitude makes some things weird - you can walk up a hill and suddenly feel like you’ve run a 10K - but the payoff is spectacular scenery, brilliant blue skies, and generally beautiful weather.  The food has been a pleasant surprise too.  The restaurants are great, and Bolivia produces some genuinely excellent (and cheap!) wine.  Who knew?

The living room/dining room situation in our condo.  After our plush set up in Jakarta, this older condo is a bit of a downer.  It is also three stories, with our bedroom on the top floor.  So at 10,500 feet, we get a workout just going up and down those stairs.

Our condo has a postage-stamp sized outdoor space.  But I did put up a couple hummingbird feeders, and we now have this guy - named "Buzz" - who likes to hang out on a tomato cage under the feeder.

I had this view of the moon setting behind the local hills outside our condo on my way to work one morning.  La Paz does have some picturesque views.

Not just great wine here.  Bolivia also has its signature cocktail - the singani sour.  Singani is a cousin of pisco - both are made from grapes.  And singani sours can be found on pretty much every restaurant menu, usually at about $3 or $4 a pop.

My favorite feature may be the gondola.  Because La Paz is built on the sides of a canyon, driving anywhere can involve steep streets, traffic jams, and creative interpretations of traffic laws.  The public cable-car system is clean, cheap, and efficient.  I take the gondola to work most days.  It costs about a dollar round-trip and gives me spectacular views of the city.  It feels a little like going to Disneyland every morning - except I’m commuting to work.

One of the intrepid migrants takes in the view from the teleferico.

This is my actual commute home from work.  That's Mount Illimani with a cloud on it in the background.

There are a total of 10 teleferico lines.  This is the view from the fried chicken restaurant at the top of one of them.  This is my vote for the best fast food restaurant in the world!

Everyone uses the teleferico.  Half of Bolivia's population is indigenous, so I regularly share a ride with a "cholita" - an indigenous Aymara woman who wears the traditional pleated skirt and bowler hat.  The juxtaposition of the traditional attire with the super modern transportation is uniquely Bolivian.

There are, of course, tradeoffs.  Bolivia has struggled with fuel shortages, and the lines became particularly awful during the blockades.  People waited days for gasoline.  Fuel quality has also caused problems, including ruined engines for some Embassy staff.   For these reasons, we decided not to get a car.  We also don’t drink the tap water and use distillers for drinking water.  And then there’s the altitude.  11,000-ish feet is no joke.  Some people acclimate quickly; others never really do.  For us, the biggest issue has been sleep.  Falling asleep and staying asleep can be difficult, and headaches aren’t unusual.

We went to the grocery store on La Paz Day, an annual holiday in July that commemorates the 1809 uprising against the Spanish and the start of Bolivia's independence movement.  The grocery store employees were decked out in traditional costumes.  Bolivians know how to celebrate!

After a year, I’d describe La Paz as beautiful, chaotic, fascinating… and exhausting - all at the same time.  It certainly isn’t the quiet tour I expected – but it has been a pretty great experience.

Street dogs are EVERYWHERE in La Paz, and Bolivia in general.  

The dogs are super well cared-for.  Communities put out dog houses for them and feed them.  When we first arrived, there was a mass immunization event going on with pop-up, street-side clinics giving shots to all the dogs.  They all got a lime green tie around their neck after they'd had their shots. 

This is an office building of some sort around the corner from our house.  They have two "resident" dogs - one that likes to lay in the middle of the sidewalk, and the other is on the lawn on the left of this photo.  Both have their dog houses and seem quite happy.

They are generally super well-behaved, just hanging out and living their best lives.

They all have their own "beat."  This one hangs out at the teleferico station near the embassy.

Laying in the middle of the walkway to the teleferico seems like just as good a place as any.

If you look closely, this sidewalk dog house is occupado.

Communities put out houses, food, and clothes for these guys.  While it doesn't snow in La Paz (at least not in central or zona sur), it does get cold.  Lots of the street dogs spend the winter running around with coats on.