Not quite Che - quality adventure, but close?

The Plan…. To travel all over Tarija Department
The Goal… To visit in four days 5 or 6 different communities who will be implementing the basic health package that we are working on.
The Method…Improvisation

Okay, so we aren’t quite the adventurers that Guevara and Granados were, but I do feel like we are headed on an adventure, and since it’s South America, I couldn’t help thinking about the opening to The Motorcycle Diaries. (A good movie to rent, by the way. And I swear that has nothing to do with my mild obsession with Gael Garcia Bernal…) Besides, the connections are many: They started their journey in Argentina, who’s border we will be a stone’s throw from at least for a day, and Ché’s life ended in Bolivia. And the two of them did pass some time as health workers. Como yo…

So here’s the plan: In about 2 hours, I leave La Paz by air and land an hour later in Tarija. Monday we will travel to a few communities around Tarija. Tuesday we drive to Bermejo, which is close to the Argentine border. Wednesday we drive to Entre Rios, Thursday back to Tarija. Back to La Paz on Friday.

At least I think that's the plan.

I might be missing part of that, but whatever the plan ends up being, we are going to cover a fair amount of territory in just a few days. The main goal is to familiarize ourselves with the communities where we are going to be supporting health programs that local NGOs will be implementing.

It’s going to be a big change from La Paz. My lungs are psyched. Tarija’s altitude is just under 2,000 meters, significantly lower than La Paz. Bermejo is a mere 415 meters. It’s also hot down there. Not that La Paz is cold right now, but down south it’s going to be swampy-feeling I think. Tarija and surrounding area is wine country for Bolivia, boasting the world’s highest vineyards. Bermejo is petroleum country.

That’s about all I know. It seems that there might be spotty internet access, but I’m not counting on it, nor am I counting on the time to do it. But hopefully next weekend (Yikes! That’ll be my last weekend here) I will have some good pictures and stories of my little adventure down south.

Have a great week, everyone!