La Paz, Bolivia Part I

Hostal Milenio 860 Yanacocha, 27 bolivianos x person

At 3600m and one of the hilliest cities yet, we for sure have the nicest butts around. Hiking up and down and up and down this city will make you cold, breathless and sweat at the same time. But, well worth the chilly sweat, it´s a beautiful city.

Our 2 week stay in La Paz is made up of 3.5 distinct parts.

Part I What About Bob?
We spent our first week with a special traveler. We tolerated him, everyone else loved him. Remember the movie from the 80´s, What About Bob? We were Dr.Leo Marvin. When we met in Copacabana, Bob seemed tolerable. When he said he was going to La Paz like us, we said ok, fine. But after 96 hours straight of endless, mindnumbing talk (on his part), staying in the same hostal and spending every waking hour together, Lori and I panicked. If we continued like this (as Christmas approached) one of the three of us wasn´t going to make it out alive.

In a moment of desperation, while touring a church, Bob commented "I have to leave La Paz, but I can come back to spend Christmas with you guys!" My mind raced, my palms began to sweat and my legs became shaky with the thought of spending Christmas with him. Exasperated, I hastily blurted out, "But... (my mind racing, panicking)... but, Christmas is a time for... Don´t you want to spend Christmas with your family?" I didn´t have the heart to tell Bob that if he returned for Christmas, I might have to drink heavily alone in my room to get through it.

Thankfully Bob didn´t return. Lori and I festively painted our nails in quiet celebration.