Guess What,

The Experiences of 4.5.18

After 29 hours, four different planes, and a lot of snacks later, we finally arrived in the Country of Bolivia. The travel went rather smoothly. There were no hiccups in obtaining our tickets, we also received all of our checked luggage without issue.*

Our first day in Sucre, Bolivia, was spent on getting settled in. We first went to check into our room, which is near the city center. Then we hit the town obtaining the necessities: Cellular service, Bolivian currency, and food. The place we are staying in is conveniently located near many stores and restaurants, which makes adjusting to the new environment much easier.

We started our Bolivian eXploration by going to a wonderful café entitled, Florin. Here we received warm smiles as well as tasty meals. The entrée I ordered, admittedly on the safer side, was the BLT sandwich. But let me tell you, the sandwich exceeded all of my expectations. They added a guacamole that would challenge the guacamole at Chipotle. The others with me enjoyed burgers as well as open faced sandwiches. We opted to eat foods that we were familiar with on the first day. We continued our exploration of Bolivia that night. We walked the city streets in pursuit of nothing. All we wanted to do, was take in the wonderful scenery around us and gain a greater appreciation for the culture around us. Once we had been walking for a good amount of time, we decided that it was getting late and that we should head back to our room. At the house we sat around, drinking and snacking, as we related to each other our thoughts on the new place we had explored. Then it was time to end our day and getting ready for the next day.

The Experiences of 4.6.18

Our first morning in Bolivia was relaxing. We awoke to the sound of a city on the run, many people going to and from the their places of work, school, and travel destinations. We used most of our morning finishing up the errands that we had started the previous day. After completing the chores, we headed out to lunch just outside of the City Center. The restaurant we went to was called, “Condors.”

What separates this restaurant from the others in Bolivia, is that their menu is 100% vegetarian. The meals we ate at this restaurant were more authentic to Bolivian cuisine, even though it’s missing one of their favorite things...meat. After lunch we proceeded to continue our adventures around Bolivia. We disxovered new things that we didn’t see the day before, and captured the moments on our phones. We continued our trend of night time adventures. We walked for some time around Sucre, taking streets that we had yet to walk on. The highlight of the night was going to a coffee shop called, “Time and Coffee.” Were we enjoyed mochas and slices of cake.

The Experiences of 4.7.18

This day was a turning point for one of the travelers in our group. My cousin, Sundance, decided this day was the day for a change. Without hesitation he decided to cut off his hair, which he had grown out for a considerable amount of time. Though we all agreed with the decision, we all felt a little skeptical about the potential results of getting it cut out here. In a matter of thirty minutes or so, all of our doubts were put to rest. The haircut turned out to be equivalent to that of American barbers, but at less than half of the cost. After his haircut, we headed out for lunch about 10 minuets outside the center of town. We all order ribs, some with bones and others without. For 1000 grams of meat, we paid only 14$! Needless to say we were satisfied before the meal came. Once we began to eat, we realized how good of a deal we had gotten. The meat was as good as the meat in America, and it cost about 1/2 as much. Later, we went to the a plaza that overlooks the entirety of Sucre. Here we experienced beautiful views, great association, and delicious foods.

The Experiences of 4.8.18

This day was headlined by our going to the Bolivian open market. The open market is similar to American flea markets. Most Bolivians will get their farm to table produce here. Here you will see a multitude of different things such as entire cow heads on a table, with pigs feet right next too it. You will see all different cuts of meat being hung from hooks at the various stands. There is also a lot of beauty that can be seen, when looked at from the right perspective. If you are constantly comparing it to your life in America, then you will always find a negative. But if you take a step back to see the produce and the fruit Jehovah created all in one place, you can be overwhelmed by the beauty. Though pictures can’t completely capture my thought toward the subject, I hope you can find something unique in the ordinary. Most of the photos on this blog will be found without color. However, in order to fully appreciate the hidden beauty, you must see it in color.

The Experiences of 4.9.18

On this day, we took to the streets of Bolivia in pursuit of new, unseen treasures. We went back to the Monastery de La Recoleta, which over looks the city. We went here to get a new perspective, at night, the beauty of the lights is overwhelming, but during the daylight, you can see how vast of a department of Bolivia, Sucre is. To see the amount of buildings and lives carrying on without thought, was sobering.

After we took in the beautiful views, we headed for a more stark place, the cemetery of Sucre. Admittedly, before entering, I felt in a lull knowing what I was about to enter. I was about to see something I have never truly experienced before. The amount of tombs and memorial sites shook me. I'm used to reading the tombs and continuing on. At this cemetery, there were walls that were five bodies high and about 40 bodies long. There were more than 20 of these buildings. To see all the lives that had ended, some of which were children, gave me some real perspective on how I choose to use my time on earth. You begin to realize of futile life is and that the hope we have is in Jehovah. In the words of Morrissey, "...so we go inside and we bravely read the stones, all those people, all those live, where are they now? With the loves and hates and passions just like mine. They were born then they lived then they died, seems so unfair i want to..."

Regards,

Nikos Garloff

Below are some pictures of my travels thus far