Our Temporary Apartment in Tarija

Just wanted to post some photos of our temporary apartment here in Tarija. We'll be living here for the first few weeks while we look for a permanent place. It's really nice—two bedrooms, high ceilings, nice views, and we're the first ones to live here! Check it out... (click photos to see larger versions)

The living room

Bedroom

Dining room

The bathroom—that's right, the toilet is IN THE SHOWER! :-O

Main bedroom

The Rubbish Tree

Some things just work better in Bolivia. Granted, the list might be that long, but there are things that they just have down. Tops of the list has to be trash collection. In the states, our trash collection came once a week. But when it’s the middle of summer and there’s some stanky trash lying around, once a week just ain’t enough. In Bolivia the trash collection comes three times a week. You don’t even have enough time to accumulate that much garbage before they come again. And if that isn’t enough, they even have something our New Zealand friends at Altiplano Bolivia have dubbed “The Rubbish Tree.” It’s a tree down the street from them where people in the neighborhood hang their garbage on non-pickup days. Every day, some guys in a truck come and pick it up. No one seems to know who those guys are, why they come by, or who pays them... but they come, and the system just works.

Try that in the states!

Next Stop: Residencial Altiplano

So our journey finally brought us to Tarija, Bolivia, where we've decided to spend the next year or so of our lives. 


Before leaving the states we corresponded with Martin Rattray from Altiplano Bolivia, who helped us find a temporary apartment to spend the first month in Tarija. When we arrived the apartment wasn't quite ready, so we ended up staying with Martin and his wife Louise's at their excellent bed and breakfast Residencial Altiplano. Anyplace that gets five stars on Tripadvisor has to be good, right? Actually I would give Altiplano six stars if I could. It's that good. Martin and Louise are excellent hosts—they provide excellent accommodations, valuable time-saving advice, and a killer breakfast. 


They were also understanding about us bringing Miles along. By then he had been on enough noisy planes, cargo holds, and taxis for a cat lifetime. He slept most of the time at Altiplano. We also spent most of the time at Altiplano decompressing. Samantha caught a head cold while we were there, so she was pretty well out of commission for a few days recuperating.

The dining room at Residencial Altiplano

Samantha and Michael along with the Rattrays

Cheapest Overnight Shipping EVER!

In Bolivia, they don't have UPS, Fedex, or a postal service. The way you get packages and letters from one place to another is via the bus service, which goes absolutely everywhere, overnight. In order to get our bags from Santa Cruz to Tarija, we had to send them via bus.


We arrived at the bus station and found the shipping area. It turned out to be a long line of dilapidated stalls, one for each bus company. So there we were about to hand over all the possessions we have in the world to a (seemingly) ramshackle business run by a guy chewing coca leaves and just hope they actually arrive. Was I nervous? Most definitely.


It turns out that even though this system might seem disorganized to people from the western world, it's actually quite reliable. We dropped off the bags, wrapped them in blue tarps, paid for the shipping, and got tickets to pick them up the next day.

All together: Four bags, 275 pounds in total, shipped overnight all for $35. 


Try that in the states!

The Caravan Leaves Santa Cruz

Spending a few days in Santa Cruz was good. It allowed us to shop for a few bulky things that we hadn't been able to bring on the plane (i.e. guitar stands and a mic stand). We also found out that there's a lot available in Santa Cruz—they even have a Geox shoe store! So next time we're there, we'll be able to stock up on whatever we need.


Time came for us to move on to Tarija, where we will be living for the next year or so. Remember all the bags we brought with us? Well, we couldn't take them on the plane to Tarija, so we decided to take everyone's advice and send them by bus. It sounded pretty simple—just drop off the bags at the bus station, pay the agent, and then pick them up when the bus arrives in Tarija the next day. We figured, what could go wrong? Answer: A lot.


So Sunday morning we woke up and got ready to leave. Our flight was that afternoon, so we had all morning to drop off our bags at the bus station. As we were getting ready we thought "It's strange how quiet it is outside. There aren't any cars going by... Oh well, that must be how it is on Sunday mornings." It turned out, there was a reason for the peace and quiet: That Sunday was the annual "Dia de pietones" (day of the pedestrian). No cars allowed in the city center. Military blockades were keeping vehicles from entering the city and disturbing the pedestrians. Which meant we had no way of getting our caravan of bags to the bus station—short of walking, which definitely wasn't going to happen. 


Thankfully in Bolivia there is always someone willing to risk arrest to make a few bucks. The doorman called up a taxi who somehow snuck through the blockades and entered the city center to pick us up. We loaded up the car and made it to the bus station in time to drop off the bags.

Visa Adventures, Part I

So before we left the states, we put lots of time into gathering the necessary paperwork for our visas. We needed our marriage certificate translated, notarized, authorized by the US State Department, and stamped by the Bolivian consulate in LA. We needed forms filled out, vaccinations taken, fees paid, the list goes on. We thought we had everything. But you know how it goes, there's always something...


On Friday, the day after we arrived, we went straight to the cancilleria office in Santa Cruz, which officiates over the officiating of official paperwork. We waited in line, presented our documents, and were told the terrible news—something was missing. The translated marriage certificate wasn't stamped or authenticated. Doh! The clerk told us the only option was to visit the US consulate in town and have them stamp it (total misinformation, more on that later). So we headed off in a taxi, hoping things would work out. Our plane to Tarija was leaving Sunday, so we only had Friday to get things in order before leaving the capital.


The US embassy in Santa Cruz is in a nice neighborhood, surrounded by high walls, and guarded by the Bolivian military police. In other words, completely inaccessible. We were told we couldn't go in unless we had an appointment, which could only be made online—and for Monday, the day after we were supposed to leave. We pleaded our case to the guards, but to no avail. They wouldn't budge. What's the point of having an embassy if they aren't going to help American citizens? 


We decided to cut our losses and call off the visa work for the day. We'd figure that out later. It was only 11am so we decided to head across town and visit the Bolivia branch of Jehovah's Witnesses to meet with our friend Robert Golden. Unfortunately we didn't make it in time to have lunch there, but in the early afternoon they met with us and gave us some great information. We had picked a good place, they said. Tarija was a great town and several of the local congregations were in need of assistance. They gave us some helpful pointers and suggestions, and we left with a promise of visiting again next time we're in Santa Cruz.

Bolivia branch of Jehovah's Witnesses, reception building

First things first...

After arriving at our rental apartment in Santa Cruz, we headed out for some dinner. Tripadvisor recommended a place called Kiwi's Cafe, which was walking distance from our building. So we went out and had our first meal in Bolivia.

It may seem strange, but at this point it hadn't really hit us we were there. Maybe it was the effects of such a long journey, but we didn't have that "ah ha" moment until these arrived:

Bolivian. Fruit. Smoothies. The best! We had these back in April but forgot how good they were. We ordered passion fruit (maracuya) and papaya, and upon first sip it hit us—"Uhm... we're like, in Bolivia!" There's just nothing like them in the states. The fruit is picked here when it's ripe, and since Bolivia has tropical regions the fruit doesn't have to travel thousands of miles. Incredible taste. Going to have lots more in the months to come.

Bolivia at last

Our late night flight from LAX landed in Lima, Peru around 8:30am local time. We got off, stretched our legs, and rested a bit before boarding the 11:30am flight to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Thankfully the flight was uneventful, and we landed in Bolivia around 3:00pm.


The whole flight I was nervous about several things:

• Miles had never flown before and I was worried he’d be freaked out from all the noise and jostling. Plus he had been 24 hours without food and fresh water. Would he be OK?
• Our checked bags were bursting at the seams when we dropped them off at LAX. I had the sinking feeling the zippers would give out and our stuff would get lost.
• I didn’t know if we could find a taxi in Santa Cruz big enough for us and our goods. I really didn’t want to split up and take two taxis.
• I wasn’t sure what customs would say about all the things we brought—particularly the electronics and music stuff. I didn’t want to get hit with massive taxes!

These fears dissipated one by one as we made it through the airport. First, they delivered Miles—shaken to say the least—but safe and sound. Next our bags came through the claim area unscathed. There were guys standing around with luggage carts and they helped us gather everything and go through customs. The customs agents didn’t even look through our bags, and let us pass without any questions. Then as we reached the exit, we immediately spotted a stationwagon taxi that had plenty of room for the bags. The porters loaded everything up and we were quickly on our way to the apartment in downtown Santa Cruz. Amazingly, this whole process—from exiting the plane to leaving in the taxi—took less that 15 minutes. Try that at an international airport in the states!

Departure day arrives

Our last day at home was mostly spent packing. Amazingly, we fit everything into the bags we had—but just barely! I knew we were overweight (the bags I mean) but hoped we’d get a nice, easygoing agent at the check-in counter. Our family drove us to the airport and Samantha and I had a practice run maneuvering around with 5 bags, a double guitar case, laptop bag, camera bag, messenger bag, and Miles in a kennel cage. 

Miles—feline world traveler

With two carts we were able to slowly make it to the check-in counter, where we were greeted by friendly—but very stick-to-the-rulebook—LAN airlines agents. Dealing with Miles was relatively easy, but our bags were all overweight and I was afraid they’d stick us with loads of fees. In the end they did weigh them to the decimal point, but kindly let us through with minimal fees. And they didn’t say anything about us carrying way too many carry-on bags (I think they pretended not to see).

Checking in at LAX

Checking in at LAX

Upon boarding the plane a sense of calm came over us. The bags were on board. Miles was on board. We were following through on months of planning, finally realizing the goal we had set years before. The journey was barely beginning, but we had made an important first step. And there would be much more to come…

Getting ready to leave

The weeks leading up to our move were hectic to say the least. We had to “unravel our portfolio”, which basically consisted of two cars, music equipment, household goods and a cat. Miles—plenty of stories about him to come—was definitely coming, so we had to reduce the rest down to a minimum. This meant deciding how much to ship and by what method. Ocean shipping seemed to be the cheapest, but was only worth it if you had lots of stuff to send. It also took 5-6 weeks to arrive, and you never know what the customs charges might be or how many palms you’d have to grease to actually take delivery this century. We wanted to simplify anyway, so decided against a big shipment via ocean container.

The only other viable option was to buy suitcases, fill them with goods, and haul them on the plane with us. We’d likely have some overage charges, but it would be cheaper than ocean shipping. That ended up being the option we chose.

Once we decided to go the airplane route, we had to sell basically everything we owned and pare down to a few bags. “What should we take, the silverware, or bathroom towels? Do we have room for both? Argh!”—was a typical dilemma we’d have to solve. We decided to only take necessary items we can’t live without and aren’t available for purchase in Bolivia. That meant clothes, shoes, good kitchen stuff, music gear, medicines, and a few absolutely necessary odds and ends (like loose leaf tea for Samantha, and Lindberg porterhouse and roast seasoning—the BEST stuff on earth for grilling!—for Michael).

In the weeks prior to our departure it became clear that we needed to shed a lot of stuff. Much of it sold on Craigslist, our friends and family bought some things (thanks guys!), and some items went to donation. Thankfully we were able to get 99% of it sorted before leaving. Still have a few things to get rid of... Anyone want an upright bass? :D

Samantha packing up the day before we leave

Why Bolivia?

We’ve been asked that question a lot over the past few months. There are many reasons. First off, we’ve always wanted to move outside the USA and participate in our volunteer ministry full-time. In 2010 we started talking about it seriously, eventually deciding that we’re at the right time in our lives to make such a move—it’s basically now or never! But the question remained, “where?”

Europe was a top choice, especially since we fell in love with France after spending a month there in 2009. But the EU visa requirements made it basically impossible. Our attention then turned to Latin America, a place that felt accessible, offered many diverse countries to choose from, and fit our language/culture preferences. Working our way down the list, we realized that some countries (Mexico, Brazil, etc.) were out because, among other reasons, they’re way too dangerous. Some were amazingly beautiful, but too hot and humid for our tastes. Other countries, like Argentina and Chile, looked promising but again the visa requirements were way too strict. Eventually the list narrowed down to Bolivia—and, well, Bolivia! It was the only place that offered the perfect combination of safety, easy visa requirements, and a big need for volunteer Jehovah’s Witnesses like ourselves. In fact, the JW growth rate in Bolivia is one of the highest in the western hemisphere.

First off, we had to find out where Bolivia actually was! You don’t hear much about it, so we didn’t have many preconceived notions. After doing some research it sounded promising so we decided to make a visit in April-May 2011. Obviously we liked it!

Maybe in the future we’ll post more about our thought process going into making this move. It certainly wasn’t an easy decision, however it’s one we’re ecstatically happy about making. For now, let’s focus on our journey to Bolivia!

Welcome to This Bolivian Life!

We’re starting this blog to keep our friends and family up to date on our new life in Bolivia. We’ll soon be posting photos, videos, and stories about all the new experiences and adventures we’re having. If you want, you can subscribe to this blog and get notified whenever we post something new. Just use the "Follow by email" box at the top of the page. Simply enter your email to subscribe, and you'll get a notification when we post new content. 


You can also post comments and questions after each post. 


Hope you find it interesting!