Wonderful hospitality in Cochabamba...

Talor: Arrived into Cochabamba in the early evening after a seven-hour bus ride that got in late due to some drama (argh!). We were feeling dehydrated and disoriented, and as we were getting our bags, a woman tapped Erik on the shoulder and asked if he was Erik. What a lovely surprise! It was Julie, Gigi's mom! We had planned on calling her after we got settled into a hotel, but apparently, Rosita (Julie's sister) had called to say we were coming, and she waited for us at the bus terminal for two hours... yikes! She had a hotel picked out for us, walked us there, and even came up to the room to make sure everything was alright! And so began her hospitality...

Thought La Paz was supposed to be the culinary capital of Bolivia, but we spent the next day eating the most delicious saltenas (famous in Cochabamba), rellenas (stuffed potatoes) and cheesebreads. But the best meal of all was dinner at Julie's house, where she lovingly prepared Silpanchos, a traditional dish of rice and potatoes with a thinly breaded chicken cutlet, two fried eggs and topped with tomatoes and onions... mmm, mmm, MMMM!! We were joined by the lovely Marcela, an old college buddy of Gigi's for dinner. And after we were so full we couldn't eat anymore, Julie broke out into a dance, and we all worked off the food dancing to salsa music from one of Dean's (Gigi's husband's) CD. It was a wonderfully fun evening!

The following day, we invited Julie out to lunch at La Contanata, supposedly the best Italian restaurant in Bolivia. Miriam, another one of Gigi's friends, joined us, and though the food was good, the best part was spending time with them. Afterwards, Miriam drove us to see the impressively large statue of Christ (larger than the famous one in Rio, Brazil!) up on a hill. Then it was time to say good-bye... sigh. We felt so sad to leave, but at least we got Julie to promise to come and visit us in NY in August next year.

Before leaving the next morning, we had one last good meal at a Korean/Japanese restaurant. Though not terribly traditional, I was happy to get my kimchi-fix, and was ready to move on after gaining 15 pounds in two days!

But more than the food, it is the hospitality that we will remember... Thank you Julie, Marcela and Miriam! And Gigi, thank you again for putting us in touch with your wonderful family and friends!

Erik: Cochabamba is a pretty city, known as the city of eternal spring for its year-round temperate climate. Of course, luck being as it may, we were there for some rare but much-needed rain, and even a freak wind storm. Still, we had plenty of sun as well, and enjoyed walking around the city's scenic, tranquil plazas full of trees in bloom and lounging locals.

I was overwhelmed by Julie's hospitality, and was kicking myself after she met us at the bus terminal, as we'd meant to call her before boarding the bus, but didn't have time. (We were rushed aboard the bus in La Paz, then, of course, sat and waited 15 minutes for it to leave!)

Dinner and dancing at Julie's home was so much fun, and she and Marcela were gracious hosts, and very patient with our mediocre spanish. Julie has been raising rabbits in her front yard, and we got to watch her feed all 10 of them (after feeding us) as we waited for a taxi. They were incredibly cute, and we were very happy to have been served silpancho rather than rabbit that evening...Yes, thank you Julie, Marcela and Miriam for such overwhelming hospitality, and we hope to see you all again soon.

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Cochabamba, Bolivia