Hippocratic OM

Hello dear friends!

From Ryan's childhood to modern day La Paz!

We landed very early in La Paz yesterday AM, after 9 flights composing 4 different flight patterns for the 7 of us! We miraculously all made it, as did almost all our bags…except Damian’sL Fortunately, his came this afternoon. We were greeted by our guide Daniel (who, lucky man, is going to accompany us throughout our time in Bolivia), and then came to our hotel. It’s a lovely house, former consulate, in the midst of the anonymous highrises of downtown. After breakfast we all promptly passed out for 5+hours.

Around 2pm we ventured out (very slowly) around the city, taking our time especially on the uphills! La Paz is over 4000m high, which has affected us so far in various combinations of headaches, nausea, diarrhea, and exhaustion. One weird thing is the tingly feeling in parts of one’s body (right now the bottoms of my feet) that results from our unconscious hyperventilation. I am drinking so much coca tea…4 cups of which, we learned this morning, are equivalent to a line of cocaine! Last night we tried to find a French restaurant for dinner, but when we got to the address it had relocated! After much difficulty (walking in circles, talking to random people on the street including a strip club bouncer, and finally surrendering to turning on data roaming for a moment) we found it much closer to our original starting point. Chez Moustache (best name, décor to match) was delicious!

This morning we began our official city tour with Daniel. We started at an incredible, otherworldly landscape south of La Paz called the Valley of the Moon (pictured). It looks like a sea of drip castles, fantastical sandstone rock formations that apparently represent what La Paz looked like before the Spanish settled it (not hospitable in the least). We then took a ride on La Paz’s newest public transportation system, an amazing cable car/funicular that soars over the city (pictured)! Built by the Austrians. Afternoon included lunch, a visit to the witch’s market (where one can purchase all the necessary components of a shamanistic ceremony, including the critical dried llama fetus, pictured), a stroll down a historic street (pictured), and a museum of traditional Bolivian instruments. We also had a briefing at the tour company that on Wednesday is taking us mountain biking down Death Road! More on that when it happens, but suffice to say it’s a 60 km unpaved road that descends from snow capped peaks to jungle floor over the course of 4-5 hours! The guides assured us that the only people that die doing this are the ones who try to take selfies while biking next to drop offs of hundreds of feet. Based on his questions, my dad’s biggest concern is that the seams on his briefs might be uncomfortable on the hard bike seat over that length of time (TMI? We thought so).  

I think it’s a pretty interesting time to be in Bolivia. In 2009 they rewrote their constitution, giving many more rights to the indigenous people. There are over 30 distinct indigenous groups here, with language, traditional dress and customs that seem to be very much alive (there are women, cholitas, everywhere wearing the traditional bowler hats that just seem perched on the crowns of their heads). Bolivia is the poorest country in South America, but also the richest in terms of natural resources (including the world’s biggest stores of lithium). They just elected their socialist president, Evo Morales, to a 3rd term. There’s mountains, rainforest, high desert, lakes, and salt flats here. I’m excited to learn more!

Tomorrow we set off for several days to Lake Titicaca, an enormous lake on the border with Peru (250m at it’s deepest). We stay tomorrow night with families in an indigenous community on the lakeshore, and participate in various workshops with them (traditional cooking, medicinal plants, agriculture and biodiversity, and weaving). I’m weaving! It apparently involves a llama bone. And the women only speak Quechua. I’ll let you know. Then Monday we take a ferry to Isla de la Sol, an island in the middle of the lake and a very spiritual place, and Tuesday we visit another lakeside community before returning to La Paz.

Overall I’m definitely still adjusting to the altitude but I like Daniel and it feels special to be with my whole family having an adventure. Since we did an abbreviated Christmas in California last year, it’s been a while since we’ve had this opportunity (and may be a while before the next time). My mom seems to be doing pretty well, although we also have oxygen on hand in case she needs it!

I’ll try to attach some photos, and I’ll be back in touch when I return from the lake! Happy holidays to everyone, sending much love!!!

Xoxoxoxoxox,