But first things first: during my travels I did not have Internet nor my computer, so that I noted down everything important in the lovely journal that Lauren made for me. I will recount my adventures as is, and will mark all comments jotted down in my journal in italics.
"Ida (Journey to La Paz), 12/15/2013, Sunday"
I had booked our bus tickets a day earlier, with the Bolivian relaxedness that does not permit worries or rushing and lives off of spontaneity. Our "bus cama" or "bed bus" would leave at 2:00pm. I would travel with Vero and with Sissi, both fellow volunteers. Because I had booked our tickets so early, we had gotten the best seats: three seats in the very front and top of the bus with a panorama window.
We left Santa Cruz in an incredible heat and, to our dismay, the AC in the bus
didn't work or didn't exist and the sun was shining in our faces. The big
windows were well worth it although we were boiling. We had the most incredible
view on the landscapes that passed by."I trade my spoon-full of adventure in Santa Cruz against a bucket full of adventures in La Paz; the first adventure is to travel in a "bus cama" with a panorama window and beautiful view despite the heat caused by the sun!"
What first looked like the familiar Santa Cruz landscapes with palm trees and a lot of green, changed after a while. As we looked out the window, we saw
more rivers, and, far in the distance, mountains.
" A church tower against the setting sun hiding in a foggy cloud. Absolutely stunning."
"A house without doors, with just pieces of cloths hung in the open spaces to keep out the cold."
After a while I fell asleep, exhausted from looking out at the landscape rushing by. I woke up in the middle of the night, shivering from the cold. My host mom had told me that it was going to be very cold in La Paz but I did not think that it would be that cold, after all, it is summer here. I looked out and saw the moon rising above mountains and reflecting in the valley river, our bus climbing up an incline.
"The moonlight reflected in the river below, the clouds below me shining white in the moonlight, and the forest on the mountains black as if it wants to swallow everything that only takes one step too close. Magical."
We kept driving and I fell back asleep.
"Day 1, 16/12/2013, La Paz, Monday"
In the morning I woke up and saw: rain and a plain, barren field with just one or two occasional "houses", or what used to be houses.
The view that we got of La Paz afterr about two more hours of driving through the outskirts of the gigantic city was amazing. La Paz is not just a city, it is a monster that seems to lie sleeping in a valley, leaving no space untouched or unoccupied. There are brick houses in even the smallest space, they seem piled on top of each other, to be stumbling over each other. Also, it looks like half of the houses have yet to be finished.
"It's weird how gigantic La Paz seems, even compared to SC; probably because SC is so spread out and La Paz so compact,, so squished into a small valley surrounded by beautiful mountains."
After 17 hours of sitting/sleeping in a bus, we finally arrived at our destination. The first thing we did arriving in La Paz was to drink a cup of hot coffee and eat a sandwich. Next we went to the Immigration to pick up our passports with Visa-the real reason we had traveled to La Paz.
In the afternoon we strolled through the little streets filled with artesian shops for tourists and later ate dinner in a little restaurant. Vero returned to SC that same evening, and Sissi and I set out to find a hostal. We ended up spending 30 Bs each for one night-about 3 Euros or 5 Dollars :D
"It's breathtaking-literally, to walk through La Paz. the streets are super narrow, a bit like in Amsterdam but there is either a mountain going up or going down wherever you look. Breathtaking."
"I am in love with all the little shops that we passed by and through; so many beautiful, handcrafted items that I wish I could take home."
At night we met up with three of the Paceño volunteers, good friends of ours from our seminar in the summer (the other summer :D).
"At night, La Paz glows like the stars in the sky that's how many lights there are in the city."
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