June 4, 2016

Today was a fantastic day! I had the opportunity to go to Santa Cruz, the home of the government of Bolivia. The day started off normally with the usual rolls and tea. After breakfast, Carina, Elena, and I left for Santa Cruz. We took a mototaxi to a shuttle company that drives vans from Montero to Santa Cruz (For the hour long drive it was only $2.00). Anyways, we got into this little van with 5 other people and start on our way to Santa Cruz. We were driving on the highway when all of a sudden we hit a traffic jam. All of a sudden I see cars on our shoulder of the highway driving the wrong way. Our driver then proceeded to do a three point turn in the middle of the highway to follow these cars! Let me try to paint a picture in your mind. There were cars in this traffic jam facing every which way possible trying to turn around. There were even 18 wheelers perpendicular to the highway because they were trying to do a three-point turn. It was absolutely chaotic. Anyways, we ended up driving the wrong way down the highway on the shoulder (in the mud) for a good 10 minutes. You will never guess what we did next. WE TURNED ON TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY! We started driving down the wrong side of the highway with other cars. We were on the shoulder, in the left lane, in the right land and everywhere following the column of cars doing something very dangerous. It was definitely the scariest moment down here. Want to hear the funny thing? When we passed the source of the traffic jam (a car accident), there where only a few cars on that side of the highway. If everyone didn’t panic, we would’ve been through the situation in less than 10 minutes.

            When we finally arrived in Santa Cruz, we went to a computer shop in an electronics complex to have work done on Carina’s computer. Once we got that all fixed up, we went to the main plaza of Santa Cruz. It was beautiful. There were shops and a cathedral surrounding the concrete, statue, and trees of the plaza. The light rain didn’t stop us from enjoying the sights and sounds of that Saturday afternoon.  We proceeded to go shopping around the plaza and eventually had an authentic Bolivian dish at an Irish Pub. The meal consisted of chicken, fried potatoes, peppers, and onions with a spicy hot sauce. It was delicious! After lunch we shopped a little more then went to the national cemetery of Bolivia. It was really neat and really different than the cemeteries of the US. The bodies were stored in little cabinets that were a part of a larger structure that the families would buy. It’s a little hard to explain but the pictures will definitely help! When we finished walking around the cemetery, we went back to the computer place to pick up a computer of the Hogar’s. We then returned back to the Hogar.

            When I arrived back at the Hogar, I took a little break in my room after the long day. When I finished up with my break, I watched the Pen’s game on my laptop with some of the girls. We rooted hard for the penguins (one liked the sharks, but I straightened her out don’t you worry) but it was to no avail. I guess we are bad luck so I will take one for the team and not watch anymore of the games.

            One week left to go! I don’t have too many plans this week so I am going to see what trouble I can find haha. Anyways, thanks for the emails! Chao!

 This is Elena, Carina in the the van on the way to Santa Cruz. There were two people behind us and three in the front of the van.

 I know it's hard to see but you can see the white car going in the correct direction (we in the opposite direction).

 This was taken while going 50 miles per hour on the highway.

 My first sight of Santa Cruz.

 This is the Cathedral of Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, it was locked when we tried to go into the bell tower.

 This was a little outlet of the plaza. It had many little shops and trees.

 Same outlet.

 This is me in the center of the Main Plaza. Behind me is the statue of a famous revolutionary in Bolivia's history.

 This is our meal that we split.

 This is one of the government's buildings. The government of Bolivia is held in Santa Cruz while the capital is La Paz.

 This is another plaza that was near the cemetery.

 A picture from inside the labyrinth of the cemetery.

This is a panorama of the most open part of the cemetery. The darker building on the right side is for the police officers of Bolivia.