Patricia visits, We travel to Machu Picchu, Isla Del Sol, and Coroico

I did miss Thanksgiving with my family but was lovely to be somewhere where you don't have to pretend that indigenous people put on a happy peaceful dinner for the conquerors before obligingly dying off.

Machu Picchu was incredibly beautiful, but also full of tourists and very expensive. Everyone had an angle--our cabdriver said he would take us to Aguas Calientes, the town near Machu Picchu, but instead dropped us off in another town considerable further away and was just like, "here you are!" I appreciated the incredible setting and majestic ruins but missed Bolivia terribly the whole time.

Being back in Copacabana and Isla Del Sol was so nice. People were incredibly friendly this time, and everything seemed so peaceful after the hustle, bustle, and hucksterism of Cuzco/Machu Picchu.

The Coroico trip was a lot of fun too. We went with Mechy and her lovely kids, Enrique and Marcela, and her brother Felix who was a bit controlling and obnoxious. Coroico is in Yungas, the area where the most coca production happens, so we got to see the cocaleros at work. There is also a lot of excitement around the elections, which are this Sunday. Evo is a shoo-in, so there's more focus on the local elections. This Coroico diputada, Mercedes Mamani, seemed really impressive.

In other news, the collective continues to have problems with the Germans, but on the bright side, Silvia asked me to write something about the experience for the magazine. She is finally accepting me as part of the group, which is so nice--she made me sign my name to the latest manifesto, etc. For my own project I've been interviewing old trotskyists (who continue to be relentlessly entrepreneurial and frustratingly reluctant to talk about their experiences occupying Peace Corps buildings etc.) and I have some interviews set up next week with indigenous feminists from this group, the Bartolinas. I'm feeling really comfortable and competent, finally--I can't believe I have to go home in 2 weeks, at least for a little while...