Hello, again --

No trips or "big things" to tell you about this week, but here are some miscellaneous information and pictures that I hope you will find interesting.

First, these men were pushing these HEAVY loads on wheel-barrow-type carts on one of the main downtown streets.  We were behind them in a bus.  I can't imagine people pushing carts loaded with cement mix down a street in the middle of traffic at home, can you?

Second, we saw this on the way home from church yesterday.

This is a major street paralleling the river.

If you open this picture to full size, you will see a man washing his clothes in the dirty river -

quite a common sight actually.  Sorry the picture isn't bigger, but I was in a taxi when I took it.

A couple of weeks ago we had a Santa Cruz stake bring their entire Youth Conference here for one day.

There were about 120 kids (12-17) and about 25 youth leaders.  

They came all the way from Santa Cruz (an 8-to-10 hour trip) 

in what looked to me like glorified school buses.  Such dedication and testimony! 

They came in the morning and went home that evening.

Can you imagine 8-10 hours in a bus like this?  Ugh.

Then just this past Saturday another big group of youth came,

this time from the city of Oruro (only 4-1/2 hours away.)

They were in buses like this - more the size of a Greyhound - 

but since I don't like buses of any kind, 

I still find it very admirable that they make such long trips.

Yesterday we visited a different ward from the one we usually attend.

This is the Barrio Lindo building.  It sits down below street level, so it was hard to spot,

especially since the tree in front covers the nameplate.

Now a total change of pace - some pictures of different plants.
First, this plant in our apartment.
In my whole life, this is the only live plant I have managed not to kill.
I am so proud of it.

In fact, as you can see,

it has a brand-new shoot right in the center.

Whoopee!

This is one of the "bird of paradise" plants alongside the steps from the hospedaje up to the temple.

I have never seen a white one before.

Do you think maybe it was the color they normally are,

and then the cold temperatures at night froze it?

And third, a native vine that I really want to plant along our fence at home.

Of course you know I LOVE orange, 

and the flowers cascading down the wall are so beautiful to me.

Here's a closer view.

And here's the closest view of all.  Aren't they gorgeous? 

Lastly, here's something really special to me.

This ring is made of Bolivianite, a stone that is ONLY found here in Bolivia.

Below the picture I will post the legend of Bolivianite.

Legend of Bolivianite (Ametrine from the Mine of Anahí)

What is not a myth: Bolivianite is a beautiful purple and honey-colored precious gem formed under almost impossible conditions. It is a unique blend of purple amethyst and yellow citrine which scientists are now calling ametrine. It is produced under such exceptional and improbable conditions, requiring a perfect combination of iron presence and differing temperatures within a very confined area, that it has occurred only once that we know of, in only one known place in the world: Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The Anahí mine is the one and only bolivianite mine known to exist anywhere on Earth.

Legend has it that along with an expedition of Spaniards exploring what is now Eastern Bolivia, came a soldier called Felipe de Urriola y Goitia, who made contact with the peaceful Ayoreo tribe. The daughter of the Ayoreo chieftain, Princess Anahi, fell in love with Don Felipe and asked her father’s permission to marry him. The chieftain agreed and as a dowry, he gave her husband a mine that produced a beautiful two-colored gems, to which the conquistador didn’t pay attention, deeming it not as worthy as gold, silver or emeralds.

When Don Felipe thought it time to go back to Spain, Anahi was torn between her loyalty to her tribe and her love for Don Felipe, but was prepared to follow him anyway. Enraged by what they saw as abandonment, and jealous of Don Felipe, her tribesmen conspired to murder him to prevent him from leaving. However, Princess Anahí warned him and he and his men were forced to flee.

Sadly, during the confrontation, Anahí was injured by her own tribesmen. Dying of her wounds, Anahi asked to see her husband one last time, and placed in his hands a beautiful stone from the mine her father had given them as a wedding gift. She told him it was a token of her eternal love. Anahí died in her husband's arms. When he opened his hands and saw the gem, he knew that the stone's two-colored blend of perfectly blended deep purple and honey symbolize Anahi's heart torn between her love for her husband and her love for her people.

That gem is what is now called Bolivianite, and the mine that produces it is named the Anahi Mine, after the Ayoreo princess. It is located 150 kilometers North of Puerto Suárez, a town in the Eastern tropics of Bolivia, very near the border of Brazil. The mine site covers an area of about 6250 acres.

Isn't that interesting?  I am thrilled to have a life-long reminder of our time here, and as Sister Jensen so wisely commented, "Better yet, it doesn't have to be dusted!"

Okay, that's all for today.  Have a happy, healthy, safe week . . . y vayan con Dios.