Bolivia--It´s UnBoliviable!

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
18 DE ABRIL DE 2009

PARDON ME IF I GET A LITTLE TOO ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT BOLIVIA. IT´S ONE THE FEW PLACES LEFT IN THE WORLD THAT STILL HAS THE ABILITY TO KNOCK MY SOCKS OFF. IT´S A COUNTRY OF SUPERLATIVES:

• IT´S GOT THE HIGHEST CAPITAL IN THE WORLD. (LA PAZ)
• IT´S GOT THE HIGHEST CITY IN THE WORLD. (POTOSI)
• IT´S GOT THE HIGHEST SKI CENTER IN THE WORLD. (CHACALTAYA AT 15,000 FEET)
• IT´S GOT THE HIGHEST NAVIGABLE LAKE IN THE WORLD. (LAKE TITICACA)
• IT´S GOT THE HIGHEST AND DRIEST DESERT IN THE WORLD. (THE ATACAMA)
• IT´S GOT THE HIGHEST GOLF COURSE IN THE WORLD.

IT´S THE KIND OF PLACE WHERE YOU CAN VERY EASILY SAY TO YOUR DOG, ¨I DON´T THINK WE´RE IN KANSAS ANYMORE¨ IT´S, WELL, UN-BOLIVABLE! WHAT'S NOT UN-BOLIVABLE, THOUGH, IS BOLIVIAN ATTITUDE TOWARDS AMERICANS AND THEIR GOVERNMENT--ESPECIALLY THE GOVERNMENT UNDER GEORGE BUSH. HIS LEGACY HERE IS NOTHING SHORT OF HORRIBLE. FOR THAT REASON, I'VE BEEN IDENTIFYING MYSELF AS FRENCH. WHEN ASKED WHERE I'M FROM, I SIMPLY SAY, "SOY DE FRANCIA." I'M FROM FRANCE. SOME OF YOU WILL APPRECIATE THE IRONY OF THAT STATEMENT.

AFTER STARTING OUT IN SANTA CRUZ, AT 500 FEET IN ALTITUDE, I KNEW THAT I NEEDED TO MOVE UP TO THE HIGH PLATEAU, OR ALTIPLANO, SLOWLY. FROM SANTA CRUZ I CLIMBED TO COCHABAMBA, AT 8,000 FEET, ACCLIMATIZED THERE FOR TWO DAYS BEFORE CLIMBING TO ORURU AT 11,000 FEET WHERE I SPENT AN AMAZING DAY HIKING TO A ROCK CLIFF WITH ROCK PAINTING OF LLAMAS DONE 2,400 YEARS AGO. ONLY AFTER ACCLIMATIZING THERE FOR TWO MORE DAYS DID I DARE TO ARRIVE HERE, IN LA PAZ, AT 13,313 FEET!

I DON´T KNOW ANY OTHER CITY IN THE WORLD WITH A MORE DRAMATIC ENTRY THAN LA PAZ. ALL ENTRIES TO LA PAZ ARE FROM THE ALTIPLANO. AS THE CITY APPROACHES, THE DRAMATIC SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS OF 19,786 FT. HUAYNA POTOSI AND 20,927 FT. ILLIMANI COME INTO VIEW. THE BUS PASSES THROUGH THE CITY OF EL ALTO, STILL ON THE ALTIPLANO, UNTIL IT REACHES THE TOP OF A GIANT 6,000 FOOT CANYON INTO WHICH DROPS THE CITY. THE BUS THEN ZIGZAGS ITS WAY DOWN THE CANYON UNTIL IT GETS TO THE CENTER. WHAT AN ENTRANCE! AND, UNLIKE MOST PLACES IN THE WORLD, THE POOREST OF THE POOR LIVE AT THE TOP OF THE CANYON, WITH ALL THE VIEWS, AND THE WEALTHIEST LIVE AT THE BOTTOM, WHERE IT´S 20 DEGREES WARMER. THE LAST TIME I WAS IN LA PAZ, THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO, I WAS SO SICK WITH BRONCHITIS, THAT THE DOCTOR I SAW ORDERED ME TO LEAVE AND ENJOY THE CITY WITHOUT IN THE THE THE ALTIPLANO AND DROP TO A LOWER ALTITUDE. HOW NICE IT IS THIS TIME TO BE FULLY ACCLIMATIZED WITHOUT AND INHALERS AND ANTIBIOTICS. LA PAZ IS A VERY COOL PLACE, BUT NOT A PLACE IN WHICH I´D LIKE TO LIVE. IT´S GOT COLORFUL STREET MARKETS AND FABULOUS VIEWS, AND IT´S ONLY THE SECOND PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU CAN BUY SEA FOSSILS. THIS YEAR I BOUGHT TWO 600,000,000 YEAR OLD TRILOBITES THAT WERE DUG OUT OF THE ALTIPLANO. IT´S AMAZING TO THINK THAT THIS VERY HIGH PLACE WAS ONCE AT SEA LEVEL LA PAZ IS A TOUGH PLACE TO CALL HOME. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOING ¨CROSS TOWN.¨ EVERYTHING IS EITHER UP OR DOWN. AND AT 13,00 FEET UP IS A VERY SLOW PROCESS. LA PAZ IS REALLY JUST A STAGING AREA. SPEND A COUPLE DAYS HERE THEN MOVE ON, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID. I GOT MY LAUNDRY DONE, ATE SOME GOOD CITY FOOD, THEN LEFT FOR LAKE TITICACA AND THE BEST OF ALL BOLIVIA´S ADVENTURES.