Bolivian Adventure: The Prelude

Trip Start May 18, 2007
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Trip End Jul 28, 2007


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Flag of Bolivia  ,
Sunday, July 15, 2007

La Paz, an unlikely city that looks as if someone has poured Lego blocks, dabbed with glue, down a giant funnel - many blocks stuck to the sides of the funnel, and several more ended up piled high at the bottom. It is quite beautiful, wedged as it is in a deep canyon, barely hanging on to the sides of it, ready to slide all the way to the bottom at a moment's notice. Not one street is flat, and the unwary traveller finds himself huffing and puffing just walking to the corner of the street. La Paz is, of course, the highest capital in the world at close to 3600m of altitude. A mere 40km away, Nevada Ilimani stands proudly, all 6300m, its snowy head poking the deep blue sky.

When I first got here, on July 1, it was two in the morning when I landed at El Alto airport (also the highest in the world at 4000m). The flights from Arequipa, via Lima, were short and uneventful - my luggage followed, and all was well. But it was 2am. I collected my big backpack, noticed how uninspiring El Alto airport was, and proceeded to look for my driver, as I had arranged a transfer from the airport (pre-paid to KE Adventure a month earlier).

After searching for a while, I was about to give up, but saw a guy with a little sign that said "Elena", and "Azimut". I suspected I might indeed be the "Elena" he was looking for, so I asked which hotel he was going to. He said the Rosario - which was my hotel. So I told him I was Elena, and we walked to the car. He told me the cost of the transfer was US$6. I told him I'd already paid, he said he wasn't aware of that. Hum... 2am, La Paz, cold and dark... I decided it was preferable to pay another $6 rather than search for another ride out of the airport, and so went along with the "chofer" to his car.

The sight of La Paz at night is striking, especially from El Alto ("The Heights"), and driving on the highway into the city, I was quite taken with the obvious complexity of its geography. It looked as if little white lights had been spilled willy-nilly all over, punctuated with high-rise buildings down deep at the bottom. (I couldn't see the Lego blocks in the dark.)

We arrived at the Hotel Rosario. Ilampu Street was deserted, the hotel's front door was locked, and the lobby was dark. Huh. The driver rang the bell, and assured me that the hotel was open. After a couple of minutes, someone showed up, opened the door and welcomed me, in near-perfect English. I paid the driver - somehow the price had gone up to $7 during the ride. I wasn't pleased, but there are times when one decides that a warm safe bed in a nice comfy hotel is worth more than an argument about $7. I figured I would deal with KE Adventure later about this.

The hotel's receptionist phoned my roommate to let her know I'd arrived, and I finally plunged into bed at 3am, tired but looking forward to the start of my Bolivian adventure with KE the next morning.
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