Bolivia, March 2005

Friends for 50 years Our main reason to go to Bolivia was to visit Fr. Tom Henehan. He is a Mary Knoll missionary who went to Holy Cross College (H.C.) with Rich 50 years ago. They have kept in touch all theses years and Pat has known him through the reunions of H.C College. Rich and Tom were Co-Captains of the H.C. Track team.

We took a 3 hour bus to the border of Peru and Bolivia and spent about 2 hours in a town called Copacabana,a border town but nice on the Southern shore of Lake Titicaca. It claims many miracles from Virgin of Candelara who is now the patron saint of Bolivia.

Bolivia is a very unstable country with lots of political turbulence and minimal leadership. It is a country land locked by others and yet has multiple natural resources which they can’t dispense of. From the ritual offerings of the Pachamama (mother earth) to the habitual chewing of coca, Bolivia is strong in traditional culture. Today’s Bolivia is definitely a product of it’s past. An ethnic mix of cultures from the Andean Highlands of the Aymara and Quechua populations to a great number of other ethnic groups. Their individual identities contribute to a special weave of Bolivian cultures. It is a poor country and as I said, frequently in uprisings. It is a land of Andean Highlands, temperate valleys,tropical lowlands, Amazonian basin and salt-flats, diverse is a word that only starts to describe the country’s character. In 2005 Democracy prevails but social unrest continues: policy of increasing foreign investment meets with popular disapproval; coca eradication programs split the people; an old wound opens when plans to export gas via Chilean port (once Bolivian’s Pacific port) are proposed. National protests erupt frequently. Altitude in La Paz was the highest we experienced thus far, over 14,000 feet.

We had a nice lunch here in Copacabana, and we heard that the blockades were on again in La Paz where we were headed for the airport. Disruptions have been going on for the past few weeks and we had hoped to avoid them. We decided to go any way because they seemed to be non -violent.

When we went a little further over the Andes, we had to get off the boat and the bus was put on a barge and passengers on a small boat to cross Lake Titicaca with less than six inches separating waterline and boat rail, no life jackets, just another adventure. Then back on the bus to La Paz. As luck would have it they were blockading the bus terminal and so the bus took all of us to the airport. There safely we were able to book a 30 minute flight to Cochabamba, we were lucky. At sunset there was a beautiful sunset over the Andean Mountains that we were able to enjoy from the plan. What a way to end a long traveling strange day!

There in Cochabamba was Fr.Tom waiting for us and we felt real safe then. We never stopped talking and remembering the past for 4 days of land sea and air travel to get to Tom. Tom had made arrangements for us to stay at the center and so we were most welcomed by all his staff.

Tom’s work as a missionary is creative. He is heading a program for the natives so they can integrate God with their daily living. He is heading a formation team at this time to fulfill this goal. He has a varied staff 3 Irish Christian bothers some Bolivians and a Peruvian team teaching them multiple intelligence strategies to name a few. We wish him love and prayers to continue this work in a much needed country.They have elected to live in a rented private home rather than at Mary knoll Center to be closer to people.

We spent St. Patrick’s Day there and had a good party. Pat and Tom made Irish coffee South American style and yet were lucky enough to be able to buy a bottle of Jamison’s Irish whiskey for only $14. Happy St.Patrick’s day to you all. We even had a diocesan priest from Ireland say mass and he claimed “this March 17 th was the most important day in the church”.

We toured around a bit with Tom, Cochabama is kown for its open air markets and it’s view from the towering statue of Cristo Rey and tho best spent most of the time visiting with Tom and remembering days, people at Holy Cross.

Friday night saw us saying goodbye we had to fly out to La Paz and Tom made more arrangements for us to say at the Mary Knoll house in La Paz, also so we were safe to get to the airport in morning. Good byes were hard for us all and yet we each individually were thankful for this reunion and were glad it was able to happen. Tom is a very special person and we were glad to be able to be with him.

March 19 th Happy Birthday to Pat’s brotherJackie.

We had a good flight back to Quito, Ecuador where we stayed the night and toured around a bit. Next morning after Palm Sunday mass we left on a 7 hour bus ride back to the boat in Bahia Caraquez. All was well with Crusader except for the bildge pump that never shut off. Therefore using energy that made the Freezer go off, thus a few weeks of meat was spoiled and we had a horrible smell that is hard to get rid of. However the boat is still afloat and all looks good. Oh well back to the Boating Life March20,2005

Snow Capped Andes