Keeping The Peace

When you're on the other side of the world, you might notice that the seasons have deceived you. That's why as my Nebraskan counterparts found themselves sweating in the thick, July humidity, I could be found somewhere in Santiago shivering as the winter hollow takes over. however, as in the States, with winter comes winter vacation, and here I am, once again roaming around South America.

After spending our first few days of break relaxing in Santiago, Laura, Noah, Ryan and I headed to La Paz, Bolivia. We were accompanied by two of Noah's friends from high school who were visiting.

I caught a glimpse of Lake Titicaca as the plane descended toward La Paz. If I though the altitude in Ecuador had been bad, I had no idea what was awaiting me in La Paz. At an elevation of about 4,000 meters, La Paz will start by leaving you a little light-headed, but altitude sickness varies depending on the person after that.

Church in the main square.

Incan gods depicted on the side of a museum.

Streets lined with vendors.

We dropped our bags off at our hostel (also a brewery) and decided to walk around the centro. Like many cities on the western coast of South America, La Paz is located in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills. That means our walk through the city consisted of a lot of slanted streets... beautiful, but a round sell when you just had your supply of oxygen shockingly reduced. I wish we would have had more than just one afternoon in La Paz, because I'm sure we missed out on things. We were there just long enough to check out a few churches, visit a bunch of shops, and eat some delicious Bolivian food.

Enjoying our complementary drinks at the hostel.

Unfortunately, that evening during dinner, my slight light-headed feeling turned into a pretty legit headache. When we finished dinner and someone proposed walking up the lookout to see the city at night, I decided to head back to the hostel and get some rest. By the next day I was feeling ready to take on Bolivia.

The view I missed as a wallowed in my bed at the hostel.