We have finally moved on to bigger and better things as we find ourselves in the capital of this mountainous country, La Paz. Our group has been battling sickness the past few days. Julian was really sick in Potosi, resulting in us spending an extra day there. From there, we took a bus from the one bus company in Potosi that decided to take advantage of the strike, to Oruro. Oruro was your basic pit hole and we were planning on just spending the night there before heading to La Paz. However, sickness struck again. Fabrice got even sicker than Julian was and we had to call a doctor over to our hotel. So we spent an extra day in Oruro which consisted of watching tv in our hotel. That night, I even participated in the sick party by throwing up in our room and all over the bathroom. After that I felt much better and haven´t felt that bad since. Fabrice has only started feeling better today as he also ran a high fever with his nausea. We believe the sicknesses resulted from a restaurant we ate at in Potosi. Anyway, enough of this sick talk! We are all good now and in perhaps the coolest big city I have ever been to.
Last night we arrived to La Paz from Oruro. There were a few busses going to La Paz and since you can´t buy tickets at the bus terminal it was a mad house. There were people everywhere trying to jam in busses. It didn´t help that the place stunk like one of those dirty outhouses with thousands of flies flying everywhere. We got the bus guys to throw our bags on top and got into this small bus. Apparently, an Aussie riding in our bus got his bag stolen in the fray. He set his bag down for a second and someone snagged it. Apparently he had 2 cameras, his journal, and other valuables in it.
A few hours later we came into La Paz. It was nothing like I expected it. We were driving along the side of a moutain and as we looked to our right we saw a huge city that somehow was squeezed into this small valley. It was literally set right in the mountains. I have never seen a big city that took my breath away like that. Everywhere you walk, you are either walking uphill or downhill. It is easy to find the main street since it is where it is impossible to walk down any further. This city makes San Francisco look flat in comparison. Oh yeah, and at 13000 feet, it is the highest capital in the world. We will probably spend a day or two here before heading to Lake Titicaca. Anyways, I love you all, and email me sometime!
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