You may have noticed that a small box with a tree logo has been living in the sponsors column of our home page - well that is our link to the Berry Tree (BT).  We are happy to talk about the BT because it has been one of the best purchases we have made, both as a product in its own right and as one means to fulfil our quest for ’self sufficiency’ online. Strictly speaking the BT is not an affiliate program. Rather the BT is a ‘place’ to purchase specific health products only available online and/or it can be a small and effective home based Internet business, the choice is yours. We use the product and have chosen to work with BT as a small business. This article features the product while the next article looks at the business opportunity.

The Berry Tree sells two products and the one we have direct experience with is called O2 Berry proformance Hydration. Essentially O2 Berry proformance Hydration is a water treatment product that radically enhances the properties of ordinary water by raising the levels of oxygen in the water. It is made from coral found exclusively on the Island of Okinawa Japan. Don’t groan too loudly… yet, yes we have all heard stories about the amazing product hand picked by vestal virgins on a full moon in some remote village - somewhere. And O2 Berry proformance Hydration, in our experience is different. The story goes like this:

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We know some of you are interested to learn more about how we have managed this trip financially. But given the time lapse we thought it makes more sense to discuss how we are currently managing it rather than describing the machinations of 18 months leading up to the trip. That said, if any of you are interested to know more about the planning process for a trip like this we will write a post about that too.

In the mean time, let us share how we are sustaining ourselves now. As you are aware from our article a few months ago work opportunities in Bolivia, work opportunities here for folks over 40 years are very limited, how obscene! But the challenges don’t end there. Patchy Spanish language skills and the inability to sign up for an employment contract for more than 12 months has meant finding a reasonably paying job was practically impossible.

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This is a story I made up the name is …… The Perfect Sheff!!!!!

Once upon a time there was a Perfect Sheff who made his restaurant fabulous and put his restaurant in the news paper and the restaurant check had desperation to go there but he didn’t know where could it be?I’m not shore where it is.

It says it’s next to the work place in Botany Street in Rock dale. He was behind it as well it’s on the right. So he went in for a test and asked for one hamburger a cook the chef didn’t know how to make a hamburger,so he asked if he could order something different like Kong Fu Salchipapa OK 1 please.It’s  to salty ewe he said with an Expression!!!So now one hamburger please.What type? Chicken OK!!!! OK.So he made it in 5 minutes on a big french roll.He went wow. bone up a tit.Your amazing!!!!!Hm!!!!!!Deices!!!!But you call this a hamburger??Yeah.BUT this this a french roll again it’s really good.Now for a soda coca-cola0.OK that’s easy.Here you go.Thanks servant.This is delicious.4 ****’s for your restaurant.NOW your final thing is desert on sundae please.After a while he rated it 5 *****’s.They celebrated for success hooray shouted the Sheff.

Great Job Sheff.

The End

In conversation with friends and family we are often asked what’s life is likein Bolivia; what type of foods do you eat there?, do the kids like the food?  We have tried to answer those types of questions through our articles and blogs and with the pictures of foods we have found interesting. However, when going back through the articles and blogs we haven’t been able to bring the richness of these experiences to you for your - consumption and enjoyment. So to address this gap we are including some film clips. We hope the clips will provide you with yet another dimension of some of our experiences here.

In our previous blog “I like my snot” we looked at some of the foods that you would not normally get in Australia or similar places. In that article we introduced two very popular drinks which are usually served at the markets, either early morning or in the evening, API and Tojori.  Both Api and Tojori are usually served with a pastry called a Pastel which is a deep fried and filled with cheese. The locals routinely lather this lactose and carbohydrate combination with a liberal dousing of caster sugar…. API and Tojori are both maize based, though coming from different types of corn, blue/purple corn for API and Yellow corn for Tojori. The taste of each drink is quick distinct form one atother. Api has more of a citris type edge while tojori is more mellow. Tojori may be served with either with a milk or water base. The great thing about these two drinks is that on a cold day they warm you up very quickly.

Recently, we attended a street fair late one afternoon in Plaza Colon, Cochabamba. These tojori/Api stalls magicall appear on the side of the road about dusk/dawn. Where you find a stall you find heaps of eager buers. Luckily the women working at this festival allowed us to film how they made the Pastel and then served API/Tojori. Hope you enjoy it half as much as we did.

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For those interested in how to make API you can find the recipe here. Just substitue local corn and have a go!

The Bolivian Library Network is another interview in the Bolivia Vista series where we talked to Paula Pfoeffer a fellow Australian that come to Bolivia in Oct 2003 to work as a librarian.  Over the last five years Paula has become involved with the Bolivian Library Network which helps with the resourcing of public libraries across Bolivia.

To find out more about her adventures in Bolivia see the Bolivia Vista pages.

At the time of the interview El Consulado was offering a range of tempting refreshment options from fresh leaf teas and organic brewed coffee (local of course) to freshly made hibiscus lemonade, traditional lemonade, handmade biscuits and nibbles. After weeks of tea bags it was soooo nice to have tea brewed in a pot! The kids and I enjoyed the fresh coca, lemon and ginger tea which is also great for altitude and the delicious hibiscus lemonade disappeared very quickly. Interestingly enough so did the home made savoury biscuits, which is odd as our kids, like most, normally have a sweet tooth.

Due to the time of day we visited El Consulado we did not eat a meal but we did peruse the menu. We know that a range of interesting meals are on offer and they serve hamburgers for those who are not so adventurous.  As discussed in the interview with Mia and Hans the restaurant uses all local produce and the team strives to provide guests with a new twist on local dishes. The food and service coupled with the setting made our experience at El Consulado thoroughly enjoyable.

El Consulado is situated behind El Prado which is the main street in La Paz. El Prado is very very busy and noisy; the traffic is unbelievable. That said, sitting in el Consulado was like sitting in a little bit of green paradise in the midst of the chaotic inner city. It was a real treat to be able to let the kids run around while we enjoyed a cuppa. And for all of us to be able to enjoy an enclosed green space is nothing short of a rarity in La Paz (see photos).

By the way, it is really simple to include a visit to El Consulado in your La Paz itinerary as it is just a few doors down from the Museo de archeologico de Tiwanaku - a must when you visit La Paz.. So drop in and take a load off after being awed by the exhibits. Oh and don’t be fooled by the somewhat imposing exterior, the staff are friendly and the costs reasonable.

Do yourself a favour when you are in La Paz, drop in, say hi to the team and have a cuppa…or something more. Like the rest of La Paz, El Consulado really is a treat for the senses and the psyche.

I can honestly say that when Gez bought home the iPod Touch just days before we were to leave the country for a year I was annoyed, actually I was down right cranky. You see we had planned to purchase the iPod Touch with frequent flyer points (FFP) because we were embarking on a journey without a guaranteed wage for 12 months! You see where I am going with this right? Evidently there was none in stock at FFP HQ and so Gez decided to buy it anyway. I guess his thinking was - at this point, what the hell!? As you can imagine, literally three days before flying everyone was exhausted. So when the iPod turned up, questions like “what were you thinking?” and “we don’t  need this kind of expense at this stage!” and a few sentences were heard coming from my normally calm and serene lips. Ok - stop guffawing.

Have to say that since then I have started to enjoy my humble pie - about the iPod Touch anyway. It has been fantastic. It really has been all things to all people - at least for us. From a language learning aid to professional maintenance tool to child entertainment unit to photo store to portable internet connection and homework aid it has been fabulous. For someone like me who is not overly technology savvy this is a great tool - easy to use, and I am still learning about its features. I can hear our gasps of surprise from those of you that know me - that I should be waxing lyrical about a piece of technology, me too. And it really has been fantastic. All that and it has managed to survive three kids fighting over it.

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If you are like me, then you keep your most documents in your wallet such as money, drivers licence, credit cards, ID cards etc. So, if you loose or have your wallet/bag stolen, then the impact of such a loss is tremendous. Although we don’t like to think of the possibility things do happen which are out our control so it is best to adopt strategies that will minimise the impact of such loss.

The first obvious strategy is to keep the contents of your wallet/bag to the bare minimum. Only carry the amount of money that you plan to use that day with a little extra. If you are travelling in a developing country such as Bolivia where they mainly deal in cash leave your credit cards with your passport. If you do need a credit card then carry one with you and leave the others back at the hotel safe or where ever your passports are being kept.

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