La Paz, Bolivia

Wow! is all I can say. We arrrived in La Paz Bolivia yesterday, late afternoon after many many hours of flying. We flew LAN air which was fabulous. Lots of leg room, reclining seats, yummy food a huge selection of movies and video games. They also serve wine with the meals (yes for free)...however, we did not indulge simply because we had heard of the extreme altitude change from sea level to 1200ft above. The recommendations from our bible (lonely planet) were not to drink, because the air is so thin, that people can easily get altitude sickness. Most people take a gradual approach, before heading to La Paz...but nope...not us....just fly straight there!

Almost immediately after stepping off the plane I could feel my heart speed up. The airport was small and quite adorable. We gathered our luggage and hopped into a taxi...English is hard to come by here! The taxi ride was beautiful, as we drove along the highway, situated on a ridge overlooking the huge capital city of La Paz. I can´t even describe it, as I have never seen anything quite like it....almost like a giant collosium, this city has sunk into the middle, with sharp drops all around. All of the homes and buildings are redish brown and jammed closely together.

Driving in La Paz is nothing short of psycho...the highway was a gentle introduction, as we drove along a truck in front of us lost part of his load of toilet paper..... packages and packages flew off the back of the truck and onto the highway, causing the cars to swerve, honk and slow down. Our taxi driver was kind enough to actually stop for the poor man who had to run across the highway to gather up his shit tickets.

Once we got into the city my brain went nutz. Cars and busses, trucks, bikes and humans all fighting for realestate. Horns and honks become the municipal music, with zero disregard for your fellow driver. Anything and everything goes....we almost crashed about 12 times on the short drive to our hotel. But the traffic is so disorganized, no one is moving that fast.

We arrived at our pleasant little 3 star hotel called Las Brisas. Certainly not the Ritz, but charming and quaint enough for us. We felt safe, and the rooms were clean...private bathrooms with a hot shower....works for me. Now I knew this wasn´t going to be a typical Heather trip of ¨cocktails and heals¨ so I was fully prepared for the accomidation style. I was NOT however, prepared for the culture shock.

It is our second day here and we are still feeling the affects of the altitude. We read that we were supposed to take some sort of drugs a few weeks before to help our systems adjust....but I am proud to say we took zero precautions and both feel pretty good. We have noticed that we are a little lightheaded, especially when walking up hills and stairs...poor fat people...how the heck do they survive with pounding hearts and lack of breath...now I know what it feels like!

I feel like I might have whiplash after this trip, as there is SOOOOO much to look at. Everywhere you look there is a gorgeous photo opportunity. The big ladies with their long black braids, wearing colorful skirts and shawls, with their brightly colored sacks over their shoulders. Each one wearing (what Ivan and I call ) a bolero hat....They are a treasure to look at. There are markets everywhere....they sell everything you can think of, from light bulbs and toilets to mangos and lama featuses (the most interesting, yet sick, I would say).

We ate dinner at a restaurant called 100% Natural, last night and the food was pretty good. Huge portions...Ivan and I split a platter of German style sausage, mustardy cabbage, and steamed veggies all for a whopping $6! Food is cheap here....not the greatest you have ever had...but plentyful and cheap. We had a very typical Bolivian lunch today, in this random hole in the wall called Lanza (recommended by Lonely Planet). It was so fun as we had NO idea how or what to order...but we were happy just being with the locals. They started with a little salad, then followed with a huge bowl of noodle soup that was quite tasty, then the main course was rice with a fried chicken cutlet. The kitchen was open so you could see the whole family busy at work...even the little 5 year old girl who was helping prepare the meals...so cute.

We had a long day of walking, and now we are going to buy a few snaks and things for our trip to the Salt Flats on Friday. And of course we are going to scope out somewhere yummy for dinner. Hope you all are well...we miss you lots!

Enjoy!