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Have you ever gone to the desert? Have you ever gone to a desert with a creepy name? Have you ever been to a sand dune? Have you ever gone snowboarding? Have you ever gone sand boarding? Have you ever gone sand boarding without knowing how to snowboard?

Yesterday, we went sand boarding in a desert called, Valle De La Muerte.  Sand boarding is exactly what it sounds like: snow boarding on a sand dune.   It was my first time on a snow board, or sand board, and I was pretty nervous.

When we parked at the bottom of the dune, with our tour group, it looked HUGE.  The dune was steeper than a beginners hill for snowboarding, that's for sure. I had asked myself, "So, how will I go down this without flipping over ten times?" Turns out, sand boarding is pretty easy.

We started out carrying our boards up an enormous hill.  At the top,  everyone strapped in their feet, and one by one, everyone went down.  When it was my turn, I hopped up on my board, and glanced down.  I reassured myself that it wouldn't be hard.  It wasn't hard.

I positioned myself at an angle, and dug my toes into the sand.  Then, I started gliding.  A few times, I got stuck, but it was fine after a bit of jumping.   After boarding six times down the dune, I felt like I knew what I was doing.  Even though sand boarding was fun, I'm not sure I would try snow boarding.

Here's a video of my sandboarding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISsPgFWGgKQ

The fight for a coastline

There are 15 countries in South America.  Out of those 15, two of them are landlocked.  Out of those two, we visited one.  That one is Bolivia.  Bolivia is our fourth country in South America, and an interesting one. For starters, Bolivia has a navy.  Why would a country without a coastline have a navy? 

One hundred and fifty years ago, Bolivia fought a war with Chile.  After Chile won, they took Bolivia's coast.  That land is now Chile, and because of that, there is a huge rivalry between the two countries.

The navy base in Bolivia is on Lake Titicaca in the town of Copacabana.  When we went to Copacabana for a day, navy officers were everywhere.  They were identified by their blue suits and clubs.  But I wondered, what would the navy do on a lake?   Do they think that they will get their land back?  My answer to that question is yes.  

Bolivia has their navy for political reasons.  They want their coastline given back by Chile.   If Bolivia didn't have a Navy, would Chile and other countries think that Bolivia doesn't believe they can get it back?  Bolivia would be showing that they don't think it possible for their landlocked country to be given some ocean.

Today we took a tour of La Paz, Bolivia.  We got to see exactly how obsessed Bolivia was with getting their "Litoral" (coast) back.  There were taxi companies with a name related to the ocean, signs about the ocean, and much more.  When our tour arrived in front of the presidential palace, the guards were even dressed in traditional Bolivian Navy uniforms!   

Bolivia may always be a landlocked country, but it is still fighting for its coast.  Coming to Bolivia, really interested me in rivalries between countries.

A life in Cusco

Living in Cusco for two weeks has been relaxing.  Like Cuenca, we go to Spanish tutoring every single day, plus do other touristy things in the afternoons.

Everyday, we wake up at 6:45 am, in time to have hot chocolate, toast, and cereal for breakfast.  After that, we walk down the narrow steps of our house to the narrow street to hail a taxi.  The school is a twenty minute walk away, so we've taken a car every single day.  

The school is a courtyard, with a main building and little classrooms.  My first teacher, Alicia, and I have a small tent in the courtyard for grammar.  My second teacher, Mari, and I don't really have a classroom.  We just find an open space.

Yo y Mari estamos hablando y jugando

Alicia es mi profesora de grammática

The first two hours of tutoring are grammar. They make your head ache from all the conjugating.  The second two hours are conversational. My teacher and I go on walks, but mostly play with the small kittens at the school while talking.

After four hours of tutoring, we go out to lunch.  So far, we've gone to a great American place, a Chinese restaurant, and a cevicheria.  The best was the American place, where I had caramelized banana pancakes.

After lunch, we either walk or take a taxi home.  Some afternoons, we only relax at home, or go on walks.  Other afternoons, we go to museums or churches (which Oscar and I hate).   On my favorite afternoon, my parents and I went to a chocolate making workshop, while Oscar stayed at home on the computer.  

Every night, dinner has been different.   Some nights we eat small meals at home. Other nights we eat at restaurants, and other nights we get takeout food.  The best nights were probably having takeout chicken and french fries.   

Leaving Cusco tomorrow will be like leaving my home.