Larry Memmott's Blog

This is a great little trip, especially if you hike it.  And since there is also a road, you might be able to get someone to drive and that way you only need to hike in one direction. Laguna Serkhe Kkota (Q’uta is Aymara for lake, and gets masacred in place names throughout this part […]

This is probably my favorite place close to La Paz.  It’s the most inaccessible set of lakes up the Khallapa River Valley, is the most challenging hike, and the payback is also the highest.  Laguna Jachcha Khasiri is quite large and a spectacular blue color.  The small lake another mile beyond is unnamed on the […]

Many of my favorite memories of my first time in Bolivia, 25 years ago, involve days spent hiking, fishing, and floating around on the lakes (lagunas) in the Andes above La Paz.  When I returned to Bolivia, two of the questions in the back of my mind were, “Will they still be there?” and “Will […]

A week ago Friday, Tatyana and I were privileged to be part of a new project the Embassy is financing.  Under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Embassy will help to restore five colonial-era chapels in the Curahuara de Carangas region of Oruro Department.  Two years ago the embassy financed the restoration of six […]

We enjoyed a glorious day on the Altiplano on Sunday.  Our plan was to drive a loop south of La Paz, visiting several colonial-era churches, a mining town, and some Inca and Pre-Inca ruins as well as Comanche and the famed Queen of the Andes.  In fact, we had such a good time in Comanche […]

The valley of the moon is one of the closest and easiest trips out of La Paz. In fact, these days it is hardly even out of La Paz, as the south zone of the city (Zona Sur) continues to creep down the valley. The formation is of heavily compressed dirt and clay, which has […]

Though I’ll call this a day trip, you can actually visit this field of wildflowers on your lunch hour.  I’m not certain that it is actually in Bishkek proper, but if not, it is just outside.  Really, it is just an example of many beautiful places you can find by exploring the near foothills. This […]

Kok-Moinok Gorge is another of the fantastic day trips to the mountains from Bishkek.  It’s the next gorge east of Issyk Ata, and another beauty, with a rushing river flowing down through rough terrain with some forestation and scattered wildflowers.  It’s another one, though, that I did not have time to explore well, so I’ll […]

The wildflowers of Kyrgyzstan are rightfully considered among the most beautiful in the world.  While I got a chance to get around and see a lot of them while I was there, one of my regrets about departing so soon was that I missed the opportunity to get out again this spring, now that I’ve […]

The trip to Issyk Ata is a nice day trip, with possibilities for hiking or soaking in the hot springs. It’s also another curious relic of Soviet days with lots of old symbols of the Union still scattered about. I won’t go into the route details, since the route, including links to gps information, is […]