In the backseat of a car being driven by a cop with a gun. Alexandria, Egypt

Can't wait to write about my adventures in Egypt...

Bolivia's Meat Pie

You need to have this in your life. Salteñas. Bebas. Van Nuys, CA. Or just go to Bolivia. :)

Yes I'm back from my not long enough trip to Egypt and Turkey, but I came back to the sad and terrible news that my friend and twin Barry passed away. Completely shocking and totally unexpected. He was getting better, his infection had gone away, and his reflexes were improving. A sign we thought meant he'd wake up soon.

I went to visit him before my trip and that day was the day when he squeezed his mom's hand; something that started to really give her hope. He squeezed my hand that day too and that feeling is something that can't be explained but it did give me the feeling that he was going to be a-okay and would be waking up on his own time.

It was just something we felt that day that made us truly feel like everything would be fine and he would wake up and make everyone smile again.

Don't want to get into too much details with everything so I'll just say he really had a way of making anyone feel loved, special, happy, and overall feeling like they were a good person. He even was one of the very few friends of mine willing to try weird and random foods with me! Hard to find these days and something that's important to me. He never judged anyone. Never treated anyone different. Not too many people like this in this world right now. He was raised right and ended up a complete gentleman. Can't come close to knowing the number of people/friends/family who are affected by this. This alone says enough of Barry's character and who he was as a human being.

I can go on but it's starting to hit me while I'm writing this so all I'll say is there is no one like Barry.

Time doesn't stop for anyone. You don't know what tomorrow may bring. Start appreciating the people in your life. Please be kind, loving, and be a friend the way you'd like a friend to be to you. Don't put anyone down. Treat anyone bad. Don't lie. Don't talk to someone like they don't have any feelings. Be real. Treat people the way you'd like to be treated. Most people know this but yet they choose to stay the same. I can't stress enough how much love and care you should express towards the people in your lives. Don't take anyone for granted. What I'm feeling now and those who love Barry aren't feelings of happiness. Not fun to lose someone you love and care for. Just keep this in mind as you carry yourself in front of others through this wonderful thing we call life.

Gone Traveling...

Excited to be out of the country again! Will be exploring:

• Egypt - Alexandria thru Cairo

• Turkey - Istanbul

And just added -last minute-

• Lebanon - Beirut - One of Anthony Bourdain's favorite places on Earth! :)

I'll be back as soon as I am able to.

~Reima

Just want to apologize for my long delays and poor excuse of writing on here in a more timely manner but I will be taking my time until life slows down a little bit. I have a very dear friend of mine who makes this world a better and funnier place in a coma for a few weeks now with no particular reason why he is in it in the first place. He is loved by everyone who has walked in his path so it's a very hard time right now for all his family and friends. Trying to send positive thoughts and good vibes his way.

I talked to my dad the other day about people in comas and he was able to make me feel a little better describing his experiences with his past and present patients. He has had multiple patients who were healthy and not so healthy in comas between a couple months to a couple of years who have just woken up out of the blue, talking, and acting normal. Of course each situation is not alike but it helps to continue to have some hope without getting your hopes up. So with patience, miraculous things may happen.

He was also told by his patients that they did in fact hear what was being said to them so if you sadly happen to be in a similar situation, keep talking to them like there is nothing wrong and tell them how much you love them because they can hopefully hear what you are saying. In fact, if you are not going through a situation like this, it doesn't mean you shouldn't do this regularly on a daily basis. Make sure the friends and family in your life know that you care for them because unfortunately things happen and you don't want to live a life full of regrets and mistakes. I've always known this of course but it's important to be reminded sometimes.

And it's important to know that they don't feel trapped or are struggling in a coma. A coma is like a deep sleep. They can hear (hopefully) but cannot feel so they for the most part are relaxed despite circumstances.

I'm glad I had this talk because I'm a realistic person and like to hear the medical point of view but at the same time I am 100% staying positive he will wake up. And hopefully sooner than later! I know he can hear all of my jokes! :)

I also have a cousin who has just returned from the hospital after a horrific accident while riding a horse. She is incredibly lucky to be alive and walking. She has a long way to go towards recovery.

This is another reminder why I don't ride horses and that they terrify me. Not sure if it's a control thing but I'd just like to be able to hold on to something and easily come off in a worst case scenario. One day I'll write about my horse experience or should I say non-horse experience a few years back in Argentina?! Ahaha maybe not! ;) I'll just say I had tears in my eyes and quit while I was ahead. And normally I'm not a quitter. Just afraid to be on a horse and see something scare it for it to have a reaction during a ride. Which was the case for my cousin, unfortunately. They did give me props for at least sitting on it. One day I'll get over this fear. Or maybe not. Can't explain myself sometimes. I don't mind rappelling off mountains though! Oh goodness...Proof that I do have fears like everyone else.

I promise to write as soon as I can about my amazing food journey in the beautiful country of Peru. And thank you for your understanding.

Bolivian Cuisine

So what do they eat in Bolivia?

I looked online to see what people who've experienced the cuisine of Bolivia thought of the food and to just see their opinions and sadly found that quite a few people found it hard to eat there, wasn't full of substance and flavor, and didn't fancy it too much. I completely disagree. How could you have trouble finding food in Bolivia when there is food everywhere you go?! On and off the street. I wonder how many of those people actually went out of their way to sample what this country offers? Did they stick to the touristy restaurants that serve more international cuisines? Which oddly, I didn't really see any of those types of restaurants..I consider Bolivia far from touristy. I don't recall an McD's while there -- WOO HOO! Thankfully there were those who tried to defend the country and said there is a staple cuisine there and you didn't look hard enough!

Some of the main staples of the Bolivian cuisine are: corn, potatoes, and beans. Some local foods, grains, meats, and dishes are: aji, chicha, locro, quinoa, pasta, rice, anticuchos, saltenas (empanadas), duck, beef, chicken, pork, guinea pig, llama, alpaca, ispi, trucha (trout), frog, ispi, sopas, chicharron, chuno, majao, humitas, pacumutu, and llajwa.

Personally, I loved the food there. Actually, I really miss the food that I had in Bolivia. Very comforting. Filling. Flavorful. Every dish is full of soul. Love.

I remember every cook (pretty much all women~didn't see a single male chef in the kitchen) who tried to entice me with their food, always had a smile on their face, proud of what they were making, and wanted to give me the chance to feel their love through their dish. Every. single. time. And when I told them that I loved what I was eating, you could just see the joy and love in their eyes knowing that they are being appreciated for their hard work in, what is known as the 'poorest/least developed country in South America', which I also disagree with that statement. It may not look perfect, but there is so much love and good people there, that I think overpowers the looks of the city.

I actually had two of the same dishes from this one female cook on my last two days in Bolivia. Normally, I won't eat the same dish twice for memorable reasons, but I ended up really craving it so much that I made it my last meal in Bolivia. The fact that this lady not only remembered me and served me the same dish that I had wanted again, made her so incredibly happy. You could see it in her eyes.

I've recreated a few things I've had there and attempted to recreate my favorite dish, mentioned above, but it just ends up not tasting the same.:( That and the fish I had there is most likely not found here. If anyone finds Ispi here in California, let me know and I will LOVE you forever! Couldn't get enough of that tiny fried fish! And yes, I did try to recreate it with smelt, but it didn't come close enough. Ahhh!

This isn't everything I ate there but just some of the things I indulged in while I was in the beautiful and hard to breathe in country of Bolivia, The altitude really does affect your camera's battery (and your lungs) so it was not with me for some meals. Hope this makes you hungry:





So here we have what I call home cooked meals in a 'mall food court~parking garage' family setting. This is located over what is supposed to be a mall in La Paz. You won't find international food here. And definitely not touristy. (I don't consider Bolivia really touristy.) More of a locals area. I enjoyed eating here because it's a completely different eating experience. Street food is just as good here as going to this 'eating area'. Each small family style eatery has one 'picnic' table and a small stove next to it to go with it.

Locals will just come out of nowhere, sit down, order their meal, and sit with family or with strangers in this family setting. You eat your food, take your time because lunch is important to the Bolivians, pay, and leave. I loved sitting down ordering and then watching many other Bolivians sitting down at the table next to and across from me and waiting for a really good meal to be served. I loved that I was not treated differently because I was the only American at the table. Apparently this was a problem to some I came across but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Actually when it came to food, they didn't mind me there. Everyone is equal when it came to eating. Wish the border patrol treated us the same way! :-p But I believe I already mentioned that in a previous blog post 'Misconceptions'.


She, like all other female cooks here that I experienced, knew what she was doing!


Typical prices for meals. Very cheap eats to be had here. 5 Bs = ~75 cents. 10 Bs = ~US$1.50.





Fruit drinks are prominent in Bolivia, as in all South American countries. Need to just start doing that here while I'm in the US. My favorite blend here is Cherimoya-Mango-Maracuya-Banana.



Ice Cream here is everywhere you go. Sadly, I didn't partake in it because I've been lactose intolerant since 2009 after probably drinking too much te con leche in Argentina---which I don't regret one sip! May sound iffy and trust me I wish it wasn't the case! Apparently you can become lactose intolerant for no good reason. :-p I will bring lactose pills but I prefer to eat ice cream from a shop now wherever I go. I did however, ask some friends what they thought about it and they said it's okay. Doesn't really have the taste of ice cream. A lot of people agreed upon this as well. Maybe next time...


I did succumb to the jello food cart! Not bad. :) Not really a Bolivian thing, but I'll take it! ~15 cents


Favorite snacks.


Mate de coca. Comforting. Warm. Kind of helped with the altitude. I don't think I ever got used to the altitude there though.


Sopa de mani


Use this salsa, llajwa, in your soup and entree. Hot and oh so good.


Milanesa con papas y plantains fritas y arroz.


Sopa de quinoa


My first taste of alpaca. Tender, interesting, and I liked it!


Group meal of beef, quinoa, vegetables, banana, and Coca-Cola.


Not really a soda drinker but for some reason, I ALWAYS crave it when I travel! Bad habit. :)



So shwarma didn't come from the Bolivians but they do add their own special Bolivian twist and I LOVE IT. They make it their own by adding llajwa into the garlic sauce and I am a big fan. So so good.

And last, but not least...


Again, loved adding llawja to everything.

My favorite dish. No double take here. Fried fish. Seriously, who doesn't love fried fish?!? Ispi y Trucha con choclo, chuno morado, chuno, y lima. I want this right. now.

With all these dishes and the many more not featured on here proves that the Bolivians not only know what they are doing in the kitchen but there are some good eats to be enjoyed and loved here. Give them a chance and don't dismiss it until you try it. :)