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Published: August 26th 2007
Laz Paz with San Francisco Cathedral
Laz Paz with San Francisco CathedralIt’s been 24 hours since Billy picked me up at my place in San Francisco. Woke up in California, had breakfast in Texas, lunch in Florida, then dinner and drinks in Bolivia. Amazing how travel works in the modern world.
Sitting in the international terminal in Miami listening to Billy talk about Supertramp, Kid ‘N Play, what food he would eat if he could only eat one thing (beets), and something about wanting a puppy, I notice that there are 9 other people within view that are going to be on our flight to La Paz. There are the 5 Canadian mountain climbers (the one that won’t stop eating burritos is never going to make it), the newlywed French couple, the single guy trying to find himself, and a girl we just can’t peg (she’s either doing Habitat for Humanity, or she’s meeting her boyfriend who is traveling South America trying to find himself, but suddenly got lonely and sent for her). Needless to say, we have no proof any of this is true, but it all seems logical. We all have one thing in common, or 2 if you count the fact that we’re all sitting in the same
La Paz (from hotel balcony)
La Paz (from hotel balcony) lobby, or 3 if you count that we’re all getting on the same plane…but I digress…my point is that we are all reading the same Lonely Planet Bolivia. 5 Copies of the same book! There is no one I can see that is not reading one! We are all here to escape the day-to-day, to go somewhere new and unknown, to have a personal adventure, so why do we insist on reading the guide book before we go? Are we all so insecure in our own ability to have an adventure that we have to have a book to tell us exactly what this adventure should be? Do we all really want the same adventure? If this is so, I predict that in the no-so-distant future, you will buy a ticket to some country that is not-so-different from your own because everything will have become so homogenized, and when you get off the plane you will board a vehicle much like a ride at Disneyland. They will strap you in, give you some headphones, and you will be on your way. This country-coaster will zip you through the country of your choice to point out all the highlights, giving you
Llama Tenderloin
Actually really good. a brief history and why you should be excited about each site. “On your left is Machu Picchu…blah blah blah” “Look kids, Big Ben!” It’s-a-small world after-all!
Then the flight descends 24,000 feet to land at the highest airport in the world, and as I pop my ears, those pessimistic thoughts disappear along with the pressure in head. I am looking down at La Paz, and it is beautiful. Another adventure is about to begin and even if we all read Lonely Planet cover to cover and cross-reference it with every travelblog about Bolivia on this site, it still won’t change the fact that this will be our experience alone. It’s always the little things that happen while you’re on your way to the big things that make the trip…and that’s something that is different for everyone…and that’s why Disneyland can still exist for those people for want predictability. No ride can give me the feeling I have right now, standing on my balcony, looking down on the streets of Bolivia.
Night One:
Shared a cab to Hotel Rosario with some Dutch newlyweds. They didn’t have my reservation…thanks Travelocity! But we got a room anyway and were settled
Llama fetus at Witches Market
Not sure what they use these for. by about 8:00pm. We ate at the hotel, Llama tenderloin (still deciding if I should feel bad about that) and fries…it was actually awesome. Almost like a pork chop. Spicy mustard sauce. Good stuff. After dinner we went out for a beer at a Hard Rock that’s probably not really a Hard Rock…but we were out of sorts and just decided to call it a day.
OK, must get some sleep. The altitude is having its way with me, but moderately. When we first got to the hotel I noticed that I would take random deep breaths; Billy was experiencing the same thing. He had a slight headache, but he cured it with a Tylenol. He does not seem to be having the insomniac effects that I am suffering though, lucky him!
More later….
Kevin
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Jenae
non-member comment
How could you Kevin? Do you have any idea how cute and cuddly llamas are? Have you ever looked at their sweet eyes? Sheesh. Note to self: if Kevin comes for dinner, hide kitty cat. And don't hand me some line about how it tastes like chicken!