Well, the internet was being very persnickity, and after writing a very long entry.. it was deleted of course. so now we get a streamlined second draft:
I LOVE Bolivia. No where else can you visit the highest navigable lake in the world, (lake titicaca), fly into the highest airport in the world, even see the highest golf course in the world! And yet the altiplano is not all that Bolivia has to offer. Half of Bolivia is the Amazon, with lush jungle and rainforest. It has the larget salt bed in the world, and and rich with silver mines as well.
The people in Bolivia are really wonderful. Friendly and polite, they are calm and kind. They are not aggressive, even in sales. Although there is not as much bargaining as I have found in other countries (or maybe I am just out of practice). I feel very safe in La Paz and everything is impressively clean.
To give you an idea for the prices of things: a hostal is usually 2.50 a night, a full lunch (soup, fresh trout, salad, french fries, rice, and dessert) is 1.00 at the local comedor and 2.00 at the tourist hub. A taxi is 1.20, 2 liters of water is 40 cents. A CD with 120 MP3s off the street is 1.25. A tourist day trip, including transport, guide, admission into the msuems and national parks, andpossibly a snack, is 6 dollars. And yes, 25 bananas are indeed 75 cents. Although everything is remarkably affordable, you quickly become accustomed to the prices, so when you are on an island and a diet coke is 1.25... outrageous.. you refuse and hold out until your return to the mainland.
So Bolivia is beautiful, and slowly being discovered by the backpacker circuit, as australians, israelis and germans alike pass through on their way down from Cuzco and Macchupicchu to Chile and Argentina. Meanwhile, I have become very familar with La Paz,and almost feel like a local, excpet for the minor detail that I am about a head taller than most, and significantly paler.
Can´t wait to return to the States with Lungs of Steel from living at 11,000 feet in altitude. Maybe I´ll become a marathon runner!?
1 comment:
a.tianna you are most adventuresome enjoy your outings and your colorful review of what you have done so far. want to hear more. and what about the organization that you were originally going to, is it still up or has it folded ? what are the spefics or what happened and where do you go from there?? how do you network in a strange and foreign country?
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