Hotel Hacienda De Kaluyo Cochabamba

... and stucco to finish the walls, and to construct and pour new sidewalks to make the classrooms accessible. Work was dusty, hot and taxing as we heaved boulders, swung pick axes, shoveled, mixed cement and sweat our tails off on a daily basis. By the end however, we had successfully completed the sidewalk and four classrooms, leaving only the roofs to top off the project (next year). In addition to the labor, we benefitted from our time spent playing ...

... a video of it for those of you that want to laugh at my expense (probably most of u)! we stayed in a hostel on an island with no running water so no flushing toilets or showers!! dont tink i cud have stayed there for a week! it was such a peaceful island though as the ppl who live there dont have cars so u cant here anything; is quite strange! also because it is the highest lake in the world ...

... im getting slightly nervous now at the prospect of traveling alone to south america WHAT AM I DOING??????, i never knew what my friends meant when they said i was crazy but at this point i have to say im beginning to agree with them!! if i get there without catching swine flu on this plane and if my luggage actually turns up it will be a bonus as i am not banking on it making its way from rome to buenos aires to ...

... again was against me, having first pinched a nerve in my neck over the weekend (damn bolivian pillows i'm sure!) resulting in a Monday morning trip to the local pharmacy for muscle relaxants and pain killers. Tuesday I was better, however an 'emergency' at the hospital meant no volunteers allowed (um isn't that what a hospital is for!?!?!?), and by Wednesday i had a cold and was sneezing and coughing all over the place. Probably not ...

Rose: On the first day we went to see a beautiful mansion built from the profits of zinc mining full of exquisite European stautes and furnishings. The mansion is surrounded by botanic gardens and the basement houses an interesting modern art gallery. BUT we were not allowed in without face masks and gloves because of the swine flu. Even our guide was kitted out looking like he was ready to perform some sort surgery on the French ...

... local hospital on the Tuesday afternoon, all ready to start volunteering on the Wednesday and what happens?? Yep good old Swine flu happens... two cases of suspected flu right there on the ward i was suppose to be on... and so i figured the smarter decision was to not directly place myself in the line of flu fire, especially not in Bolivia of all countries (where my lack of faith in their ability to provide adequate health care had been proven by ...

... I thought this would be a good opportunity. We are definately picking up bits and pieces daily and have come along way since our first days in Quito. Our strenghts are with any menu item, as we have to use those daily. That being said, there are still incidents: for example, Steve thought he ordered a sandwich for lunch in Sucre and ended up with a full pasta dinner. But generally speaking, we do quite well with food stuff. We are also getting much better at asking ...

... great, and a beer under the immense stars was an awesome finish to a wonderous day. Day 3: Earlier start: 5am! Off to the Geysers at 4800m! Our 4x4 had a Little trouble making it up the roads (according to the driver, the car too was suffering from the altitude!) but just as we reached our peak hight of 4960m (I think), the sun rose above the distant red hills to splash light onto a dusty field of fuming holes. Closer up, the geysers were either tiny holes in the ground ...

... taking it fairly easy, you can definately go hard here if you want to tho, most Bolivians when they go out are out clear until 4 or 5am. That's all for now...last thing I will mention is how awesome Ceviche is, a seafood stew like thing, my new friend jose from La Paz introduced it to me on our tour of La Paz when my flight not delayed! Also checked out the Valle de la lune, crazy rock formations in a desert like setting. Very cool....one day pictures will arrive, I swear.

... ikke var plass til senga en gang! Plutselig hadde jeg all tid i verden, og visste ikke helt hva jeg skulle finne paa. Jeg gikk litt i motsatt retning av bussterminalen, og fant ut at Cochabamba var veldig mye finere enn foersteinntrykket fra kvelden foer, da vi hadde susa rundt ved terminalen... Jeg fikk ringt hjem og gratulert mamma med dagen og satt en evighet paa internett. Saa satte jeg meg paa en benk i sola paa Plaza 14 de Septiembre og tenkte jeg skulle lese litt. Den gang ...