Oh, good they uploaded in the right order...now you may scroll down to read, normally! :)
it was quite cloudy when we left, the sun came out after lunch... I got a pretty good sunburn for not being prepared for sun!
this is cool...the water is coming from inside the canyon wall!
as you can see everyone else has really nice cameras... so sometime soon I'll have even better pics to share!
an Incan nomadic living quarters on the river shelf
incan nomadic wall paintings...the zig zag on the right is thought to be a map of where this spot is in the middle of the canyon-river
the town of torotoro.. beautiful... i got lucky with the sun and the clouds!!
I got to practice some Quechua with this little one... Beatrice..
it's really difficult to take pictures of native people in traditional dress...they don't like it... I wouldn't either, but I really want to show you guys how the majority of the people dress!
mother earth house ....house of stones
this house/museum of rocks...completely covered in rocks bones and fossils!
some were man-made...but most were natural and found in the area
teeth
sea flower fossil (Bolivia used to be ocean.. hence the shell fossils too!)
petrified wood
centipedes
vertebrae
even the kitchen....
raptor print
"titanic"
after our long day we went to dinner and had spaghetti, the one thing the restaurant was serving that night. We came back and sat out under the incredibly brilliant stars and watched shooting stars cross the sky. we tucked in around 10pm in preparation for our 4:30 am wake up call to begin our 2 treks in one day before catching the bus back to CBBA at 3pm ..
about 5:30 am
it was cold and wet at 6 am
here at 6:30 am we are climbing up those rounded mountains from the previous post...this guy we met a few weeks ago and just happened to be in Torotoro too, lives in Maine! small world!
heres another tree root that split a rock... the next pic is of the tree way above!
they used to steal cows back in the day and bring them in this little cavern through this tiny passage way to hide them. then later owners would bring them here, to keep them over night so none would wander off
these cliffs are just huge and radiate their prehistoric-ness
I kinda felt like I was on a movie set... either Jurrasic Park or Lord of the Rings
getting some rope out to climb a minor obstacle
crazy victor jumping a gap with a deathly height...i guess if you give the same trekking tours over and over again, you gotta spice it up a bit!
jakob
Adobe bricks waiting for some sun to dry them out
we began our descent to another park where the caves are... the sun finally started coming out in the valley below!
traditional Incan adobe house/hut with grass roof...we have minis of these in the museum!
explaining the subterranean caverns those numbers are in meters
goofy safety gear..though ill say it was useful!
our descent
cave entrance
some more dino prints at the edge of the cave
viscacha ... giant bunny-looking thing with a long tail..apparently its not a rabbit though
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscacha
we went through some pretty tight spaces...
yes, Bram, you will get dirty... I can't tell you how dirty I was when I got out...don't have a pic though..i was however dirtier than the rest, as I am clumsiest
"don't touch the black stuff, okay? it's vampire bat poop and they may or may not have rabies" he says to a girl who is terrified and traumatized by bats... luckily they evacuated due to the cave filling up with water the night before
oh, mom, here was the other funny thing I wanted to tell you earlier... maybe says "oh is that petrified dinosaur poop?" :)
more tiny crawl-wiggle spaces
ooohhh to see the light!!!
mr lorenzo
our bus (check out the window decal too) got a flat before we even left... we were supposed to leave at 3...didnt leave til around 5. So "boliviable"
we had a cute little visitor while waiting for the bus
they got the tire on just as it started to downpour realllllllly hard... i didnt quite make it on the bus unscathed
a pic from the road back to Cochabamba.. at sunset
I am also adding this google pic of an agave cactus. I saw a plant similar looking to this one...but it was bigger than our van! standing all alone on the side of the desert road! i wonder how old that would be!?!?
I cant even begin to explain how incredible this experience was. I felt like such a nerd (but didnt care!) because I was just so fascinated by the rocks and dirt and plants and just everything!!! It was also my first experience really in a small pueblo in Bolivia and not in a bustling anywhere-South America city. A city is a city is a city. But its the small towns that really have a lot to offer in the way of beauty and culture. In a little more than 24 hours I will begin my month-long journey to Chile, Argentina and back. My first solo travel. Mum's rather worried, but I'm positive I'll be fine. I've met girls more petite than I that have traveled a lot farther on their own. I'll be fine, mamacita. If and when I have some down time at my hostels and Argentine host family's house, I'll try to put some stuff up. I will supplement upon my return to Cochabamba. The Argentine family I mention, was a lovely family I lived with in Mendoza, Argentina from the end of February to July 2009 . I have not seen them since. We are so excited! I will be spending Christmas with them and returning to Santiago Chile for New Years.
Thanks for stickin with me.
Cheers.
edit: Also, I wrapped some modest Christmas presents in newspaper with ribbon today, while wearing shorts and a teeshirt. This is just too weird for me... I just can't get in the xmas spirit..
