Valle de la Luna

One day, Gigi was walking along a low wall at the German Club when her feet slipped our from under her. She landed on her chin, and then fell off the wall. Praise the Lord, she didn't break her jaw bone. It was a close call. We thought she would have learned her lesson but no- we still have to remind her not to walk on the wall.

Soon after her accident, Gigi caught a cold. Maybe she caught it at church. Or maybe she caught it when we were taken surprise by a freak hail storm at the rec club. Within 15 minutes, the ground was covered in a layer of ice pellets so thick, it looked like snow!

Either way, Gigi passed along her cold to me, and made the last two weeks extra difficult. Breathing in La Paz is hard enough without the extra burden of coughing fits and blocked sinus passages. I couldn't smell or taste anything. It was a solid two weeks of herbal teas, vitamin C supplements, essential oils, Nyquil, and sleeping next to a humidifier. But then again... Maybe it wasn't Gigi who gave me her cold. Maybe it was the dust from unpacking all of our personal effects.

Our household effects arrived on October 23. Seven thousand pounds of material happiness, mostly in the form of books... hundreds of books...and precious Coscto consumables like Ghiradelli brownie mix, Tide clothes detergent, and Bounty papertowels. Dominic helped track inventory while I directed the flow of items into the house. Florencia the Fabulous not only put away all our kitchen items and pantry goods, but also found time to serve snacks and lunch to us and the movers. 

We worked furiously that day and had unpacked about 70% of the boxes by the time we collapsed that evening. Our house is now mostly in order. Hopefully next week a housing services worker will come to hang all our mirrors and frames. Then I can focus on Christmas!

Our Christmas cards have come in and I have been hard at work updating contact information and addressing envelopes. We have also made two more trips to Calle Sagarnaga looking for Christmas presents. It's not an easy hike up to the "downtown" of the city. Transportation is always by taxi, a half hour ride, or by bus which can take 45 min or more. 

Petty crimes are common, so constant vigilance is a must. The climb from street to street is steep. The traffic fumes are thick and one comes home with all his exposed skin covered in a thin layer of dirt. It's a fun adventure, but a tiring one. 

The highlight of the last few weeks was Nov 2, the Day of the Dead. I don't know what the holiday is all about but Danny got the day off and we joined friends at Valle de La Luna, so called because the terrain is said to look like the moon. 

The views were amazing, and Gigi didn't fall down any of the deep chasms. Our new missionary friends are also pretty amazing. All in all a great day!