Last week Laurie and I both had the privilege to travel to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, a beautiful city at an altitude of roughly 12,000 feet. Built in a "bowl" formed by a canyon in the high plains of western Bolivia, the city has very few level spots - you feel like you're either going up or down, and pretty steeply! It is also in the heart of the western part of the country where much of the indigenous population lives and where President Evo Morales enjoys broad support, so it feels very different from Santa Cruz in terms of climate, culture and politics. It was great to have a chance to experience this first-hand to get a better feel of the diversity of Bolivia that we hear so much about.
I went (Tues-Fri) to attend the IV World Mediation Conference (Spanish website/English website) along with two other MCCers. There were many inspiring and challenging speakers, and it was also an excellent opportunity to make contacts with other organizations that we may be able to partner with in the future. We were surprised when Evo Morales appeared at the opening ceremony and spoke for about 25 minutes. I videoed his speech and will try to post it here soon in case anyone's interested.
I got home Friday afternoon and Laurie left Saturday morning to continue accompanying an "MCC learning tour" group that had spent the past week in Bolivia. In La Paz they visited an artisan group that sells products to Ten Thousand Villages, and also enjoyed a tour of the city. On Sunday they went home and Laurie made the 1-hour flight back to Santa Cruz.
It was kind of fun to be flying around like that, but it's also nice to all be home together again! Below are 16 pictures to give you a taste of La Paz.
~Lynn
2 comments:
The pictures were wonderful. We can't wait to visit the city. What a week though for you guys. I'm sure it'll feel nice to be home for a while...for a few days at least!
I apologize for being late in posting this comment, but I just now checked your blog again after more than a month. Seeing the pictures of La Paz totally take me back to my experience there and remind me of all the amazing places we visited while there. I remember standing in some of the spots where your photos were taken! Glad you are having a good experience.
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