Hola from Santa Cruz!

OK! So I arrived in Santa Cruz on June 19th in a torrential rain storm.  Talk about diversity, I went from dry, super sunny, cooler La Paz to wet, super muggy, overcast, warm Santa Cruz in one hour. From cacti to palm trees. It was torrentially (I made up an English word, why not since I make up Spanish words all the time) raining all day and night but it was no biggy.  June 21st was a National Holiday in Bolivia for the Andean New Year or Aymara New Year or Winter Solstice. I heard there was a ceremony in Samaipata at El Fuerte which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/883 . So obviously I had to go.  So I packed and left the hotel to catch a trufi (shared van) to Samaipata a 2.5-3 hour journey.
During this journey I met two really cool Bolivian girls who took me under their wing even though I didn't speak much Spanish or understand them very well.  I have found out that when I'm tired my Spanish is virtually non existent.  We dropped our bags at one of the few hostels that was open that late and headed to El Fuerte. We walked/hiked/ascended through the beautiful red mud (which I later found out was volcanic) to El Fuerte which normally takes 2 hours but if it's midnight and pitch dark and you have one flashlight and go too far up and need to back track it takes 3 hours. It was a great adventure to even get there but it was made more fun by the beautiful surroundings, people, and Bolivian wine.  We ended up meeting an Aymara Elder on the way up who we gladly spent the night with.  He had been making the journey to El Fuerte from Cochabamba for over 20 years for this celebration! Once we arrived we were surrounded by people and music in an open stone amphitheatre. So of course we immediately joined in on the festivities and started dancing. I danced with a couple young Bolivian teenagers and they soon found out I had no idea what I was doing but we had fun anyways.  There was a lot of spinning.  Around 3am my head started rolling and my eyes were closing but thanks to my new friends I was able to stay awake and make it to the fire where the Aymara elders were performing their ceremony before and as the sun rose over the beautiful mountains and forests near El Fuerte.  It was a breathtaking sight to see.  They poured alcohol on the fire to make it ignite higher and blessed everyone for the New Year ahead. It was very special.  Sorry no pictures though, since I didn't bring my camera with me. My new friend took pictures and when she posts them on facebook I will share them with you. It was an absolutely amazingly beautiful experience that I will cherish forever.