Not so Restful Days of Rest

The View From Our Hostel

I am typing at a Hostel here in La Paz, Bolivia.  We are in a time called 'Debrief' which is a time to rest before our next ministry.  We get about 4 of these this year.  We have meetings and sessions, but also some freetime.  So in my freetime I chose not to rest, but to have an adventure!  Of course...haha.

I set out with two friends to climb a mountian.  The elevation at the peak was approx 17,000 ft and we could feel it with every step.  A British lady in our hiking group gave us some coca leaves for the altitude (its the leaf of the cocaine plant).  We´d chew and rest them in the side of the mouth which helped a lot for the headaches.  I made a little video at the peak which I will eventually put on my mission blog at http://carolineritchey.theworldrace.org if it ever decides to load.

After that we were scheduled to go to a valley to see the ecosystem differences due to the elevation, but the bus broke down a block from our hostel, and with the headaches we all had, it was better to take it easy that afternoon.  So we left the group.  Which was a good thing, because God redeemed that afternoon.

I was given the chance to walk the markets here in La Paz with two ladies that I am blessed to have gotten to know a little better.  We had coffee at a little coffee shop and got to see some parades in the street.  Overall, a very good day of rest in which I did no rest at all.  HA HA!

Our Group´s Shady Coca Leaf Dealings

Making a Snow Angel in the Andes...CHECK!

LLAMASSSS!!

Our Broken Bus in the Hail.  The End!