Okay, there is something that you should know about Bolivian nightlife and that is what ever Americans think of as “partying”, the Bolivians do it better. Thinking about going out at about 10pm like you do in college? Nah, the Bolivians start their night at 12am and dance in the discotecas until you can see the sun rising across the mountainous horizon. We all learned this fact last Friday when we thought we weren’t going out because it was so late. HAH, how funny it was for us fragile Americans to think such a thing! To say the least our first Friday night was spent hopping from one discoteca to the next dancing the whole night through to a mixture of Spanish and American hits. By the end of the “night” (about 4 or 5am) the discoteca was still packed and the music still filling the air around us. Eventually we did get back to our homestays where we slumped in to our beds thinking about how successful our first Friday night in Bolivia was.

 

The weekend was spent climbing to the 137.5-foot statue of Jesus Christ atop San Pedro Hill commonly known as Cristo de la Concordia. I laughed out load when I was reading the description of Cristo on the Internet when it says, “ it is accessible by cable car, or by climbing 2,000 steps”. Can you guess which one we choose to do? Yep, we climbed all 2,000 of those steps and some of us on about 3 hours of sleep from the discoteca madness of the night before. It was worth it though because when you stand in front of the statue and look up you can feel the power that this one symbol gives the people of Cochabamba.You get used to seeing Cristo on a day-to-day basis so much that the city would feel empty with out his presence atop the hill watching over the people. Exhaustion hit after the long walk up and down those 2,000 steps, so we spent most of the day recouping and lounging around. It was something we all really hadn’t had since arriving in Bolivia, a day to reflect on where we were and what we were doing. The next day we woke up early and met a fairly large group of other volunteers that are apart of Sustainable Bolivia to go to the supposed hot springs that were accessible by taking a Trufi (a car/van that goes a certain direction). The Trufi experience is something one has to have while in Bolivia, there are no seatbelts, they drive fast and you don’t understand how you don’t crash, but you get to see beautiful parts of the city for less than 2 bucks. All the volunteers piled in a trufi as we crossed rough streets, rivers, and sharp turns all while ascending a mountain that we could have honestly fallen off of at any during the ride. When we got there we learned the hot springs were actually private, so we decided that while we had the beauty of the mountains around us, why not climb one? Well, easier said then done, especially when altitude is involved. We all, however, managed to survive and ended up having a different experience then we thought, but definitely still a memorable one.

These last three days working with CECAM have been extremely productive. On Monday we started to find businesses/organizations in the United States that also use bicycles as a tool for change within their communities. We found a place called Peddler’s Creamery in Los Angeles that makes Ice Cream by peddling a bicycle as well as an all powered bicycle music festival in San Francisco! Right now Olivia, Dan, and Erin along with the ever-watchful eye of Freddi are trying to create a bicimaquina powerful enough to make ice cream. We are hoping to create partnerships with these U.S. based organizations to raise awareness of our organization and the use bicycles to create social change in rural areas. It’s an exciting prospect for all of us, but will take some time to get rolling. On a side note we are also having a fiesta Friday because so many volunteers are having birthdays (including me on Monday, it’s my 21^st, Carrie on Wednesday, Dan on Sunday, and Andrea on the 20^th of June). The whole day we are going to eat and be merry. Doesn’t sound like a bad day at work, huh? Today, I went to La Cancha alongside Rocio, Freddi’s daughter Esther, and Louise to buy all the stuff we need for the fiesta Friday. La Cancha is the biggest market in South America and you can basically find anything there, but I mean anything. It is a completely overwhelming experience, but really makes you feel like you are in the heart of South America. The chaos puts you in to another reality and that reality is something both terrifying and extremely adventurous.

 

This weekend we are all heading to the capital Sucre to celebrate birthdays, take horseback riding tours, and enjoy the colonial style houses and history of a city almost untouched by time. There is so much beauty in this country and we can’t wait to experience it all.

 

More to come xx

 

The BU/BC Nourish Bolivia Team