La Paz and La Nausea

Yesterday was the day we had planned to see most of La Paz.  Since I had spent a couple of weeks there, I led the boys around a bit.  Our first stop was el Jaen, a street with many colonial houses that have been transformed into cultural museums.  We visited the house of Pedro Domingo Murillo, a leader of the Bolivian independence movement in 1809, who was brutally executed by royalists.  We read a lot about that war and even saw the Declaration of Independence (it doesn't look or sound so different from ours).  We also learned that Bolivia used to extend all the way to the coast, back when Chile was a lot shorter.  Apparently, lost Bolivia its seaports to Chile and quite a bit of land to Paraguay, which the Bolivians say is the main reason for their stunted development as a nation.

Next, we went to the Museo de Instrumentos Musicales, a private museum that is so FUN!  They have an extensive collection of Bolivian musical instruments, from ancient stone flutes to antique 10-string guitars made of armadillos.

Ceci actually told me a legend about the armadillo guitars.  They are called kirkinchos.  Once upon a time, the kirkinchos were many and they walked the earth.  However, the kirkincho was sad because he alone, among all the animals in the jungle, could not sing.  The birds sang, the monkeys howled and the frogs croaked, but the kirkincho was silent.  One day, he brought his plea before his gods.  "Please," he said, "I want to sing like the other animals of the jungle."  "Very well," said the god, "but your wish will cost you your life."  "Anything," said the kirkincho.  The god agreed and performed the magic.  From that day forward, the kirkincho produced the most beautiful sounds, but only as a guitar.

Dark for a children's story, eh?  We saw lots of kirkinchos in guitar and harp form, along with condor feather flutes, pig foot maracas and a variety of more modern instruments that we were allowed to play!  There was a giant xylophones, bongo drums, and a big rain stick from the rainforest.  I had a ton of fun; interactive museums are my favorites.

In the afternoon, we lunched on salteñas (like juicy empanadas) and delicious desserts at a bakery.  I tried a concha, a seashell-shaped pastry filled with the lightest, fluffiest whipped cream I have ever had the privilege to eat.  Yum. 

Since Kyle and Tim hadn't visited la Iglesia de San Francisco or el mercado de hechiceria yet, we walked to that part of town and took a tour.  It was fun to watch them learning so many new Spanish words; our guide was very understanding and spoke to them slower so they could understand. 

Unfortunately, the good part of my day ended there.  I started to feel a bit sick to my stomach while we were in the church, and I got sicker and sicker for the rest of the day.  We stopped in a cafe so I could rest while Tim and Kyle got beers, but I was out of commission.  I don't even remember a lot of the evening.  I know we got lost a lot, and walked a lot, and I had an asthma attack and eventually threw up in the bushes.  Fun.  Not.

I felt a little bit better by the night time, so we went out to eat with Ceci so I could return her phone and say goodbye.  I didn't eat much (we shared some pita bread), but I had some tea and then we headed back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.