Cochabamba Bound: I've Seen Jesus!

That's right. I've seen him. He's tall, very pale, and rather stiff, if you ask me. See for yourself in the picture below:

Okay, okay--this isn't really Jesus, just the Cristo de la Concordia statue modeled after the one in Rio. You may think the statue is Rio is more impressive, seeing as how it looms over the ocean and all, but remember: the Cristo in Cochabamba is taller! It's the tallest Cristo in the world! Take that, Brazil.

The brave and strong can hike up the 1200+ stairs to the Cristo. Some Maryknoll langugage institute students in my group did it, but, because of some bug that's attacked my GI system over the last 24 hours, I'm not feeling so strong right now and I took the teleferico instead of the stairs.

Once you get to the base of the Cristo, you can pay 1.5 Bolivianos (7 Bolivianos=$1) and climb more stairs inside the statue. Now, if you think the inside of the Cristo sounds like a great place to go to the bathroom, you're not alone. Apparently, peeing inside the statue has been a problem, and a sign warns you of a 50 Boliviano fine for relieving yourself on the way up the stairs. So don't do it! It's not worth it! You can buy yourself a nice dinner for 50 Bolivianos (and you'll find yourself a nice bathroom at the restaurant).