Adventure of the month

1. There is only one La Paz in all of Bolivia. This one came as a shocker. I had boarded an 8pm bus from Uyuni-La Paz and was set to arrive twelve hours later, at 8am. Yet, it was 4am and I had been woken up and asked to get off the bus. It was a local bus, which makes a couple of stops so obviously there was a misunderstanding. Me: No, I'm going to La Paz Driver: This is La Paz Me: (looking at my watch, then at my cell phone, confirming it is in fact 4am and thinking I may have gotten on the wrong bus). Is there another La Paz? Driver: (getting a little exasperated) No, this is the only La Paz. Me: (confused and certain that if I get off the bus, I will be stuck in the off-brand city of La Pez) Are you sure? I'm not supposed to be in La Paz for 4 more hours. Driver: Señora, there was no traffic. We are early. There is only one La Paz in all of Bolivia. Please, you need to get off this bus.

A $500 American Airlines voucher that was about to expire, a week off and a long-held desire to hang out in the world's largest salt flat: these were the factors that led to me standing in La Paz Int'l Airport, gasping for air at an inhumane 11,913 ft elevation. Minutes after landing, I was in line waiting to pay for my visa and ready to drop, when I noticed that the yoga instructor standing behind me had beat me to it. I bent down to help her up, so now the poor customs guy who came running over now had to help not one but two women to the nearest seats. It was 5am, I was in Bolivia and altitude sickness was kicking my ass. This was going to be a challenge. I expected this, maybe not to this degree, but I knew that the first day was going to be rough so my plans were simple. I was catching a connecting flight to Uyuni, choosing an agency for the aforementioned salt flat sojourn and napping...or as they like to call it acclimatizing.

A couple of things happened on June 2nd. The more relevant to a travel blog is that we crossed the border into country #64, Bolivia. The less relevant, I was celebrating my 40th birthday at the time. Due to both these momentous occasions occurring simultaneously, I am not sure whether I should thank the birthday fairies or the travel gods, but whatever force brought us to Copacabana, Bolivia has my fullest appreciation. I had read that Copacabana, which sits on the opposite side of Lake Titicaca was a laid back, hippie town, but I had not dreamt that it was this laid back or this hippie-ish. As soon as we got off the bus, we spotted hacky sacks flying, tattooed jewelry vendors on every street corner and more vegetarian restaurants than I had ever seen in any one place. And all of it was crazy cheap!! The hotel room pictured above, the one with the fantastic view of the lake, was a birthday splurge. T...