January Update: Getting Settled in Bolivia

After 3 months of traveling through Ecuador and Peru, I rushed through Lake Titicaca and La Paz to get settled here in Sucre, Bolivia. The last few months had been amazing, but I was tired of the hostel life and desperate to find my own place and get into some kind of routine.

JANUARY RECAP

• After an amazing New Year’s Eve celebration in Cusco, I kicked-off 2012 by packing up and heading towards Bolivia on a night bus from Cusco to Puno, Peru.
• I arrived in Puno early the next morning where I spent the day exploring the floating islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca.
• That afternoon I jumped on another bus to the Bolivian border where things went a lot smoother than in Peru.
• I paid the $135 US Citizen entrance fee for a 90-day visa and that was it. Very uneventful, just the way I like my border crossings.
• I spent the night in Copacabana, Bolivia and toured the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) on Lake Titicaca the following day.
• After the Isla del Sol tour, I caught another bus for La Paz. As luck would have it, I met a nice Bolivian guy on the tour who accompanied me to La Paz and helped me get a ticket for Sucre once we made it to the bus terminal in La Paz.  I bought him a cheeseburger for helping me avoid tourist prices and I asked him a million questions about life in Bolivia.
• Drained from another night bus adventure I arrived in Sucre and checked into the Gringo Rincon Hostel for a quick nap before I set out apartment hunting.
• I looked at 7 different apartments in 2 days and had a new place arranged by the end of the first week.
• Once settled into my new pad I contacted BiblioWorks to start my latest mission.
• By the end of January I was in full swing volunteering at BiblioWorks, I started playing basketball 3 nights a week with locals, got to drive my first car around the city and experienced my first Bolivian kiss ; ). Great start towards townie status!

CURRENT MISSION: Volunteer in Bolivia

Working with BiblioWorks and their literacy efforts have been the perfect fit thus far. We’re working together to fund the first ever book fair in April here in Sucre and we’ve been meeting with the local Rotary chapter with hopes of building 2 new libraries this year.

Starting in mid-February I’ll be spending 3 days a week at one of the libraries outside Sucre, working with students and parents on a variety of educational activities and programs.

GET INVOLVED: Help Me Support Literacy in Bolivia

What’s to come in February?

• Carnival is just around the corner and things are heating up here in Sucre! It is like one big water war on the streets. People drive by with water guns blasting pedestrians, families throw buckets of water down from their balconies and college kids gather in the main square every afternoon to soak the opposite sex with water balloons. I’m told “leche de tigre” (Tiger Milk) will be the alcoholic drink of choice, so we’ll see how that goes.
• BiblioWorks will be my main focus this month, raising money and awareness for their literacy initiatives as well as planning for the book fair and library curriculum.

Favorite January Posts:

• Sambo’s Monkeymentary
• Colca Visuals: Deep Canyons sin Condors
• New Year’s Eve Celebration in Cusco, Peru
• Highlights from Chapter MMXI

Upcoming Posts:

• NEW VIDEO: Cooking Lessons in Lima, Peru
• Millionaire by 30
• 69 Lessons Learned from Latin Lovers
• The Journey to Machu Picchu
• NEW VIDEO: The Hare Krishna Lifestyle

SEE MORE STATUS UPDATES

Gareth

My name is Gareth Leonard, a Marketing Director turned World Traveler with a passion for slow, meaningful travel. I have been traveling the world full-time for the past 9+ years and document it all on Instagram and YouTube. Come join me!

See also  Taxi Cab Confessions: Bogota, Colombia