la paz

yesterday, we spent the afternoon in uyuni running various errands, internetting, phoning, having tea, dropping off luggage and the like. unfortunately, due to the weirdness of the ATMs, keith left his mastercard in the machine. ouch! foiled! thankfully he was able to cancel it (somewhat dubiously). i was able to talk to andy for 5 minutes - who knew that phone calls would be so pricey in the middle of nowhere, bolivia? actually, that makes sense. :P

we decided to take an overnight bus to la paz, and 11 hour journey costing 80 bolivianos (just over $10). we went with a company called touristicos omar, and opted for the semi-cama (3/4 reclining) option. in my mind, i thought it would be like the buses that kavitha and i took in argentina and brazil, which were very new, climate controlled, and had tvs and bathrooms. or at least like a greyhound bus. when the bus rolled up an hour late, we found a bus from the 1960s or 70s, with heavy duty wheels that were about 5 feet high. we had to tag our own bags in a giant suffocating cloud of diesel smoke before boarding the bus, which was dimly lit. there were alpaca blankets draped over our seats, and NO BATHROOMS. oy! the chairs reclined either fully, or not at all, and the bus was cramped and there was absolutely NO HEAT. i was sitting under a vent that cold air constantly blew out of, with water dripping on to the aisle beside me. kavitha took a gravel and was able to sleep, but me, cheryl, bossi and keith did not have much luck in that department!

when the bus got rolling, the only thing i could compare it to was being in an out of control massage chair in a tank with bullets constantly being fired outside. bolivian roads are not exactly in the best shape, so all the seats on the bus vibrated like nobody's business. it was not easy to sleep!

then, around midnight, we made our first unannounced rest stop. the windows were frosted over so we could not see outside. since my bladder was about to explode, i ran up to the driver and yelled "DONDE ESTA EL BANO?" and he pointed into a sketchy bar/restaurant. i was so disoriented and desperate to find a bathroom that i ran outside and into the bar like a madwoman. when i stepped in i got the strangest looks ever! thankfully, the owner of the restaurant was very helpful and directed me to the bathroom. many other passengers followed suit.

the rest of the bus ride was a bit less rickety,and we got in this morning around 8AM. the hostel we are staying at, the adventure brew hostel (recommended by kavitha's friend who also made the awesome BA hostel recommendation, props!!!) has been great! we had a solid breakfast (eggs, strange bacon, coffee/tea, and toast( for about $2 each, and then a pretty decent lunch (i had a vegetable soup and a banana juice for about $2). tonight - no plans yet. but there is a bar on the top floor of our hostel that has nintendo tournaments. random!

ever since leaving easter island, it has been insanely dry. we have been moisturizing with nivea (the heavy dark blue kind) and glysomed like nobody's business. la paz is definitely not as bad as the desert, which is a welcome relief. fortunately, i was also able to pick up some chapstick. chaps brand peach chapstick. fantastic!

lastly, being away for almost 2 months now, what is going on in the music world? any new artists i should know about?