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June 20 - Acclimatizing and Shopping!
It is early morning on Monday at our hotel in La Paz. The streets of La Paz are still shrouded in a cool darkness. At 7:30 AM our bus will collect us and we will be off to visit the fascinating archeological site at Tiahuanaco. Yesterday when we had our 1st team meeting over breakfast here in the hotel, Juan Carlos was already beginning to describe some of the details of pre-Incan cultures that existed in Bolivia.
Remember that at these elevations, "it is all acclimatization", including shopping. Yesterday the group walked to the "Witches Market" district of La Paz. The hilly streets of La Paz had us all breathing hard as we are at 3600 meters (11,810 feet) above sea level! We visited the gallery of our favorite Bolivian artist, Balderrama Guido. Later we took lunch at a simple cafe that is a hangout for adventure travelers from around the world.
At any rate the team we have together here now is already bonding and having a great time together. Scott arrived from Rio on Sat. morning and early Sunday morning Michael and Keith came in on the American Airlines flight from Miami. Our bags are packed for days of adventure along Lake Titicaca and up to the famous Condoriri Area - a mecca for those who long to do quality Alpine climbs in the blue Andean sky. We will be giving this a shot ourselves in the coming days. |
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Today we will drive out of the urban canyon of La Paz onto the Altiplano - the high dry plain that separates the shores of Lake Titicaca from the high Andes. It will be a beautiful drive. We will have a long day and try to give you an update from along the way. If things go well we plan to have a nice trout lunch before crossing by Ferry to the beautiful village of Copacabana on the shores of the Lake.
We miss having Larry, Donna and Jack, each of whom had to cancel this trip for various reasons. Donna was right down to the wire. I heard her talking on the phone with Leila yesterday morning still thinking of getting on a plane and heading south to meet us!