La Paz, Bolivia

We have circled Bolivia in a whirlwind of a little over a week. We will be here two more nights, and then Peru, here we come!

Currently, we are located in a lovely hotel with a burning hot shower in the center of La Paz. It is like paradise after a God-awful bus ride yesterday. La Paz is fascinating, as it is a city built in a canyon, so everywhere you look - UP - there are buildings growing out of the side of the mountains that hug the city. It is a very Andean city that holds a mix of modern and indigenous blood. We took the overnight shaky bus (that thankfully only had 1 flat tire during the 10 hour trip) from Uyuni. The town of Uyuni is near the border of Chile and we were tempted to cross the border and head to the beach, but instead opted for the shaky bus ride. In Uyuni we visited salt flats. I know, it doesn´t sound that exciting, but it was really cool. We drove in a heavy duty 4x4 jeep over the salt lake. When we got out to take pictures it was like we were walking on water. A little reminder of Minnesota winter as it truely looked like a frozen lake, but with salt towers all over the place. We ate lunch on a tables and chairs made out of salt next to a cactus island on the lake.

Tomorrow we are taking a long bike ride (Mom, don´t worry!) on what is known as the most dangerous road in the world. It is above La Paz and heads down to the jungle. We are going with a guide and support car, so don´t worry all. At the end of what looks like a gorgeous ride there is a swimming pool waiting for us in tropical like weather conditions. Then in our last day in Bolivia we want to visit the Inca ruins where only days ago Evo Morales was re-inaugurated as president for a second term. Last week we ate lunch in a small cafe while we listened to part of his speech. It felt like if only Che Chevara was with us, the scene would have been complete. The Americas should be proud to have an Andean voice speaking in this part of the world.

Sorry, no pics this time as my camera doesn´t like connected to foreign computers!

Paz, Nora (and Hugo)