Doug: A Night We Will Never Forget

There are times in your life that you never forget.  Last night our team experienced one of those "life" moments.  A memory that will stay with us forever. 

The blokades in Potosi had begun to let up around seven in the evening so we ate a quick meal and hopped into two taxis.  The plan was to go from Potosi to Sucre and in the morning to catch a plane from Sucre to Cochabamba.  Two hours later we were at the outskirts of Sucre.  Cars and Trucks lined the sides of the road and traffic was stopped.  We had run into a blockade.  It took us a few minutes to unload our gear and pay the drivers.

A constant stream of people made their way towards Sucre.  It reminded me of some mass immigration you would see on television after some disaster had occured.  We walked, luggage and all, for about a kilometer or so.  The blockades we had seen before had been people blocking the streets.  This time, in addition to people, there were rocks, branches from trees, and burning tires in the streets.  We had some difficulty getting our luggage through it all but, we made it!

It was a sureal experience but, I want to stress that we never felt in danger.  It was a bit scary but, it was also exciting to see this unique cultural form of democratic expression. 

We decided to take a cab to our hotel.  We packed all five of us, the driver, and all of our luggage into this tiny taxi.  I had the joy of sitting on the emergency brake and having intimate contact with the stick shift everytime the driver switched gears.  Soon we were at the hotel and had a chance to relax.

All in all, we made it safely to the hotel and we have a memory we will never forget.