Malia Obama Went On a Secret Trip to Bolivia
Malia Obama has already been making good use of her "gap year" before she attends Harvard in the fall. In November, the 18-year-old went on a five-day trek through Bolivia and Peru - and not even the trip guides knew they had a First Daughter in their group. In fact, news of her trip only appeared in Bolivian news outlets this week, reports The New York Times.
When the guides were told by the American Embassy that they would be hosting an American dignitary who would require security, they assumed it was a different teenager in the group. “There was a blond girl and we assumed she was the important one,” Gregorio Mamani, one of the guides, told The Times.
The guide said Malia was treated the same as the rest of the group during the rigorous hike through Bolivia’s Cordillera Real mountain range. She took part in chores and cooking while she stayed with a family in Tiquipaya, a tiny town in central Bolivia, Bolivian news agencies reported.
“She was very humble, chatty, spoke Spanish very well,” Mamani said. “She was mesmerized by the Bolivian landscape.”
According to The Times, the trip was organized by Where They Be Dragons, a Colorado-based company that organizes educational trips. The group describes their program in Peru as one that “encompasses a fascinating blend of history and vibrant cultures, placed in a modern context of political change and social transformation.”
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