The morning after our visit to Guadaloupe we got up at the crack of dawn and boarded a bus that would take us to Lake Titicaca. The drive was several hours to San Pedro de Tiquina, where we had to cross the Tequina Strait to continue our journey to Copacabana. Upon arriving I could see why Lake Titicaca was considered to be so sacred to the Incas. It's enormous (8,300 square kilometers) and absolutely breathtaking, and sits at over 3,800 meters (about 12,500 feet) above sea level. For my friends in Alberta, that's more than two and a half times higher than the town of Banff in the Rocky Mountains!

Our crew boarded a small boat while the bus was loaded onto a scary looking barge. Interesting fact: the Bolivian government has wanted to build a bridge over the strait for many years, but the people of San Pedro de Tiquina rely on the income generated from ferrying tourists back and forth and subsequently there has been lots of resistance to the bridge construction.

We spent about half an hour in the village on the other side of the strait waiting for our bus to be brought over on the barge, so we got some refreshments and wandered around in the little marketplace. My favourite part about traveling is seeing how we're all the same the world over, we just do things a little differently; there's always a certain element of familiarity, but with a twist. One member of our group asked for a coffee to go, and this is what she got!

When the bus was unloaded we all piled on to make our way to Copacabana, the most important sanctuary of Bolivia and once the location of an ancient Incan city. We arrived in the middle of Carnivale, so it seemed a little more like the most important party in Bolivia! Copacabana is a neat little backpacker destination, and also the location of the Franciscan Cathedral built during Spanish colonial times. It hosts the "Dark Virgin," patron saint of Bolivia. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the Cathedral, which I was a little dissappointed about because it was magnificent. After touring the Cathedral we made our way into the streets of Copacabana to witness the parades and general debauchery that is Carnivale. I was dodging jets of foam and buckets of water, terrified for my camera's sake but loving every minute of it!

We left Copacabana that afternoon via boat to head to Isla del Sol (Sun Island) the largest and most revered of Lake Titicaca's 72 islands. Our guide informed us we had about a 45 minute hike to get to the small eco-resort in Yumani we were to stay at that evening, but in reality it took us almost 2 hours! I think it had something to do with the elevation... Not to mention the beautiful sights we paused to look at on the way.

The next day we had the opportunity to explore Isla del Sol. In the morning we walked the picturesque ancient Incan Trail and visited the Inti Wata Cultural Complex, featuring a small museum, botanical garden, an interpretive centre and a llama and alpaca farm. After that we boarded a catamaran for lunch and a short sail to the other side of the island, the catamaran that we'd be spending the night on that evening! (I was pretty excited.)

When we made it to Challapampa on the north side of the island, we were greeted by a small band of pipers. We wandered into the little village and had the opportunity to witness an ancient mystic ceremony performed by a Kallawaya, a healer/naturopath whose traditions can be traced to pre-Incan times in the Bolivian Andes. It was very interesting to watch, and at the end we received a blessing from the Kallawaya.

I decided that I wanted to explore the area for the rest of the afternoon, while others went back to the catamaran to rest or went for a hike with the guide. Jerry and I found a waterfall, met some backpackers from Chile & Argentina on the beach, and hiked up to the top of one of the hills for a better view. Challapampa is a really cool place - it made me want to return to South America one day to find more places like it!

We spent the night on the catamaran in our tiny little cabins, and the next day sailed around Sun Island, stopping to take a ride on a traditional totora boat. The people of Lake Titicaca use the torota reeds for all kinds of purposes (but the boats were probably the most impressive use of the reed). Later we headed back to Copacabana and roamed the streets, this time sans Carnivale craziness. Soon it was time to take the long bus ride back to La Paz/El Alto. I said goodbye to Lake Titicaca, vowing to return some day.

We returned to La Paz that evening to spend one more night at Casa Betania before flying out to Lima, Peru the following morning. I was excited to see Lima again; although it had only been 2 weeks since we were there visiting Chalice's PINIFE site, it felt like much longer. It's amazing how much work, visiting, travel and cultural exploration we packed into 2 weeks!

We spent the day in Lima with our fantastic guide and translator Martin. We visited Plaza Mayor, Lima's central square and location of the national and municipal government buildings, as well as the Palace of Justice, Peru's Supreme Court. We got to witness the changing of the guards outside of Government Palace with a marching band in full regalia, a spectacle that lasted almost an hour. The band was behind the large iron gates the whole time and guarded by police officers so I wasn't able to get very many photos...

The rest of the day was spent ogling the Spanish colonial buildings in Lima, a Peruvian ceviche lunch (which was SOOOOO delicious!) and then a visit to San Cristobal hill, a giant Catholic pilgrimmage with the Stations of the Cross along the way up. You can see the entire city of 9 million people from the top of the hill! It was incredible. (The last photo below is me with my mom on top of San Cristobal.)

Before heading to the Lima airport to begin our long journey back to Toronto, we stopped at the Magical Water Circuit, a large park full of fountains both decorative and interactive. It was a hot evening so the park was really crowded and it took us a while to get through the whole thing. By the time we made it to the other side the sun was setting while I snapped photos of people both young & old thoroughly enjoying themselves in the cool water.

Thus ends my chronicle of the Bolivian Solidarity Tour 2012. It was truly a life-changing experience for me, and I'd like to thank Chalice for making it all possible. I'd like to return to South America on my own and visit more of the continent as soon as possible!

Thanks for reading. If you have the means, I urge you to consider making a small donation to Chalice so they can continue their community projects in Lima, Yapacaní, Guadaloupe and beyond. The emphasis on education, nutrition and empowerment makes it such a worthy cause. Donate here!

El Alto's airport is the highest elevation airport in the world. We started feeling the effects almost immediately after getting off the plane! We made our way to Casa Betania, a beautiful retreat in the middle of La Paz, to spend the night. The following morning we piled on the bus and headed to Chalice's sponsor site known as Guadaloupe, where many of the sponsored families and children were waiting for us with signs and banners.

 It was probably the most colorful welcome ceremony we experienced on the whole trip. The ladies of the village had crafted beautiful garlands of real flowers to hang around our necks. Everyone got doused in confetti, then received a knitted hat and colorful satchel as a gift. The children of the village were clothed in brightly colored traditional costumes and holding signs that read things like "Thanks For So Much Love" and "Guadaloupe's Project Thanks You." It was quite the spectacle, I was running around frantically trying to capture all of the action with my camera.

We hiked up the hill to Guadaloupe's little community centre, where the children performed their traditional dances for us. It started out very mellow with a girls' basket dance, flower petals being strewn around and simple movements. By the end of the presentation, the music was loud and crazy and every member of our group was on their feet dancing, wearing the childrens' hats and circling the tiny room in a frenzy!

After the dances were finished, two members of our group were very pleased to reciprocate and present some gifts to the people of Guadaloupe. The youths in Guadaloupe spend most of their free time playing soccer, so several sports teams back in Canada had raised funds and collected donated sports equipment that we hauled all the way to Bolivia. There were soccer and basketballs, shoes and shin pads. The gifts were recevied with much gratitude, as was expected. It felt nice to give back after receiving so many gifts in Yapacaní and then again at Guadaloupe!

Next we were treated to a traditional potluck, known as Apthapi, where everyone from the village brings a little bit of food, literally piles it on the table, and then everyone digs in. There were eggs, potatoes, corn, dried meats, and deep fried savoury pastries. It was unreal. As in Yapacaní, the sense of community was incredible.

Later that afternoon we wandered around Guadaloupe and visited a few of the sponsored families there. Among them were two adolescent boys who received their own beds to sleep in (a rarity in Guadaloupe), school supplies and new clothing thanks to sponsorship.

We also visited a young mother whose daughter was born with a cleft palate, which is a common birth defect among the poor population in La Paz. The Canadian family from P.E.I. who sponsors her and her child were more than willing to pay the several hundred dollars needed for the surgery to fix the child's cleft palate. She can now eat properly and looked happy and healthy as her mother held her inside their modest home.

The last family we visited was sponsored by one of Chalice's employees back in Halifax. We showed up with a bag of gifts, Pokemon cards and photos for the little boy, who was overjoyed! Thanks to sponsorship, the boy's mother is able to operate a small jewelry-making business out of her home. As we were nearing the end of our visits, the sky clouded over and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky!

We had to get up early (4:30 AM!) the following morning to begin our journey to Lake Titicaca, so we said yet another round of sad goodbyes and headed back to Casa Betania. Before leaving I gave my camera to someone and got an awesome photo of myself high above the city of La Paz...

Each day members of our group were assigned to a variety of service projects in and around the community. I specifically signed up for as many different activities as I could so I'd be able to document as much as possible with my camera, but because of the nature of our visit and the amazing people who wanted to share their experiences with us, I really missed out on a lot!

A large part of our group's fundraising efforts have been directed towards two build projects for 7 families in the Yapacaní area. (P.S. We still haven't reached our goal - Click here to make a donation!) On the first day of service projects I was lucky enough to be on the bus that went to visit two of the families at their build sites.

First we visited the future home of Jorge & Lourdes and their 6 children. Currently the family is renting a two-room place in the town of Yapacaní and are under constant threat of eviction. The income that Jorge makes is only enough to feed his familiy and pay the rent. After saving for a long time, the family was able to purchase a plot of land in the Jardin del Amboro neighborhood of Yapacaní, but were subsequently unable to afford the building supplies necessary to begin construction. Thanks to Chalice, the foundation of the new home was well underway on that day, and additional building supplies were forthcoming. The family was overjoyed by our visit, gave us small gifts and refreshments, and Lourdes cried as she thanked us for our fundraising efforts. I was beyond moved.

The next family we visted were the ones that I personally helped with their build project a few days later. Tomas and Bertha have 7 children, and currently live in a wooden one-room house and open air thatched roof kitchen on a plot of land that they have owned for 17 years. Bertha has recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer and is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital that helps the less fortunate. The family of nine desperately needs a hygenic, functional bathroom, and when Chalice stepped in to help that was all they asked for. Tomas works as a construction worker, so with his expertise the construction of the new brick house was well underway by the time we arrived. We would return a few days later to visit again, but also be a part of the build project.

The next day I had the pleasure of participating in an afternoon of sports and games with any neighborhood children that wanted to drop into the multipurpose space connected to Yapacaní's church. We taught them how to play freeze tag and dodgeball, and with a suitcase full of games & toys from Canada, set up some relay races, hopscotch and jump-rope. Some ladies in our group had also brought tons of donated soccer & basketballs which did not go unnoticed by the local children - I saw them being enjoyed all week!

Throughout the week, my mother and another woman from Airdrie, AB were teaching local women how to crochet durable and waterproof sleeping mats, bags and hats out of plastic bags. Many people in Yapacaní make their living through cottage-industry-type manufacturing, and the more unique the item the more likely it will do well in the local economy. Being introduced to this technique, limited only by their imaginations and utilizing a waste product was a huge hit, and by the end of the week the workshops were packed with women eager to share their new ideas. Some had even begun manufacturing their own crochet hooks from scrap metal and wood, creating a whole new source of income.

Another workshop that was ongoing all week was an English class for local teenagers. A few of the members of our group are teachers, so it was only natural for them to use their skills and resources in this manner. A retired teacher from Ontario had also brought along worksheets and activities to facilitate the classes. I popped in for an hour one afternoon to snap some photos of the class while the kids were learning to discuss food, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

As I mentioned earlier, I had the pleasure of returning to visit Tomas and Bertha a few days later to be part of the actual build of their new home. Tomas wanted to be able to say that he built his family's home with his own two hands, so we ended up doing a lot of the grunt work. The two eldest children were off at school that day, but Santiago, Tomas Jr, Sebastian, Meilton and little two-year-old Velguis Mayte were all at the house pitching in. Amid spurts of rain and swarms of mosquitoes we moved bricks, shoveled sand, and played with the children. Santiago, who is 12 years old and such a little charmer, was giving Spanish lessons by having us repeat simple phrases and count with him. I helped to fix the one bicycle that the kids all share, and at one point a neighbour boy came by with his pet monkey! Santiago, not about to be upstaged by his neighbour, showed us his pet "monkey" - a little grey kitten that clung to his shirt. I had such an amazing time with the family that day, and when it was time to leave it was very difficult to say goodbye.

On our second last day in Yapacaní, I wasn't feeling very well. The heat and humidity had finally caught up to me and I ended up going back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest, along with a few others who were feeling under the weather. Before leaving Yapacaní though, I tagged along to the Technical Institute where my mother and a few others were giving haircuts to the local women and swapping techniques with the local cosmetology students. From there, we got on the bus and went to have lunch at a soup kitchen for seniors that Chalice helped to fund as one of the many community projects. There are a lot of homeless seniors in Yapacaní, as many families don't have the means to support their elderly, and this soup kitchen is a place where they can get out of the rain, socialize together and get a hot meal. One of the people traveling with us was CBC reporter Jerry West, and it happened to be his birthday so a local woman had baked a cake in celebration, which Jerry's face was promptly shoved into after lunch. We had a good laugh with the local seniors, and one of them got up at the front of the room and sang us a song and thanked us for the donations which made the soup kitchen possible. Again, it was very hard to say goodbye.

Our last day in Yapacaní was short, as we were leaving for La Paz that evening. Father Arturo had prepared a special mass for us at the church in Spanish, English and Italian which was a pretty neat thing to experience. Everyone was welcome at the mass, even stray dogs! At the end they asked all of the Canadian ambassadors to come up to the front of the church, and the locals all came up to thank us one last time, hug and kiss us and give us presents. I felt pretty bad taking the gifts, as most of the handcrafted items they gave us are sources of income for the families, but they insisted we have them as tokens of their gratitude.

My time in Yapacaní was incredible, and I will never forget it for the rest of my life. I don't have words to describe it (although this long blog post may indicate otherwise). I only hope that I've been able to give you a glimpse into what we experienced as a group, and possibly persuade you to donate to the housing projects.

That night we boarded a plane to La Paz to visit Chalice's sponsor site there known as Guadaloupe. That is exactly what my next post will cover, so check back soon for the ongoing story of my journey!

We arrived at our hotel in Buena Vista around noon, ate a quick lunch and piled onto a school bus to head to Yapacaní, the next sponsor site that we would be visiting. The sponsor site is run primarily by two amazing people: Director Rev. Fr Arturo and Sor Geraldina from Yapacaní's small Technical Institute. We pulled up in front of an incredibly funky church, and Mary Anne McKinnon (a representative from Chalice who was traveling with us) said to the group: "If you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to be a rock star, now's your chance." I was a little confused, but as we got off the bus and filed into the church we heard the huge crowd that was gathered there.

The crowd had gathered to welcome us, the 15 "ambassadors" who traveled all the way to Bolivia to represent the many Canadians who sponsor children and families through Chalice. Amid cheers and hugs and kisses we took the seats that had been left for us on the concrete bleachers (built as one of the many community projects that Chalice helps to fund at Yapacaní) and were treated to an afternoon of traditional dance, music, and a mingling of cultures.

The children threw confetti, pulled us up from our seats and wanted to dance with us. Everyone wanted to meet us, hug us, and have their pictures taken with us. I must admit I was feeling a little overwhelmed and like the attention was undeserved. My parents sponsor a child in Yapacaní but I felt that I hadn't done anything to deserve all this appreciation.

Later that night and continuing into the week however, I did get to see the reasons behind the gratitude showed to us at the welcoming ceremony. As the sun was setting, we visited the home of an 82 year old woman who had recently suffered a stroke and lost function in one of her arms and both of her legs. Her husband had been moving her around in a wheel barrow for lack of a better option. Through funds raised by Chalice, the sponsor site at Yapacaní was able to purchase a brand new wheelchair for her and her husband.

The following day we got up early and headed back to the sponsor site. The grounds were full of even more people, this time including people who had ventured in from the agricultural communities surrounding Yapacaní, where a lot of sponsored children reside. It's Benefits Day, something that the sponsor site organizes about 3 times per year in which sponsored families receive "care packages" consisting of non-perishable food, school supplies, soap, towels, and the like. The Canadian ambassadors are to hand out the benefits packages that afternoon, but before we can do that there is another welcome celebration and meet and greet.

Everyone from the outlying communities had brought something to show their gratitude to the people of Chalice. There were chickens, eggs and catfish from the nearby river, to be used to feed us lunch over the next week and the remainder to be redistributed to the most needy. The community spirit and neighbourly love in this village of Yapacaní is astounding. Some of us felt uncomfortable about the gifts, we felt we were there to help the community not become a burden, but the people really wanted to show their gratitude and we quickly realized it would be an insult not to accept the food.

Next it was time to get to work. In 35 degree heat and suffocating humidity, our team filed into two rooms and started dividing up the sponsorship benefits into piles for each family. I worked my butt off (I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my whole life) but I saw my first glimpse of where sponsorship dollars go and finally felt as though I had done something for the people of Yapacaní. It was a really great feeling!

Over the course of the week that followed, our group met so many amazing people and heard so many amazing stories. My next blog post will cover the latter part of our time in Yapacaní. In the mean time, please consider donating to Chalice to support the community improvement projects ongoing at the site.

Until then...