This semester I have taken every opportunity that has been given to me to get out of Santa Cruz!! I have enjoyed seeing the different sites in Bolivia that I had heard about but never been to. It was also a great time to get to know some of my fellow missionaries a little bit better.
Cotoca
One Saturday afternoon I met up with some girls and we headed to Cotoca. It is fairly close to Santa Cruz, but an enjoyable, small town to walk around in for a couple of hours. They are known for their pottery and I loved the bells, so...I got one. Not sure what to do with it, but I love it! Bolivians love their plazas and parks with benches. We enjoyed sitting in the plaza for a while talking, watching people, being watched by people, and enjoying the beautiful trees.
To Brazil and back
Three days before a day off from school a missionary that doesn't work at school asked me to join her and another girl on a trip to the Brazilian border (we did not enter Brazil due to not having a passport). She needed to meet with a pastor half way to the border and thought she would go all the way. Although a lot of our time was spent in a car, it was a great relaxing time with some beautiful sites of God's creation. I saw a toucan flying overhead in the wild, enjoyed the smoothest road in Bolivia, played a game with the pastor's daughter, saw beautiful churches, was awed by the beauty of the everglades as well as the mountains, saw into Brazil, enjoyed REAL hot springs (coolest part of the trip...no picture though :( ), and enjoyed laughter and great conversation with two amazing women!
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| We started our first morning with a flat tire! |
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| San Jose de Chiquitos |
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| Robore |
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| The pastors house |
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| Robore |
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| Puerto Suarez |
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| Standing in front of Brazil (the hills in the background) |
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| Pretty cool rainstorm |
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| Spent the night sleeping in a hammock |
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| Santiago de Chiquitos |
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| Chochis |
The Zoo
I finally visited the zoo here in Santa Cruz. I saw a sloth (the highlight), a lot of birds, a lot of pigs that seemed to be playing red light/green light, some pretty funny monkeys that enjoyed attention, and a llama that had a broken lip or so it seemed. It was a great day with the girls!
Samaipata
I have been to Samaipata twice before, but it is always nice to return. This time it was for the high school retreat. It was beautiful and much needed cooler weather! Rachel and I led some students on a "hike". We weren't sure where to go so we just started walking. We got to see some pretty beautiful views!!
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| The ride to retreat |
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| Some junior girls...LOVE them! |
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| Our hiking group! |
Cochabamba
Six of us teachers took a trip to Cochabamba for the Thanksgiving holiday week. While there we stayed with some other teachers from TeachBeyond. They graciously allowed us to invade their homes although they were still in school the whole week. We decided to take a bus to Coch. It was a 10 hour trip through the night that left an hour and a half late, but we had reclining seats that almost made a bed. It was nice until it started raining through the open windows. Definitely an experience!!
While there, we shopped, spent time relaxing, met with Jesus, went to a soccer game, and spent time with Cochabamba teachers. We also spent time hanging at a language school that one of our teachers had gone to. They allowed us to spend a lot of time there before catching our bus back to Santa Cruz. It was definitely a blessing!
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| Where's Jesus? |
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| Lunch in the shadow of his wing! |
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| Eating with the some Cochabamba |
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| AURORA! AURORA! |
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| Aurora won 6-1 against a university team from Sucre |
God continues to show me that Bolivia is beautiful...I just needed to open my eyes and get out of the city! Praising the Lord for his beautiful creation!
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
