Bolivia: "¡Que Fantastico!" - James Convy

One word for the past few days: irony.

I do believe God thought it would be fun to play a big joke on us. When most of us were checking up on the weather in Bolivia, weather.com gave a vicious report of rain and cold weather all week long. Well, it has been far from that while we´ve been here. Most of the days the high is in the 70´s and we have had glorious sun all week long, some showing it on our cheeks more than others. Apparently the sun decided to run away from us when we headed to Lake Titicaca yesterday. All was well and good when we drove the hour and half to the lake, but it was far from pleasant once we boarded a ferry to Isla del Sol. Dark thunderclouds welcomed our entrance onto the Island and most of us were also far from pleasant. Island of the Sun? Seriously?

The boat ride from the mainland of Copacabana (ya, like the song) to Isla del Sol started out fun as most of us boarded the top of the boat hoping to catch some sun, but all we saw ahead was rain. Thank you weather.com. You finally have it right! The waves got pretty choppy and all of us carefully made our way to the bottom of the boat. Smart choice! The 2 1/2 hour boat ride finally dropped us off at Isla del Sol and many of us bartered from some cheap ponchos to keep us dry for our supposed four-hour hike. After a consecutive decision not to do the hike in the rain, we all huddled into a museum and learned about the Tiwanaku culture, a people group whose city is apparently under Lake Titicaca. Atlantis, anyone? When the museum tour was over (I call it a tour, but one can hardly "tour" a one-room building. nevertheless, it was cool), we boarded the boats once again. This time, it was worse.

Although the rain had finally let up, the waves were still vicious. I have to admit, I was expecting a Gilligan´s Island type of arrival on whatever island we found off Lake Titicaca. Despite the seasickness felt by most of us and rough waves, we made it to another island safely and Gilligan-type-of-situation-less. Once on solid ground, we wasted no time getting on with our day. Since we opted out of the 4-hour hike, we decided that a 45 minute stair climb would be better: The Thousand Stairs to be exact. Well, actually there´s 1200 but the Thousand Stairs sounds way cooler. Some were faster than others, but we made our way up the stairs with low air supply, some dizziness, and many rests along the way. I´d say the view from the top was worth it all. How can we deny a maker when we see such sights of his glory? Plus, it was a good way to keep our mind off of the fact that our bodies were screaming in pain for oxygen and rest.

The prize at the end of the trek was a delicious restaurant where we got served fresh trout and potato soup. Now I hate fish, but I have never felt so grateful for food as I did atop that mountain. When lunch was over, we made our way down the mountain. Oh how I wish it could have been downhill both ways! It probably took us just as long to come down as it did to go up as many of us were captivated with the various stands selling souvenirs and beautiful jewelry. Many of the team´s journey seemed to be less rewarding though and more of a scam. Note to travelers: if a small Bolivian child asks you to take their picture, be warned. You may come out 2 Bolivianos poorer than when you came in. These kids know how to scam.

Hotel Oberland never felt so much like home when we finally arrived back around 10:30 last night. We shortly debriefed about the past few days and were demanded to go to bed! Many of us were still feeling the sickness of the boat, the long car rides, early wake-up call, and long hike so bed was very appealing.

While we can look back and laugh at God´s humor of yesterday, we are still grateful for the rest that we have today. A large group headed to a Bolivian church this morning while some stayed behind to get more rest and enjoy some solitude before headed back to the busyness of school. School...wow, I had almost forgotten I was still a student. Ugh.

Please still be in prayer as it is our last night here in Bolivia. Pray that God will continue to provide opportunities for us to show Christ to those around us. Pray for rest tonight and tomorrow morning (3 am we´re off the airport!). Pray also for our team meeting tonight. We´re hoping today´s rest will prepare us for a beneficial time together tonight where we can encourage one another in the Lord and reflect on our time in Bolivia. It´s almost done, but God´s work is still continuing!

Miss you all.

Laura Bobbett