Where did all my time go?

Due to my lack of prioritizing my blog, there's a huge time gap between posts.

Sorry.

I think pictures are the best way to catch up...


Yesterday, I celebrated the winter solstice at Tiahuanaco. It´s the Aymara New Year´s celebration. My camera battery promptly died at the beginning of the ceremony and I´d forgotten my second battery in the charger in the office, so pictures are scarce at the moment.

Over the weekend, I went to the camelid festival with my parents. It was a short but nice day. Below is one of the bands.

This is the bus from Curahuara to Patacamaya (a town about half the way back to La Paz).
The week before, I witnessed a llama sacrifice. Good luck for the camelid festival. Then there was a feast. It was an amazing ceremony, although I'm saving the details for a story...

The weekend of the 10th, I paid 25 Bolivianos for a seat to watch El Gran Poder. Dance groups from all-over Bolivia come to La Paz to perform in the streets. And drink.

The weekend before, I went to Copacabana and happily ate freshly caught trout and enjoyed the peace surrounding the lake.

And lastly...

The children in Bolivia has the most beautiful, thoughtful and lively eyes I've ever seen.

The marches find me...

"Quedan los cubanos," they chant, marching down El Prado, the main street in La Paz.

A procession of 200-300 Bolivians and Cubans took to the streets today to call for the extension of the Cuban Operation Miracle and the emergency brigade health initiatives.

"Gracias Cuba," they continue.

A contingent of 732 Cuban health workers are working throughout the nine departments of Bolivia. Of those health workers, 122 are working in optomology.

Nikanora Vargas stood outside the Ministry of Health and Sport with a white-gauze patch over her right eye (below).

She travelled from Sorata, north west of La Paz, to show her support for Operation Miracle. Vargas was one of many in the crowd who had receive cataracts and pterygium operations from Cuban doctors.

Cuban optomologists have helped a total of 8,762 patients in Bolivia and 1,638 in Cuba, quotes a flyer distributed by the marchers. The health bridages have treated a further 499,462 Bolivians. Those are significant numbers in a country of only about 9 million people. The Cubans arrived in Bolivia following Morales' win in the December 2005 election. The expenses of the initiative are paid for by the Cuban government.
Marchers stalled traffic along El Prado for about 30 minutes. While there was a police presence throughout the marchers' route, the police posed no opposition to the demonstration *that I saw*.