Botánico

One thing I will miss about Bolivia after I leave are the colorful green spaces. I respect the people for the pride they take in their gardens. Public gardens, private gardens, cloister gardens, promenades and plazas—I have been blessed in all the ways the people cultivate the beauty of our Sister Mother Earth. And while care for creation at the structural level of Bolivian society may not be as developed as I would have hoped, surely the instinct that leads the people to tend their gardens with loving care will, in days soon to come, move them to renounce mindless practices of consumption and waste and adopt a collective practice of deep sustainability. Time is short!

This afternoon, Brother Scott and I took a leisurely walk from Convento San Francisco to Cochabamba’s botanical garden in the Recoleta district. It’s free and open to the public. By United States standards, it is a modest botanical garden. At several city blocks, it does not have nearly the scale of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, or the botanical gardens of my alma mater, Cornell University. But Brother Scott and I found a modest majesty walking down the airy lanes, the tall palm trees like cathedral columns, the hot sun breaking through them and warming our faces. The landscaping of the interior, with charming little pools, narrow walkways, cool shade trees, and very green grass, reminded me of the Boston Public Garden. How I would like to return to its pleasant pastures! A walk through Central Park would do me good, too. Brother Scott and I sat for a good long while just talking about life—our lives past and present, small talk and occasional big talk. It did our souls good. 

The botanical garden is named for Martín Cardenas, a botanist who was the foremost scholar of the flora of Bolivia. This little green sanctuary is dedicated in his memory to the study and preservation of the varieties of plant life from this region of Bolivia. You can check out some photos of the garden here. 

In other news: the Franciscan friars here tell us that one of the Capuchin friars from Santa Cruz is in town! He is literally next door, attending conferences at the Franciscan ministry center next to the convent and also at El Hospicio, the Franciscans’ social service center in Plaza Colón. Well, this comes a quite a surprise to Brother Scott and me! The two of us have long wanted to arrange a visit to our Capuchin brethren in the llanos of Bolivia. Unfortunately, the contact Brother Scott has for the Bolivian Capuchins never answered his repeated messages expressing interest in a fraternal visit. So we definitely want to flag down this friar. We stopped by the Franciscan center when we returned from the botanical garden, but no one was home. Our next best, and last, attempt to make contact will be tomorrow morning, as we hear that the Capuchin friar is celebrating Mass at Templo San Rafael, chapel of the Capuchin Poor Clare sisters, a few blocks away from Templo San Francisco. We plan on attending that 9 o’clock service, intending to make ourselves known and hoping there is still a chance we can arrange a visit to Santa Cruz in the next three weeks. Time is short!