The Least of These: A Visit and several Adventures

starting our hike...

My good friend Ryan from college came down to visit the week before my spring break, which was a fun break from the normal routine. We got to go on lots of adventures, but the best one was a hike through the Andes above my house. The mountains above my house are filled with adobe or rock huts, subsistence farmers, and lots of traditional Quechua living that has been preserved for years. It was fascinating and intriguing for me to enter into their world and get a glimpse of what was, hundreds of years ago.

view from the hike of area near Cochabamba

The actual hike itself was beautiful and filled my soul up with the goodness of nature. We hiked through rolling green hills of grass and wildflower meadows, while looking back on the entire Cochabamba valley spread out below us. I kept getting glimpses of Colorado, from the lupine growing in hidden divets to the pines we stumbled upon, to the barren beauty of alpine tundra. Ryan and I spent most of the day on the mountain, but I was left wanting, yearning to explore more and discover what was "just over the next hill...." Little did I know that a week later, that yearning would be fulfilled!

in La Paz

Jen and I took and overnight bus with Ryan to La Paz the beginning of my spring break, and said goodbye to him at the La Paz airport. We spent the rest of the weekend exploring the city of La Paz, enjoying the unique architecture, striking geography, and fun quirks of discovering a new city. One of the highlights was watching the infamous "Cholita wrestling", which, in short, is indigenous women dressed in traditional garb, wrestling WWF style. It was a surreal experience, especially since this particular event has been highlighted in National Geographic and on the BBC news...

eating at one of the diverse restaurants
La Paz had to offer

the view of Coch from the mountain

Yesterday and today, I went on my first ever Bolivian backpack. It was probably one of the most rich and fun experiences I've had yet. As the youth group sports/activities coordinator, I had suggested we go on a youth group hike on Friday since it's a holiday here. The youth ran with it, and next thing I knew, we were going on a night backpack through the same terrain Ryan and I had covered the week before, but with a destination a good 1,000 ft. and several miles futher up and further in. The plan was to head up at night, leaving around 9pm and arriving at a lake called Wara Wara way back in the mountains.

wet, cold, and still loving it

Eight of us ended up going: me and Andreina, my good friends Humberto and Reynaldo, as well as Mauricio, Javier, Miguel, and Hernan. When we started out, it had been raining all day, soaking the tall grass and turning the clay dirt into a slip-n-slide. It wasn't long until we reached the fog and clouds hanging down low, and quickly soaked our clothing. Bolivians are a lot more laid-back about backpacking, carring only a few blankets and a Pepsi for the whole trip. Even though I was more weighed down, I was grateful for extra dry layers, a rain jacket, and my headlamp when we finally arrived at the lake at 1:30am.

we stayed nice and warm w/ lots of blankets!

Our plan was to sleep out, and none of us had a tent, so we were pretty miserable when we reached the lake completely soaked, in the drizzling rain at 13,000+ft with no viable shelter. Humberto sweet talked a man who lived on the side of the lake to let us stay in an extra building he had, and we were delighted to find out that the building actually had BEDS! We pushed all the beds with their straw mattresses together in one room, piled all our blankets on, and squeezed 8 people onto 3 mattresses (I had to share ONE mattress with 3 other people!!). Even though it was a bit squished, it was a really neat time of getting to know the youth better, building stronger relationships, and learning how to really encourage each other.

After a communal prayer, lots of shoving and laughing, we settled in to a quiet night under a tin roof in the Andes. As the rain drummed on the roof overhead, I felt overwhelmed by God's provision and His goodness. If He hadn't provided that room, I don't know what we would have done. He put each piece of our trip into place, showing me over and over that His sovereignty is more than I could ever dream or imagine.

Mauricio, Reynaldo, Javier, Hernan
Humberto & me
(the lake in the background)

This morning, we reluctantly left our warm nest of blankets and braved the rain again, choosing to go down a much longer but much safer route, returning to our homes mid-afternoon. I still can't believe that the group of people I'm closest to here are youth who enjoy backpacking and hiking!!! God really knows what's deepest and closest to my heart.