After breakfast, I successfully explained to Doña Celia
that I was going into town with Susana and would not need lunch. Susana, with Roberto and Anabela, picked me
up at 9:00. We headed to the Christ
statue of which Cochabamba is so proud.
Like much of this city (and probably the country), it is something
beautiful surrounded by ugliness. The
statue is slightly over 33 meters tall of whiteness. Its massive arms attempt to embrace the
teaming humanity of Cochabamba. Around
the statue garbage is strewn everywhere.
We did not go inside the statue because Susana warned me it smelled
like a bathroom.
From there we drove outside the city to a lake near the
village of La Angostura. We first
stopped at a popular place for empanadas.
They were quite proud of them, but they tasted like overcooked bread
with a little cheese in them. I broke
down and bought my second Coke Zero of the trip.
The lake was created by a small dam. The water was a very muddy brown. The boats on the lake looked ancient and
rather unsafe. The same was true of the
swan paddle boats in dire need of some new paint. Again, an apt metaphor for the country.
I had them drop me in the middle of the city near the
Colon Plaza. My hope was to find some
wireless Internet access. I failed at
that, but enjoyed a strawberry sundae. I
walked around the city toward La Morada using my phone to look for unprotected
WiFi signals or at least ones obviously belonging to an establishment of some
sort. Somehow, when I find WiFi, I don't
have my iPad and when I have my iPad, there is none to be found. I think God has kept me away from the
Internet. When I reached Cala Cala,
about halfway back, I gave up and took a taxi TRUFI home. When I arrived home, I took a nap and read
until dinner.
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