Cochabamba part. 2

Welcome Back!


After a few days of presentations there was nothing our fearless leader, Jeremy Kochendorfer, would rather do than ride a bus and then hike 8 miles with Kevin and Lisa Hoffman. So we sent them on their merry way to visit Mizque (the town/village that the Hoffmans reside in). Gordon and Niki also departed back to Santa Cruz to make sure they were home so they could vote in their district. 
Yes we were lucky enough to make our visit during the national election time. All the different cities were electing mayors and the advertising was everywhere. Posters plastered the city walls. Giant billboards shown the smiling faces of many candidates. An obnoxious neon green paint ,reminiscent of the ooze from Ghostbusters, could be seen on walls, on overpaces, bridges, and in even in the storm drains that run through the cities.  
I apologize for not getting some great pictures of this advertising. I was taking it all in and often times forgot to snap some shots. 
Here is one example of a billboard in Cochabamba




During our couple of days alone with the Wolheters we had some great time playing with the boys, relaxing, playing many games of Settlers (most of which Molly won) and just enjoying each others company. 
One highlight of the weekend was when we were able to visit the Saturday market with James. Some markets in Bolivia are open everyday, but some are held only on Saturdays. Sometimes the Saturday only markets are cleaner and may have better product. We went later in the morning so by the time we walked through the fish/meat area the smell had become quite pungent. I stared down the row of meat vendors. The vendors were mainly middle aged women with white bandanas holding their hair back, wearing aprons, and wielding very long and narrow knives. James was on a mission to bring home some ground beef, but after looking over the selection, considering the time of day and the fat content he decided that the Wolheter household could wait for their supply of ground beef. 


The produce selection is amazing. Fresh avocados just melt in your mouth. And flowers are very inexpensive. 






I purchased a fresh pomegranate and decided that it is a fruit best used for juice. It was the flavor of a less flavorful starburst with the texture of Corn Nuts. 

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