We pulled into the La Paz bus station around 8am and I was off to find my hostel. The directions that the hostel gave me were terrible! "Just right down the hill to the left from the bus station about 50 meters away." Once I got to the bottom of the hill, I walked around in an attempt to find the hostel. Unable to find it, I flagged down a taxi and asked him to take me to the hostel. He wanted to charge me about $3, which is extremely expensive for Bolivia, an average taxi should cost around $1. I blew him off and continued walking. Well it wasn't "right down the hill to the left," I walked for about 20 minutes. I don't know my meters as well as someone who's, well, not-American but I think its safe to say that 50 meters isn't a 20 minute walk. I then began to walk back uphill. With two bags and extreme altitude kicking my ass, I was dying on that walk up! After I walked to the RIGHT where the hostel said to take a LEFT, I found the hostel. Whats funny is that it was about a two minute walk from where I waved down that taxi. He was about to completely rip me off just to literally stomp on the gas peddle once and then be at the hostel.
Once I got settled in, I headed down for the breakfast that the hostel raves about. Awesome, cold pancakes and cold coffee, the breakfast of champions. I then mapped out a couple places to check out in La Paz. La Paz, is the tourist hub in Bolivia; many people use this as a stop to go to or come from Peru.
I headed to Plaza San Francisco, a very popular area that marks the city center, also where the Basilica de San Francisco church is. Well this is exactly where I had walked before with all my gear, so I already had an idea of where I was! Close to the Plaza is a road, Calle Sagarnaga, nicknamed "Gringo Alley," where loads of touristy shops are. Off of Gringo Alley is a road, Calle Linares, which is known as a "Witches Market." I was expecting A LOT more when I read about this Witch Market; I was expecting creepy old ladies walking around blowing potion in my face! It was nothing really different from Gringo Alley, just a bunch of touristy shops. Although, there were some different things from sale, like llama fetuses! Apparently, they ward off evil. In every country, I have tried to find and get a talisman of similar qualities, something that is going to protect me, bring me luck, or ward away evil. I think I am going to have to pass on getting one of these things!
After I explored the market for a while, I headed to a small cafe and grabbed a great lunch! Once i finished up, I headed back to the hostel to shed some of these layers. As I was changing in my dorm, three guys were getting settled in. Instantly a hand was in front of me, "Hey I'm Michael." I instantly knew these guys were from the States, no one is that nice and forward in the world. They are all good friends from TCU, Texas Christian University, they, like me, just graduated in December and are doing some traveling for the about a month in South America for the summer. A great mix of guys; Michael from Texas, Parker from Colorado, and Gibbens from Louisiana. Its great to meet a good group of normal Americans out here. I feel as though some people I have met in South America are gone. They are too deep in the "backpacking world," all wearing parachute pants or another form of hipster pants, dread locks, and an excess of traditional local clothing.
We headed out and I took them to the Plaza and we explored Gringo Alley. They were experiencing a slight form of altitude sickness, so we took it easy. We hit up a cafe and all got to know each other as they ate some lunch.
Later on, we went back to our hostel and Parker and Michael went to the bus station to get tickets for Puno, Peru in two days. Once we were all back at the hostel, I convinced them to join me tomorrow morning on a downhill bike ride down Death Road. Once they saw a video and some pictures, they were all in!
One great thing about our hostel, is that it has its own micro brew in the back and you get a free beer every night! That night, Michael, Parker, and I headed to the bar (Gibbens was still feeling the altitude and decided to rest). After we downed our free beers, we order a couple rounds of pitchers and had dinner with some Canadian ladies. Another reason why its is great to be with some Americans is the sense of money. Ill grab this pitcher, you get the next one. Ill pay for dinner, you just buy our lunch tomorrow. Parker said it best, "we are not going to bail on each other, this is how we operate." This is how it was when I was with Robbie and Boyd. With non-Americans, oh, I'm two dollars short for lunch, okay, we'll wait while you go to the ATM.
Trying not to consume too much alcohol as to not be hungover in the morning was quite a challenge in the presence of the Canadians.
Once I got settled in, I headed down for the breakfast that the hostel raves about. Awesome, cold pancakes and cold coffee, the breakfast of champions. I then mapped out a couple places to check out in La Paz. La Paz, is the tourist hub in Bolivia; many people use this as a stop to go to or come from Peru.
I headed to Plaza San Francisco, a very popular area that marks the city center, also where the Basilica de San Francisco church is. Well this is exactly where I had walked before with all my gear, so I already had an idea of where I was! Close to the Plaza is a road, Calle Sagarnaga, nicknamed "Gringo Alley," where loads of touristy shops are. Off of Gringo Alley is a road, Calle Linares, which is known as a "Witches Market." I was expecting A LOT more when I read about this Witch Market; I was expecting creepy old ladies walking around blowing potion in my face! It was nothing really different from Gringo Alley, just a bunch of touristy shops. Although, there were some different things from sale, like llama fetuses! Apparently, they ward off evil. In every country, I have tried to find and get a talisman of similar qualities, something that is going to protect me, bring me luck, or ward away evil. I think I am going to have to pass on getting one of these things!
After I explored the market for a while, I headed to a small cafe and grabbed a great lunch! Once i finished up, I headed back to the hostel to shed some of these layers. As I was changing in my dorm, three guys were getting settled in. Instantly a hand was in front of me, "Hey I'm Michael." I instantly knew these guys were from the States, no one is that nice and forward in the world. They are all good friends from TCU, Texas Christian University, they, like me, just graduated in December and are doing some traveling for the about a month in South America for the summer. A great mix of guys; Michael from Texas, Parker from Colorado, and Gibbens from Louisiana. Its great to meet a good group of normal Americans out here. I feel as though some people I have met in South America are gone. They are too deep in the "backpacking world," all wearing parachute pants or another form of hipster pants, dread locks, and an excess of traditional local clothing.
We headed out and I took them to the Plaza and we explored Gringo Alley. They were experiencing a slight form of altitude sickness, so we took it easy. We hit up a cafe and all got to know each other as they ate some lunch.
Later on, we went back to our hostel and Parker and Michael went to the bus station to get tickets for Puno, Peru in two days. Once we were all back at the hostel, I convinced them to join me tomorrow morning on a downhill bike ride down Death Road. Once they saw a video and some pictures, they were all in!
One great thing about our hostel, is that it has its own micro brew in the back and you get a free beer every night! That night, Michael, Parker, and I headed to the bar (Gibbens was still feeling the altitude and decided to rest). After we downed our free beers, we order a couple rounds of pitchers and had dinner with some Canadian ladies. Another reason why its is great to be with some Americans is the sense of money. Ill grab this pitcher, you get the next one. Ill pay for dinner, you just buy our lunch tomorrow. Parker said it best, "we are not going to bail on each other, this is how we operate." This is how it was when I was with Robbie and Boyd. With non-Americans, oh, I'm two dollars short for lunch, okay, we'll wait while you go to the ATM.
Trying not to consume too much alcohol as to not be hungover in the morning was quite a challenge in the presence of the Canadians.
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