Pissing in La Paz

Trip Start Feb 04, 2007
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Trip End May 26, 2007


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Flag of Peru  ,
Friday, May 4, 2007

The conversion rate between USD and Bolivianos is about 8 to 1.  100 Bolivianos is about 12 USD.  That´s how much it costs to pee in La Paz.  After a day of biking on the ¨Worlds Most Dangerous Road,¨ my lips were parched and I needed Chapstick in a major way.  After getting off the bus, I started walking straight to the farmacia.  Not a half a block from where I got dropped off, I had the brilliant idea of taking a leak on the side of a gas station, where every other person in La Paz pees.  As I was relieving myself, I felt a presence behind me, that of a police officer.  I heard a sharp whistle and with that, I was sitting on the sidewalk, in police custody.  I decided to plead ignorance and speak no Spanish, as to not engage with him.  After he explained to me that the wall wasn´t a bathroom, we prepared to go to the police station.  At this point, I turned on a little more Spanish as to not spend a night in jail.  Knowing he wanted a bribe, the bidding began.  We started at 250, do I hear 200?  Sold, 100 Bolivianos, paid by the stupid gringo peeing on the gas station. 

After my last entry in La Paz, we continued north to Copacabana, Bolivia to see Lake Titicaca (that still makes me laugh).  An unbelievable sight, as Lake Titicaca appears to be part of the ocean, but is a totally landlocked lake.  After a seven hour hike, covering 17kms, we returned to the mainland, and took one of the worst bus rides to Cusco where I am writing from now.  Cusco is the main hub people visit to go to Machu Pichu, as well as a great place to go out on the town.  We took a 3 night 4 day trek to get to Machu Pichu.  The first day was a 74km bike ride down a road rivaling the World´s Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia we had biked days before.  The second and third days were each 20km hikes through some pretty serious terrain.  On the fourth day, we woke up at 4am and hike straight up hill for two hours to reach Machu Pichu for sunrise.  Nothing short of visiting can put into perspective how impressive a feat the ruins are and how beautiful the area is.  At the base of the Sacred Valley (where I´m going on Sunday) Machu Pichu is surrounded by towering mountains, adding to the dramatic back drop. 

I will be spending the weekend here in Cusco, then it´s off to Pisac, in the Sacred Valley and then to central Peru, a city called Huaraz.  From there, it´s onto the south of Ecuador, then May 26th to Los Angeles!. A piece of art!
A piece of art!
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Comments

arortho
arortho on May 5, 2007 at 06:29PM

Cuzco
beautiful fotos of Machu Pichu. Nice head artistry.
Looks like a vacation of a lifetime.
Love, Dad

masaek
masaek on May 7, 2007 at 05:18PM

Wish I was there...
I'm SO jealous of your fabulous journey. I always look forward to reading your blog to escape the NYC clutter and live vicariously through you.

xoxo
Masae

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