We Made It!

 View from the window

 Another view

 The parade while it was still fun

Well, we made it! It was quite a long trip! We arrived at LAX at 8:30 am on Friday. Our flight was at 12:15, but we also had to go to the GOES office to get the sticker on John's new passport (GOES is a system that lets you bypass the long  immigration lines when you arrive back at the US). When we checked in, the airlines agent told us that we needed to have pictures for our Bolivian visa  with us when we arrived, even though we were paying for the visa in country. She also said that we needed a copy of our hotel reservations. We had neither. She said that we could get them at the Post Office near the airport. We went to the GOES office first. The agent there remember John because of his box stories. I guess he made a big impression. We got the new sticker without any problems, and then we went outside to get a taxi to take us to the Post Office. The taxi driver did not want to wait for us, but we promised him a good tip, and he did, of course. There was hardly anybody at the Post Office, so we were first in line, but Postal workers were...well...not in a hurry. They even had to find new batteries for the camera; meanwhile, the taxi meter was running. Those were very expensive pictures!!


We made it back to the airport. Then we had to find a computer with a printer to print our hotel reservations. We did that, so we finally had all the required documents. The plane was delayed one hour; therefore, all the rushing was for not. We had a long time to wait anyway. The flights were uneventful. We arrived to La Paz, Bolivia, the highest airport in the world, at five in the morning.  Everything went smoothly: all the agents were so polite and helpful. We had all our stuff for the visas (did not need the reservations after all), and we both got multiple entry five year visas. I guess we will have to comeback to Bolivia. Flying through the Andean mountains is spectacular! I now really understand what a "high plateau" is. Then we had to wait for our connection to Cochabamba at another side of the airport. That was a rather long wait because our reservations were for 9:30. The office here handled those, and they wanted us to have plenty  of time in case we were delayed. Our friend from Christ for the City was waiting for us, and we took a taxi to our hotel. As we were approaching the hotel, I noticed booths being set up all along the long boulevard where the hotel is located. Our friend explained that there would be a folk dancing festival today. "That's nice," I said. That was around eleven in the morning. We were looking forward to a nice nap, since I had to speak at a women's tea at four in the afternoon. Our room has a beautiful view of the mountain where a statue of Christ is located similar to the one in Brazil. We also have a good view of the famous boulevard. Well, by noon the parades started. These are university students who do this every year before finals. Don't ask me why. I haven't figured it all out yet. Needless to say, we couldn't sleep at all. It is like we are right in the middle of it, and it is the same tune over and over, just different groups with different costumes. I gave up, got up, took a shower, got ready and review my presentation. (4 Secrets for a Happy Marriage). On my way to the tea, they told me that the celebration will go on until one in the morning. This is why I am blogging...who can sleep? Well, John can. He is snoring as I type this. They even have fireworks intermittently as the night wears on.

We had a good group for the tea. The room was packed. There were no empty chairs. It was also very hot, but at least I was by the only window. Remember that it is summer here in South America. Women all around the world have the same problems. The Enemy attacks our marriages the same way. There is nothing new. I answered questions at the end, but two women wanted to talk to me in private. The staff provided an office for some privacy, but I met with each woman individually. My heart broke when I heard their stories. We prayed and cried together. I got back at the hotel at 7:30. John was waiting for me to have dinner. We just went downstairs to the restaurant. It was a simple meal of steak and mashed potatoes. Now I am sitting here listening to the same music and more firecrackers!! Tomorrow morning and evening John preaches at two different churches. Pray that we get a good night sleep! 

Until next time...from South America..