My City of Ruins

The closest some people come to Nebraska is Springsteen... and that's not very close at all.

Our second day in Bolivia, we met Grace. Grace was our tour guide the remainder of our stay in Bolivia. What can I say about Grace? She was such a kind and courteous guide, and she really went out of her way to make sure we were taken care of. Bug, I also kind of get the feeling that Grace stretched the truth of some of the facts she told us, maybe even erring on the side of compulsive liar. That being said, I enjoyed our time in Bolivia very much. 

We hopped in the van with Grace and went to the Tiwanaku ruins. Apparently, the culture associated with these ruins dates back to before Inca times. In fact, the earliest date is thought to be 1500 BC. These were the first ruins we saw on the trip, but the certainly weren't the last. The ruins at Tiwanaku were still being excavated; however, they were really interesting. So many of the things we give credit to Ancient Greece and Egypt for creating were happening in South America, too. Not only were they happening in South America, but potentially years before.

The group channeling ancient times.

Carved faces lining the walls of a sacred building.

I should have paid better attention so I could write good captions...

The construction of buildings, aqueducts, irrigation systems... and the way all of these things intermingled with the chemistry of the land and the layout of the heavens. It was all pretty interesting and incredible.

Really... what's the point of taking a tour if you don't pay attention. Idiot.

OH! This is the Puerta del Sol, the Gateway of the Sun.

This is Laura and I being adorbs in the Gateway of the Sun!

On our way out of the ruins, we stopped by the nearby Puma Punku ruins. Ryan has been talking about these rocks since the day I met him. Where most people see a heap of crumbled stone, Ryan saw a candy store, and he was eighth years old. In his defense, these crumbled rocks were pretty cool. It's hard to imagine how these ancient people cut these massive stones so precisely, or how they managed to move them such great distances without any pack animals or modern equipment.

After our tour, we grabbed a quick lunch in the nearby town, and I had my first taste of llama. It was, I must admit, much more delicious than I wanted it to be. Poor llama.

Llama filet.... poor little guy.

Poor, poor, delicious, little guy.

Keeping The Peace

When you're on the other side of the world, you might notice that the seasons have deceived you. That's why as my Nebraskan counterparts found themselves sweating in the thick, July humidity, I could be found somewhere in Santiago shivering as the winter hollow takes over. however, as in the States, with winter comes winter vacation, and here I am, once again roaming around South America.

After spending our first few days of break relaxing in Santiago, Laura, Noah, Ryan and I headed to La Paz, Bolivia. We were accompanied by two of Noah's friends from high school who were visiting.

I caught a glimpse of Lake Titicaca as the plane descended toward La Paz. If I though the altitude in Ecuador had been bad, I had no idea what was awaiting me in La Paz. At an elevation of about 4,000 meters, La Paz will start by leaving you a little light-headed, but altitude sickness varies depending on the person after that.

Church in the main square.

Incan gods depicted on the side of a museum.

Streets lined with vendors.

We dropped our bags off at our hostel (also a brewery) and decided to walk around the centro. Like many cities on the western coast of South America, La Paz is located in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills. That means our walk through the city consisted of a lot of slanted streets... beautiful, but a round sell when you just had your supply of oxygen shockingly reduced. I wish we would have had more than just one afternoon in La Paz, because I'm sure we missed out on things. We were there just long enough to check out a few churches, visit a bunch of shops, and eat some delicious Bolivian food.

Enjoying our complementary drinks at the hostel.

Unfortunately, that evening during dinner, my slight light-headed feeling turned into a pretty legit headache. When we finished dinner and someone proposed walking up the lookout to see the city at night, I decided to head back to the hostel and get some rest. By the next day I was feeling ready to take on Bolivia.

The view I missed as a wallowed in my bed at the hostel.