I really like La Paz. It's number 3 on my list of places that i must return to.
The city looks like an accident. It's as if cities collected themselves in the sky. From the sky they look for adiquate land to place themselves. Most cities settle down near river mouths or lakes. Some might be inland, broad flat areas where rivers meet.
La paz seems to have settled one and a half million people into a valley that british columbians would deem uninhabitable. I'm confused at how my guide book suggests an altitude for this town. The view from our backyard is not blocked by the four story house one street over. The view from the house across the street is not blocked by the four story house i'm staying in. Wait, those aren't stars in the sky, those are houses which rise up into the mountains in every direction.
Truly wonderful spot. Bon and I are couchsurfing in a palace of sorts, we have our own room, and a marvelous bed. The first morning we went down into the kitchen and were greeted by their maid who made us coffee and put out bread with butter, jam, and dulce de leche (a sort of milk based caramel that south americans eat frequently).
A freakin' maid.
Today we went to a great spot for some Salteñas, a bolivian staple. It's a sort of pastry folded over deliciousness. The pastry is like a great acadian biscuit. The stuffing is sort of a cajun style beef and egg curry something, or a sweeter, more oniony chicken. Bon and I had one each, and are planning on more later today. For the four salteñas, a coffee, and a glass of juice, it cost 16.80Bs. A boliviana is worth almost 14 cents, so the meal cost a touch under $2.50.
They were really good. South america has quite a hold on me.
Check out some pictures of Salar de Uyuni. Use the internet. We went on a 3 day tour around Uyuni. It was pretty rad. Our pictures aren't going to be as cool as the ones you'll find, but we did our best. We caught the salt flat (the world's largest, ooh la de da) during wet season, so it was covered in a foot and a half of water, or more, or less. This meant that we weren't able to go everywhere the tour normally goes, but we did have the sweet scene where the endless lake reflected the sky, virtually eliminating the horizon. I do suggest you check out some pictures.
We're going to lake titikaka tomorrow. I reckon it'll be alright.
Peace.
Things have gone from good to great out here. In salta bon and i met up with a canadian boy named john, from a little west of toronto. Hit it off pretty good, talking about tree planting.
He told us he was going to bolivia the next day at midnight, this was the day we arrived in Salta (overnight bus, arrived at 9:00am) and that we should probably go with him.
So our trip to Salta got shortened a decent bit. We're in Bolivia right now, Tupiza to be exact. It is wonderful here. Cheaper. And we're in a crew. After meeting john, bonnie got talking with a french girl named marie anne, and she joined our Bolivian mission. We're on our way to the salt flats, Tupiza's tours are like 150 a head, 4 days, food included. We can do better.
We're gonna take a train ride to Uyuni, and book a tour from there. We talked to an irish boy in Salta who had just taken a 4 day trip, all inclusive, for 75 beans. The train ride is either 3, 5, or 12 dollars, depending on how nicely we wish to ride. I'll let you know how that goes.
After the salt flats, we'll make our way to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. We've got two couch surfing places available to us, and we're thinking about taking a few spanish lessons while we're there. From La Paz there's copacobana and isla del sol. After that it's peru. It's unfortionate that we'll be through 7 of 12 weeks and only 2/6 countries. But everything feels good. Feel is everything.
Peace and Love
simon
Last night i found the scene. It's in spanish. It's everything it's supposed to be. Out in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere... a house stands. It's covered with art. The patio is all painted.
Inside there was a jazz trio playing. The likes of which i've never seen. A bass player, well within the 99th percentile, was holding center "stage".
We left the apartment at 12:20. We picked up someone by 12:40. We got to the place at 1:30 or so. Rocked it till like 4. It was not about to end, but my drive was leaving. I will be back.
Peace to everyone. Don't be afraid to find what you're looking for. Don't expect to be ready for it, either.
simon
We got in, via bus, last night at a touch past midnight. We called up Pablo, our couchsurfing boy of wonder, cabbed to his house, and he came down to let us in.
While walking up to his apartment, he told us that the guitar i had would fit right in, they were playing guitar up on the rooftop, christening their patio. There was all sorts of wonderful things happening up there. A crew of 12 people or so, drinking beer, wine, and some other thing which is super popular here. Originally from Italy, but more of a staple in cordoba than anywhere else.
They also did a big meat cookout deal. Tons of different cuts of different stuff all cooked over coals on the roof. Everyone had their own plate (which was more of a round wooden cutting board) and pans of grilled meat were constantly put in the middle of us. We ate and drank like kings and queens. Jammed until about five (purely a guess, no concept of time).
There were two other couchsurfers there, from San Diego California, and they gave up a mattress for bon and i to sleep on, opting to use instead their slightly crumbier self inflating matts. Very kind kids, they got our emails and hopped a bus for Brazil today.
This dude once called Cordoba the cultural capital of the americas. Quite a statement. I've been in about 4 music stores today, and found myself a practice pad for drumming. It was 30 pesos, just shy of 10 bucks. I'm also munching on a largish bag of black figs. They're not as good as white ones, but about a quarter the price.
I think my silly math head thinks about money too much. I like numbers, they're so complete. The problem is that i have judgements about the numbers, is this too high, did i get ripped off, am i missing out on a good deal. Frig. Overthought is a bugger.
And that might be all i have to say. I think you're probably all wonderful people. I'm super happy to hear that Aine's trip is going well. I think that maybe she could spell her name Aña.
Couchsurfing is wonderful. People are wonderful. God is good.
Love!
simon
The city looks like an accident. It's as if cities collected themselves in the sky. From the sky they look for adiquate land to place themselves. Most cities settle down near river mouths or lakes. Some might be inland, broad flat areas where rivers meet.
La paz seems to have settled one and a half million people into a valley that british columbians would deem uninhabitable. I'm confused at how my guide book suggests an altitude for this town. The view from our backyard is not blocked by the four story house one street over. The view from the house across the street is not blocked by the four story house i'm staying in. Wait, those aren't stars in the sky, those are houses which rise up into the mountains in every direction.
Truly wonderful spot. Bon and I are couchsurfing in a palace of sorts, we have our own room, and a marvelous bed. The first morning we went down into the kitchen and were greeted by their maid who made us coffee and put out bread with butter, jam, and dulce de leche (a sort of milk based caramel that south americans eat frequently).
A freakin' maid.
Today we went to a great spot for some Salteñas, a bolivian staple. It's a sort of pastry folded over deliciousness. The pastry is like a great acadian biscuit. The stuffing is sort of a cajun style beef and egg curry something, or a sweeter, more oniony chicken. Bon and I had one each, and are planning on more later today. For the four salteñas, a coffee, and a glass of juice, it cost 16.80Bs. A boliviana is worth almost 14 cents, so the meal cost a touch under $2.50.
They were really good. South america has quite a hold on me.
Check out some pictures of Salar de Uyuni. Use the internet. We went on a 3 day tour around Uyuni. It was pretty rad. Our pictures aren't going to be as cool as the ones you'll find, but we did our best. We caught the salt flat (the world's largest, ooh la de da) during wet season, so it was covered in a foot and a half of water, or more, or less. This meant that we weren't able to go everywhere the tour normally goes, but we did have the sweet scene where the endless lake reflected the sky, virtually eliminating the horizon. I do suggest you check out some pictures.
We're going to lake titikaka tomorrow. I reckon it'll be alright.
Peace.
Well butter my bread.
Things have gone from good to great out here. In salta bon and i met up with a canadian boy named john, from a little west of toronto. Hit it off pretty good, talking about tree planting.
He told us he was going to bolivia the next day at midnight, this was the day we arrived in Salta (overnight bus, arrived at 9:00am) and that we should probably go with him.
So our trip to Salta got shortened a decent bit. We're in Bolivia right now, Tupiza to be exact. It is wonderful here. Cheaper. And we're in a crew. After meeting john, bonnie got talking with a french girl named marie anne, and she joined our Bolivian mission. We're on our way to the salt flats, Tupiza's tours are like 150 a head, 4 days, food included. We can do better.
We're gonna take a train ride to Uyuni, and book a tour from there. We talked to an irish boy in Salta who had just taken a 4 day trip, all inclusive, for 75 beans. The train ride is either 3, 5, or 12 dollars, depending on how nicely we wish to ride. I'll let you know how that goes.
After the salt flats, we'll make our way to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. We've got two couch surfing places available to us, and we're thinking about taking a few spanish lessons while we're there. From La Paz there's copacobana and isla del sol. After that it's peru. It's unfortionate that we'll be through 7 of 12 weeks and only 2/6 countries. But everything feels good. Feel is everything.
Peace and Love
simon
We're leaving Cordoba today.
Last night i found the scene. It's in spanish. It's everything it's supposed to be. Out in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere... a house stands. It's covered with art. The patio is all painted.
Inside there was a jazz trio playing. The likes of which i've never seen. A bass player, well within the 99th percentile, was holding center "stage".
We left the apartment at 12:20. We picked up someone by 12:40. We got to the place at 1:30 or so. Rocked it till like 4. It was not about to end, but my drive was leaving. I will be back.
Peace to everyone. Don't be afraid to find what you're looking for. Don't expect to be ready for it, either.
simon
We are in Cordoba. Holy crow, this place in wonderful.
We got in, via bus, last night at a touch past midnight. We called up Pablo, our couchsurfing boy of wonder, cabbed to his house, and he came down to let us in.
While walking up to his apartment, he told us that the guitar i had would fit right in, they were playing guitar up on the rooftop, christening their patio. There was all sorts of wonderful things happening up there. A crew of 12 people or so, drinking beer, wine, and some other thing which is super popular here. Originally from Italy, but more of a staple in cordoba than anywhere else.
They also did a big meat cookout deal. Tons of different cuts of different stuff all cooked over coals on the roof. Everyone had their own plate (which was more of a round wooden cutting board) and pans of grilled meat were constantly put in the middle of us. We ate and drank like kings and queens. Jammed until about five (purely a guess, no concept of time).
There were two other couchsurfers there, from San Diego California, and they gave up a mattress for bon and i to sleep on, opting to use instead their slightly crumbier self inflating matts. Very kind kids, they got our emails and hopped a bus for Brazil today.
This dude once called Cordoba the cultural capital of the americas. Quite a statement. I've been in about 4 music stores today, and found myself a practice pad for drumming. It was 30 pesos, just shy of 10 bucks. I'm also munching on a largish bag of black figs. They're not as good as white ones, but about a quarter the price.
I think my silly math head thinks about money too much. I like numbers, they're so complete. The problem is that i have judgements about the numbers, is this too high, did i get ripped off, am i missing out on a good deal. Frig. Overthought is a bugger.
And that might be all i have to say. I think you're probably all wonderful people. I'm super happy to hear that Aine's trip is going well. I think that maybe she could spell her name Aña.
Couchsurfing is wonderful. People are wonderful. God is good.
Love!
simon